AMERICAN COMPARATIVE LITERATURE ASSOCIATION
2016, HARVARD UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, CAMBRIDGE, MA, U.S.A.
Stream B: 10:30-1:30
Seminar Schedule -- Northwest B110
NORTHWEST LABS – WHOLE
LOWER LAB (Harvard –Events management)
Northwest Building, 52
Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
SEMINAR ORGANIZER: WOMEN
OF REGALIA IN POWER: A CATALYST
The social discourses
dealing with gender and women studies in literal sense project gender and class
relations, cultural tensions between men and women. The generic characteristics
of such class-societies if analysed sociologically also implicate the power to
reconstruct the text in its post-independence, post-modern societal phase. The
historical background of such sections provide the readers to restructure
indivisible duality of social conflicts, societal structuring, barriers and
borders in a new dialogic process as regards historical women in power
position, who attempted to play their authority as guardians either to protect
the heirs to the throne or to confront opposition for the safety of their
provinces. Many women fighters in power position displayed their vision as well
as they were instrumental in building women as workforce in freedom fighting or
resurging collective consciousness among women.
ABSTRACTS
Using Regalia for
Women’s Reform: A Study of Kashibai Kanitkar’s The Palanquin Tassel
usha@aud.ac.in
Kashibai Kanitkar’s Marathi novel Palkhicha
Gonda (1889 – 1928), translated into
English as The Palanquin Tassel by Meera Kosambi, depicts a utopian kingdom
with a woman regent. Manu, the protagonist of the novel, is given in marriage
to a mentally ill prince. She overcomes her disappointment with her marriage to
start a college for women who have been abandoned by their husbands.
The title of the novel is a sharp comment on
Manu’s marriage. The symbol of a tasseled palanquin aptly conveys the
contradictory states of gaining the comfort of royal life and a respectable
socio-religious identity within a traditional Hindu cultural framework owing to
marriage and Manu’s marriage being largely decorative with scarcely any hope of
marital happiness. Her situation is analogous to women who gain a place in
traditional Hindu households owing to marriage but are deprived of the roles of
wives and mothers due to abandonment by their husbands. These women often could
not continue to live in their marital homes and were mostly unwelcome in their
natal homes. While traditional society of nineteenth century India expected
them to accept their ‘fate’, even the social reformers’ focus was not on them.
The social reformers were concentrating on advocating alternative ways of
sustenance for child widows through remarriage, education and jobs. Manu’s
empathy for these women coupled with the power she has as the regent stirs her
into action, ensuring that women victims of dysfunctional marriages build
independent lives through education and gainful employment.
This paper attempts to foreground Kanitkar’s
path-breaking feminist perspective in proposing empowering alternatives outside
marital roles for women who became victims within the traditionally encouraged
institution of marriage.
The Audacity to 'Be'
jsramal@yahoo.com
Women
in India who have been able to reach positions of power have been throughout
history (to this date) forced to internalise two mutually
contradictory discourses - the discourse of the powerful and that of the
powerless. As a ruler/controller she has had to think/act/speak like any male
ruler/controller but as a woman she has rarely succeeded in shrugging off the
burden of normative social expectations. A successful woman not dogged by a sense
of guilt regarding not having fulfilled her social duties optimally is rare to
come across. Vijaya Jahagirdar in her book 'Karmayogini' title I will
roughly translate as 'Dutybound') attempts a biographical sketch of Ahilyabai
Holkar who was in charge of Indore province for more than twenty years. The
writer discusses how this outstandingly intelligent and efficient woman was
inescapably caught between the cross currents of expectation and desire to be
an efficient and righteous ruler on one hand and the feeling of having
neglected her social and religious duty of immolating herself on the
funeral pyre of her dead husband on the other. That she was guilty of having
committed a grave sin (by not becoming Sattee ) was repeatedly reinforced by different
agents in the society .The feeling that after the death of her husband she had
lost the right to live forced her to lead the life of an ascetic devoted to the
welfare of the province and its people. The driving force in her life was
certainly not any positive sense originating from a satisfaction of having
performed a task well but a negative feeling of being 'Dutybound' to perform in
and for the world in which otherwise she had no right to exist. The paper aims
at exploring the complex subjectivity of powerful women in India in general by
looking closely at the 'subject formation' of Ahilyabai as depicted in the book
by Vijaya Jahagirdar.
Women
of Regalia in Power: A Catalyst
sudhirajiv@gmail.com
In
the modern democratic world the insignia of royalty is the power people have to
change themselves and the world around them.
Mukhtar Mai from Pakistan is one of the few women who have become “women
of Regalia” as she has “achieve(d) greatness” through her actions and become a
catalyst of change for women in the Indian subcontinent.
Mukhtar
Mai’s memoir (from Pakistan) In the Name of Honour follows the pattern of
exploitation and resistance particularly in the lives of women who were
subjected to physical violence.
In
June 2002, Mukhtar Mai, a tribal woman faced the tyranny of the Panchayat which
ordered her gang rape in full view of the village for an allegation against her
brother. Anyone else would have committed suicide but not her. She had the
courage to challenge the system and fight against the humiliation. She now runs a school for girls from the
compensation money she received.
What
is important in her memoir In the Name of Honour is how Mukhtar Mai responds to
the humiliation of physical violence. She stands up against the might of the powerful
who think that this form of violence will silence her forever. Instead of being crushed, she emerges
stronger and spreads the message of resistance to women all over and becomes a
catalyst of change. She teaches other women not only to resist the power of the
strong but also convert their experience into something positive.
The
paradigm of dissent and change and the feminist issues of finding a voice,
questioning the patriarchal power structure , resistance and change are
reflected in her memoir. She truly is a woman of Regalia in the modern world. Her
crown is in her heart not on her head.
My
paper will examine how she challenged patriarchal oppression and changed not
only herself but also the world around her.
<p>In
the present times, gender issues are not just limited to being an area of
special concern but are increasingly being considered as crucial elements in
determination of policies, plans and strategies. The last two hundred
years have witnessed a substantial expansion of women’s rights in all spheres-
social, economic and political. However, despite denouncement of gender bias
and promotion of gender equality over the past century, women are still victims
of harassment, assault, and discrimination at workplace and at home on account
of being the weaker sex- the ‘Other’. However, inspite of having a clear record
of death, abuse and noticeable exploitation, women’s rights are not classified
as human rights. Human rights are still considered more vital than women’s
rights.
Conceptualising
Gender: Realising Women’s Rights Globally
atulhermit@gmail.com
The
term “women’s rights” covers many different areas, making it one of the most
difficult areas of law to define. Women’s rights are most often associated with
reproductive rights, sexual and domestic violence, and employment
discrimination. But women’s rights also includes immigration and refugee
matters, child custody, criminal justice, health care, housing, social security
and public benefits, civil rights, human rights and international law.
This paper intends to question the reasons which have led to the disparity
between women’s rights and human rights and discusses various approaches
leading to its change specially examining the abuses in which gender plays an
important role.
Lakshmibai,
The Warrior Queen of Jhansi: A Damsel Defying Destiny
shubh60@yahoo.co.in
An
iconoclastic figure of the ‘First War of Independence’ for Indians, ‘Jezebel of
India’ in the ‘Sepoy Mutiny of 1857’ to the British, Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi,
is a myriad hued figure in Indian history. An epitome of bravery, she
evolved from an exceptionally brilliant and gifted girl to an outstan- ding
warrior and an extraordi -nary queen.Having an unconventional upbringing,
Laxmibai was educated, knew Sanskrit and Persian too. Due to her unusual
accomplishments, Gangadhar Rao, a childless widower and the ruler of Jhansi,
married her. A queen at 14, a mother at 23 a widow at 25, and martyred at 29,
hers is an incredible saga of tragedy and triumph. As queen she remained
in purdah. The King’s death and
Dalhousie’s ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ were decisive for her. Laxmibai abandoned purdah and
took over the reins of government, fought the British, and
trained women warriors to help defend Jhansi, unthinkable in those
times. She is richly portrayed in Indian literature. Her contribution ended the
Mughal rule, and established the British Raj in India. Even her adversary Gen.
Hugh Rose acknowledged her as ‘A man among the mutineers.
This
paper: 1.presents the Indian societal situation then and now, assesses her
impact on her times, and more importantly on India after independence. 2. It
shows how she resisted opposition from men, from homeland and abroad, and
triumphed; 3. It examines the literature by Indian women, to show how they
perceive differently.
The
Rani of Kittur: A Critical Study of Power Politics of an Indian Kingdom
srikrishanrai4@gmail.com
The
Rani of Kittur, an eponymous historical play, by Basavaraj Naikar tries to
recover its less known protagonist from the margin of Indian Freedom Struggle.
This multilayered play plays a pivotal role in underlining the efforts of the
Rani as a ruler as well as Rani as a woman who strives to take the centre
stage. Throughout the play we see several references where the Rani shows her
eagerness to delve deep into the power politics of the state. Being a woman of
the nineteenth century British ruled India, her marginalization is so obvious
that nobody even pays heed to her wish to come to the centre. Though
superficially the playwright too emphasizes on her heroic mindset, he adroitly
portrays her wish to take the charge of the state. The subterranean level of
the play projects the Rani as an ambitious woman who is fond of power. Our
present paper would be an attempt to highlight the subterranean multilayered
power politics mentioned in this recently published play. The paper would be
broadly divided into two parts. First, the observations on play from historical
perspective, while the second, a woman’s wish to change her position from
margin to centre.
Subverting
Subaltern Consciousness: Search for Self-Identity in Lorraine Hansberry’s A
Raisin in the Sun and Mahasweta Devi’s Bayen
jyotihermit@gmail.com
Race,
caste, and gender have played a crucial role in the plots and storyline of
literary works around the globe. The tussle to overcome personal
discrimination, harassment and dilemma has surpassed centuries and varied
genres of literature. Indian and African American Literatures are closely
allied, owing to this unavoidable trait latent in it.
Lorraine
Hansberry and Mahasweta Devi are two reputed women writers who explore the
plight of their respective communities in their works. Their plays like A
Raisin in the Sun and comprise of a deep concern for the forces
that marginalize and deal with different forms of marginality. Lorraine
Hansberry is a radical writer who deals with the issues of discrimination and
inequality which community suffers from. On the other hand, Mahasweta Devi
portrays the hardships and anguish of Dalit and Tribal communities of India.
Though both the women writers belong to dissimilar social, cultural and
geographical ethos, they share a similar antipathy for the communities in the peripheries
and are desirous of bringing them into the mainstream of the society. In this
paper I intend to contextualise subalternity by thematically exploring the
afore mentioned plays, throw a search light on the concept of racial and caste
discrimination prevalent in the society and capture the attempt of women
characters to define their identity in a gender biased setup.
Woman
in Regalia: Rebellious Princess of Kapurthala
banku5@rediffmail.com
Sikhs
have played a very important role in the making of India and Indian
civilization, particularly in the 19 and 20 century. The bravery of Sikh
community is world renowned and unmatched. Sikh rulers, known as ‘Maharaja’
were very multi facet personalities as amongst other traits, they had
tremendous curiosity to win over beautiful women and many times, for such
actions their states had to suffer huge losses.
Amongst
several Sikh ruled states, Kapurthala (Punjab, India) which was rule by
Maharaja Jagatjit Singh from 16 October 1877 until his death 1949 has been
enshrined in history. Amongst his six wives,
became the fifth queen. She was born and brought up in city Malaga,
Spain. She did not have rich heritage in her childhood but her extraordinary
beauty, intelligence and luck played so much that she became the princess of
very historically renowned and vital state of India. After marriage, she was
known as Princess Prem Kaur. She gave birth to son Raja Ajit Singh.
Prices
Anita Delgado did not remain a simple queen through her life many other queens
of other Indian states would do. Her individuality, wisdom and sense of self
dignity made her extraordinary Woman in Regalia. Unlike other princesses and
queens, she showed her psychological and physical mettle but she had to end up
in divorce. But never ever she lost her self-confidence and moral strength. She
had had remarkable life even after her separation from her king husband.
A
Regent Maharani in Gita Mehta’s Raj: A New Modern Approach
bmladgaonkar@gmail.com
The
Present paper attempts to study the postmodern feministic perspective as
depicted by Gita Mehta in her first fiction (1989). Gita Mehta, an Indian
English Writer has effectively handled the theme of Regalia in power (Jaya
Singh). It is a glimpse of Jaya Singh of Shirpur State in British colonial India.
The British period of India is considered from 1857 till 1950. It accounts Jaya
Singh’s struggle to protect the heir to monarch and safety for province that
caught in cultural conflict between British and Indians. Within this point of
reference, the researcher tries to examine Mehta’s depiction of Jaya Singh, the
royal woman of regalia succeeds in ruling powe
of Shirpur State.
The
paper further seeks to account the postcolonial theorists like Gaytri Spivok,
Homi K Bhabha, Ania Loomba, and Paul Gilory who prospect on colonialism. It
also throws light on Jaya as set forth by Mehta and her ideas that govern Jaya
as a free and modern woman. It unfolds, further, Jaya as opposing force who
changes herself, politically and tries to build for regalia power in British
dominated world. It covers, besides, Jaya’s deliberation and strategies for it.
The
paper comes to an end with the declaration of Jaya Singh as Regent Maharani of
Shirpur State where reveals the novelist’s postmodern feministic outlook
through protagonist and love for Indian monarch through .
Ahilya
Bai Holkar: The Defacto Administrator and Ruler of Malwa Region in India.
archanaparashar12@yahoo.com
Born
in 1725, Ahilya Bai Holkar is known for giving a large part of Central India
peace and good administration during the most turbulent and anarchical period.
She had one of the most stable reigns of the
18<sup>th</sup> century so much so that her territories in Malwa
were never attacked or disrupted by local battles. She was the actual head of
the government and her great object was, to bring a radical change in the
society by her objective approach towards people just to improve the condition
of the country. She maintained but a small force independent of the territorial
militia; but her troops were sufficient, aided by the equity of her
administration, to preserve internal tranquillity. Ahilya Bai offended to
prejudice, when she took upon herself the direct management of affairs and set
every day for a considerable period, in open Durbar, transacting business. Her
first principle of governance appears to have been moderate assessment, and
respect for the villagers. The Rampuria affair brought to light her diplomacy
and statesmanship. She gave up the idea of becoming Sati on the entreaties of
Malhar Rao. She used the maxim of Least Power and Greatest Weight. She ruled in
different fields like building ghats and temples and her high position and
respect emanated from her exceptional qualities as just and efficient ruler who
ruled as if she was a Trustee of the state.
Keywords:
Ahilya Bai Holkar, peace, administration, management, principle, statesmanship,
ruler.
The
Aesthetics of Opposition: Reclaiming a Nonconformist Princess from Rajasthan
sharmabhumika@curaj.ac.in
Meera
Bai, an unconventional Rajput princess from the north Indian state of
Rajasthan, is known as a great poetess, and intense devotee of Lord Krishna.
Her poetry epitomizes the voice of a dissent, which derides the gender and
class impositions of the power-writ social structure of 16th century India.
Present paper explores the socio-cultural engagements of Meera Bai’s art that
shape the aesthetic outlines in her literary expression. The paper undertakes a
historical enquiry of the said Bhakti poet, who adroitly overturns the
contemporary cultural constructions on themselves. Meera Bai was never fearful
to challenge the stifling obligations of powerful patriarchal aristocracy. Her
rebellion stands at both the levels of class and gender, which is reinforced in
her poetic expression.
The
paper examines the multiple strata of meaning inherent in Meera Bai’s poetic
output scripted in Brij Bhasha (language in North-West India) and critically
acclaimed as an integral part of Hindi Bhakti Sahitya.It enquires how Meera Bai
asserts the nonconformist stand of a woman who does not surrender to the
socio-cultural pressures of her time. How does her poetry suggest the
oppositional aesthetics of art? Does her
poetic disposition expostulate the social and cultural categorizations what
Chela Sandoval says, ‘resisting binary categories of identity in favor of a
fluidity that moves between’? The paper intends to bring out the innate
‘artivism’ of Meera’s poetic resistance.
Bette
Davis/ Elizabeth I: Reading Female Authority through Regalia and Reconstruction
of History
singha@unisa.ac.za
This
paper examines Bette Davis’ strikingly different portrayals of Elizabeth I
in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and
Essex (1939) and The Virgin Queen (1955) and, through employing ‘queer
temporalities’, situates the performances at once in late sixteenth-century
England and the post-war United States to dissect particular meanings ascribed
to the meeting of regalia with femininity. A juxtaposition of select portraits
of Elizabeth I with key scenes from and promotional posters of the films
reveals how the presence (or the lack) of regalia regulates the desideratum for
and dissidence against female authority. Conceived sixteen years apart, Davis’
characterisations of Elizabeth I reflect different modes of engagement with
early modern history wherein The Private
Lives of Elizabeth and Essex is more effectively read alongside Olivier’s
adaptation of Shakespeare’s (1944) as carrying a political freight peculiar to
the context of World War II. Simultaneously, the differences in the
re-presentations of Davis as Elizabeth I are extracted from even as they inform
public perceptions of the iconic actress whereby the powerful and desirable
Davis of 1939 is reduced to a vulnerable has been in 1955. Yoked by the
appellation ‘queen’, one exercising sovereign authority and the other reigning
over box-office, a cross-chronological reading of Elizabeth I and Davis affords
a rare insight into how regalia constitute (female) authority.
Progressive Zeal of Royal
Women in Indian Princely Ruling States -
dr.jayshree.singh@gmail.com
The
autobiographies, biographies, fiction and non-fiction writings on the
aristocratic ancestry of noble women i.e. princesses belonging to Indian
medieval history mostly show women in warfare, power and co-equality. But the
blue-blooded women of Sultanate dynasty, Mughals and Hindu Indian Princely
States later delineated their social-cultural, political and personal life
struggling with gender edge, resilient towards conventional convictions and
constructions of disparities. Women of such noble origin portrayed with
feminine artistry and aristocracy, had to uphold their identity per se the
wishes of the royalty. Many of the ruling family’s princesses such as Sunity Devee, Maharani Brinda of
Kapurthala, Gayatri Devi, Vijayaraje Scindia, Laxmi Bai of Rani, Rani
Durgawati, Maharani Ahilya Bai, Maharani Jaya Singh of Sirpur etc. represented
their progressive zeal all along through their turbulent life experiences.
Meerabai of Mewar region in 16th century, Marathi Hindu Princess
Sona Bai of Khuldaba in 17th century had seen lots disturbance and
conflict in their life for being a catalyst to shun the regal splendor and
exotic orient’s fortune. But there were many other who challenged feminine
longings and adopted the gender roles in contrast to expectations of the man’s
gaze and dominance. Their individual - self valorized the discriminating lense
of the gender both in private and public space in context of their margin
status in socio-cultural and political perspective. Their inner metamorphosis
can be construed as an admission to self-assertion, self-motivation and
self-empowerment.
________________________________________________________________________________
Three Travel Options
to Harvard Campus -
Shuttle Bus Service:
On Thursday
(March 17th) 3 shuttle buses will circulate between the Cambridge
Hyatt Regency and 52 Oxford Street from 3:00 PM to 9:30 PM. At 7:30 PM buses
will stage on Oxford Street and begin to take participants back to the
Cambridge Hyatt Regency. The last bus returns from 52 Oxford Street at 9:30 PM
on Thursday.
On Friday and Saturday (March 18th and 19th) three shuttle buses will circulate between the Cambridge Hyatt Regency and 16 Quincy Street from 7:30 AM to 11:00 AM. Between 11:00 AM and 4:30 PM there will be two shuttle buses running in a continual loop. At 4:30 PM three buses will stage on Quincy Street to take the participants back to the Cambridge Hyatt Regency and return to 52 Oxford Street. At 7:00 PM three shuttle buses will stage on 52 Oxford Street to take the participants from the last event of the day back to the Cambridge Hyatt Regency. The last bus will return from 52 Oxford Street at 9:00 PM on Friday and Saturday.
On Sunday (March 20th) two shuttle buses will circulate between the Cambridge Hyatt Regency and Quincy Street from 7:30 AM to 10:30 AM. At 11:00 AM two buses will stage on Quincy Street for the return trip. The last return bus from Quincy Street is at 1:30 PM on Sunday.
On Friday and Saturday (March 18th and 19th) three shuttle buses will circulate between the Cambridge Hyatt Regency and 16 Quincy Street from 7:30 AM to 11:00 AM. Between 11:00 AM and 4:30 PM there will be two shuttle buses running in a continual loop. At 4:30 PM three buses will stage on Quincy Street to take the participants back to the Cambridge Hyatt Regency and return to 52 Oxford Street. At 7:00 PM three shuttle buses will stage on 52 Oxford Street to take the participants from the last event of the day back to the Cambridge Hyatt Regency. The last bus will return from 52 Oxford Street at 9:00 PM on Friday and Saturday.
On Sunday (March 20th) two shuttle buses will circulate between the Cambridge Hyatt Regency and Quincy Street from 7:30 AM to 10:30 AM. At 11:00 AM two buses will stage on Quincy Street for the return trip. The last return bus from Quincy Street is at 1:30 PM on Sunday.
Getting to Harvard
Square by Subway (free from the airport, $2.50 to the airport):
Harvard Square is
located on the Red Line Train of MBTA (the "T"). The trip is free
from the Logan Airport: simply take the Silver Line bus from your terminal. At
the end of the Silver Line (South Station) change to the Red Line inbound to
Alewife Station and get off at the Harvard Square stop. The trip is
approximately 40 minutes long from Logan Airport to Harvard Square. For
schedules and maps of the "T" visit http://www.mbta.com/.
Getting to Harvard
Square by Taxi:
The taxi ride takes about 30 minutes and the
fare is approximately $35-$45 with tip. The Department of Comparative
Literature is located on 16 Quincy St. in Cambridge. - See more at: http://www.acla.org/annual-meeting/travel-annual-meeting#sthash.qhG2Cbln.dpuf
