EVENTS

Abstract

This presentation attempts to look at the creation of ideas of ‘women as a gender’ in China. What is it to be a woman in China? How has the idea of being ‘women’ in China formed and changed over the years? The historical trajectory of Chinese women’s experience of living with their gender in a constantly changing political and socio-economic condition as well as the experience of global interconnectedness will be examined. It also throws light on Chinese women’s struggle for defining and redefining their idea of liberation and equality through their ‘work’ in terms of participation in social labour. 

About the Speaker

Usha Chandran completed MA in Chinese language and literature and pursued MPhil and PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University. The topics of her MPhil and PhD theses are ‘Status of Women in Marriage in Post-Mao China’ and ‘Paradox of Equality and Difference – Gender Discrimination at Work in Urban China: Analyzing Post-1949 Chinese Gender Discourse’. She did extensive survey of Chinese language sources on gender studies and carried out exclusive interviews and discussions with a few well-known gender scholars in China for her doctoral study. She has presented papers in International Conferences and published articles on topics related to Women’s issues in China, depiction of women in Lu Xun’s work, and women’s movement in India and China with a comparative perspective.