DSOC 22A14 - Gender and Sexuality in South Asia

How gender and sexuality have become a controversial topic in South Asian politics ? Which aspects of South Asian socio-cultural background are notorious in the local dynamics of gender and sexual minorities in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh ? Indeed, why does gender fluidity is often perceived as something spiritual and religious in South Asia, precisely in India ? Is the representation of an institutionalized ‘third gender’ a regional phenomenon in South Asia ? These questions motivate the debate of this course with the aim of providing a critical approach on the perception of the gendered reality in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Lately, gender has become an international social marker worldwide. Public policies and legal changements have considered “sex” and “gender” as important actors to bring up equality and public representation of the social diversity in multiple contexts. The objective of this course is to introduce the students to the specific social issues of South Asian cultures and political systems. Therefore, the sessions will be based on a scientific text (journal articles or book chapters) dedicated to particular themes of public notoriety in the specific context of post-colonial South Asian states. From the general keyconcepts such as gender, sexuality and feminism, the students are invited to think about the evolution of the LGBTQ movement in Indian subcontinent and its strategies to achieve main social and legal changes. By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to analyze the similarities and peculiarities of the national and regional policies for LGBTQ persons in the South Asian context. In addition to a general knowledge regarding the different national contexts approached by the course, students are requested to analyse the major social changes in South Asian societies through the perspectives of law and religion. Nationalism being the utmost political phenomenon discussed in Indian affairs, this issue will be explored through the gender and sexuality outlook. The representation of non-heteronormative identities in South Asia being explained by religious and spiritual contexts (particularly, Hinduism and Sufism), we will analyze the consequences of Hindu and Muslin discourses in the process of recognizing civil and social rights for the LGBTQ population in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Finally, we will consider the social inequalities based on sex/gender discrimination in order to understand the protagonism of masculine figures of power in national and regional politics and the controverses caused (and prompted) by organized institutions (such as NGOs) consecrated to the subversion of gender and sexuality norms publicly and traditionally perpetuated. In brief, gender and sexuality will be thought not only as social markers, but also as epistemological references for the understanding of different contemporary realities.

At the end of the course, the student is expected to possess both generic skills and module specific skills. 1/ General skills :

• To develop their capacity to critically assess and engage with academic sources on gender and feminist theory.
• To avoid the pitfall of general stereotypes on South Asian contexts regarding gender and sexuality isses
• The capacity to creat a coherent and critical reflection on different gender and sexuality cultural systems.
• The capacity to present well-structured arguments supported by the proposed literature.
• The ability to identify and explain how gender and sexuality have become a crucial social marker for public policies.
• To argue against the use of religious and cultural explanations for the legitimacy of different gender and sexuality systems.

2/ Specific module skills :

• To emphasize on the various subtilities of concepts such as gender, sexuality, culture and identity.
• To reaffirm both the pertinence and controverses concerning gender and sexual minorities representation.
• To deconstruct the idea of gender as a fixed and universal social category.
• To develop a critical approach on different theories of gender and femininst debates when applied to different cultural contexts.

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This course will help the students better understand the present social challenged for gender and sexual minorities in three specific countries : India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

To validate the course, the student is expected to pass the following assignments :

1°) A group presentation (03 persons) of 30 minutes : 20% of final mark

• All the students are invited to speak individually
• The subject must be included in one of the sessions of the course

2°) A review on of the texts proposed in the mandatory reading for the session : between 1000 to 2000 words : 20% of final mark

3°) A final research paper including : (between 3500 to 4000 words) : 50% of final mark

• A title resuming the topic and the main argument exposed in the paper
• A theoretical introduction followed by a critical problem
• The bibliography used for the text (minimum of 04 references and 02 different authors)

4°) Participation mark (speaking and debating in class, critical references to the reading and attendance) : 10 of final mark