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CSSS organises a Colloquium by Prof. Janaki Abraham

CSSS organises a Colloquium by Prof. Janaki Abraham

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CSSS organises a Colloquium by Prof. Janaki Abraham
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CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF SOCIAL SYSTEMS
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY

 

cordially invites you to the

 

THURSDAY COLLOQUIUM

 

on

From kanyadaan to kumkumam: Caste reform, cameramen and the making of wedding rituals in North Kerala

 

by

Janaki Abraham
Professor at the Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University

 

on
30th NOVEMBER 2023 at SSS II,
ROOM 013, 3:00pm-5:00pm

 

 

Abstract: In this paper I explore the practice of wedding rituals and the processes of change over the twentieth century. I seek to do this ethnographically through a focus on a caste group called the Thiyyas, concentrated in North Kerala. The Thiyyas have a history of matrilineal kinship and have suffered caste discrimination, and hence the intertwined nature of caste, gender and matrilineal kinship frames this discussion about the multiple processes that have brought a mosaic like quality to wedding rituals. The processes of change I focus on are those brought about by Sree Narayana Guru at the beginning of the twentieth century and the role of cameramen and the imperatives of documenting a wedding at the end of the century.

 

Janaki Abraham is Professor at the Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University. Her areas of interest are gender, family and kinship, caste and gender, gender violence, visual cultures and urban sociology particularly the study of towns in India. She is the author of several articles published in books and journals and co-edited Critical Themes in Indian Sociology, 2019.

 

She has been the recipient of a fellowship at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship and a British Academy Visiting Fellowship. She was Book Reviews Editor for the Journal Contributions to Indian Sociology (2011 - 2016) and is currently Member of the Editorial Advisory Committee of the journal Explorations and a Journal of Urban Ethnography, Urbanities. Janaki Abraham was honorary Sree Narayana Guru Chair at MG University, Kottayam, Kerala (2021-22).

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.