Recasting Women: Essays in Colonial History
| Editors |
Kumkum Sangari Sudesh Vaid |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Anthology |
| Published | 1989 |
| Publisher | Kali for Women/Zubaan Books, Rutgers University Press |
| Pages | 372 first edition |
| ISBN | (1989) (1989) (1990) (1990) (1997) (2013) (Web) |
| OCLC | 364224922 |
| Website | https://zubaanbooks.com/shop/recasting-women-essays-in-colonial-history/ |
Recasting Women: Essays in Colonial History is a 1989 book, edited by Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid, published by Kali for Women in India and by the Rutgers University Press in the United States. The anthology attempts to explore the inter-relation of patriarchies with political economy, law, religion and culture and to suggest a different history of 'reform' movements, and of class and gender relations. This books is considered to be a landmark contribution by Indian feminist movement.
Any discussion on rewriting history from perspective of feminists would recognize that history writing is not innocent and transparent practice. It is a situated practice, which is mediated by historians. The social location of the historian (caste, gender, class), his/ her theoretical location and the present context which determines what is considered historical enough to be written. Doing feminist history is not a matter of choice.
According to Joan Scott Joan Wallach Scott, the history of women can be studied through three genres of history:
1. History of Inclusion- when the nature of history itself was not questioned. Women were added as women worthies. The early attempts of feminist history writing implied including the women worthies i.e. the women warriors or poets were highlighted to prove that if given space, women could act like men. History was unearthed to make women visible.
2. History of Contribution- In this genre, emphasis was on the fact that women were not only present in history but also participated in determining the course of history. For example, women’s contribution to revolutions or nationalist movements.
3. History of Oppression- It was argued that the image of ‘ideal’ woman reinstated women’s oppression. Women were recognized as a separate category of analysis in history. Although it created essentialized ahistorical category of women, it is contribution is establishing the fact that women had history.
The book Recasting Women, in using gender as category of analysis in their study of Colonial India, reworked our notions of social reform. The authors used women’s question as entry point to recast our understanding of social reform in colonial India. Thus, the book foregrounds a different kind of gender history. The authors have shown through their studies how the middle class, who spearheaded the social reform movement, was gendered. They have also argued how the public and private sphere was redrawn. Thus they have made clear distinction between gender as category of description and category of analysis. By doing so, they recognized women as a separate category of analysis in history.
...
Wikipedia