Browsing by Author "Samanta, Suchitra"
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- The Auto/biographical Narrative and Ethical Issues: Reflections on Three ProjectsSamanta, Suchitra (2021-04-21)This talk was part of a series organized by the program for Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance (SIRC) at Virginia Tech
- Education and Autonomy: Muslim Women as Effective Role Models in a Calcutta BastiSamanta, Suchitra (2006)
- Education and Women's 'Autonomy': An NGO's Efforts in a Calcutta BastiSamanta, Suchitra (2001)A community-based non-profit in a majority Muslim community in Kolkata, India, initiates several female education projects, Muslim girls' concepts of 'autonomy'
- GraceSamanta, Suchitra (2013)This short story involves the interaction of a beggar and a prostitute in the precincts of the Kalil temple in Kolkata, India.
- Immobility and 'Unfreedom': Dowry's Violence in the Lives of Poor Indian WomenSamanta, Suchitra (2009)The paper discusses the traditional Hindu custom of dowry in its modern manifestations, with a focus on case study in Calcutta. Dowry, once a custom of Hindu upper castes of India, has, especially since Independence (1947), become pervasive across all castes, classes and religious minorities today. In a cultural context where men are traditionally held in higher esteem than women, dowry (in cash, gold, and in kind) given by the bride's family to the groom’s, finds a pernicious niche in "modern" India. Where existing scholarship discusses the ongoing murder of young brides for dowry, there is little that comments on the violence that this custom perpetrates in terms of ill health, exhaustion, the threat of sexual violence, and mental anguish in the lives of poor women. Often single parents, these women work at menial jobs to pay for rent, and family expenses, as well as dowry for a daughter. The abuse of dowry has exacerbated the increasingly female face of poverty in India, and has added to the violence of poverty itself in women’s lives. Where nationalist and political rhetoric promotes mobility for its citizens, poor middle-aged women are effectively immobilized by having pay dowry, and "violated" economically, in health, and in hope.
- An Interpretive Auto/Biographical Reading of Studio-Posed Photographs: Telling my Mother's Life in Colonial and Post-colonial IndiaSamanta, Suchitra (2016)In this essay, I "tell" my mother's life through photographs of her, specifically those taken in studios, but as more than a chronological life story. I intend to rediscover the person that she was, or was not, but chose to present. A deeply personal as well as feminist sensibility inspires this essay, to give voice and substance to a long silence. As colonial India approached independence, Ma successfully availed of opportunities for women to study medicine… I draw from historical research on photography and on British initiatives to train Indian women in medicine, as well as other "texts," to offer context and dimension to my reading of the photographs. I conclude with other possible narratives (cultural, religious, and philosophical) that contribute to my endeavors, a half century after her death.
- Making Visible Asians and Asian-Americans in Introductory Women's Studies Courses: the Personal Voice in Pedagogy, Making Feminist Connections across DiversitySamanta, Suchitra (2015)The introductory course in women’s and gender studies (IWGS) first introduces centers, and problematizes the concept of gender and sexuality to undergraduate students, and at a depth not offered in other disciplines. It requires a political and critical approach to rethinking our place in society across the gender spectrum as this intersects with diversity by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, ability, class (and more), and the power relations implicated within and between these dimensions of identity. Such a course needs to be flexible and continuously redefined in theory, content, and pedagogy to continue to be relevant to the academic endeavor as well as to the (broadly defined) feminist one. Flexibility is important not only in principle, but also as a pragmatic strategy, where this course draws majors and minors to WGS, and concomitant institutional and financial support. In principle, as well as strategy, including and highlighting diversity variously serves to sustain WGS programs in general. In this context, my article suggests a need for greater visibility for Asians and Asian Americans in IWGS courses, in choice of text, and in effective pedagogy. This fast-growing, vastly diverse minority in the US needs to find a greater voice—in terms of students' awareness of how its issues intersect with issues of gender in an increasingly multiracial, multiethnic American society. Although the introductory course first addresses various forms of intersectionality to students, I have found, at least at primarily white institutions such as Virginia Tech, where I teach, that a largely black-and-white model defines students’ understanding of racial and ethnic difference.
- Racialization of Muslim-American Women in Public and Private Spaces: An Analysis of their Racialized Identity and Strategies of ResistanceIslam, Inaash (Virginia Tech, 2017-05-15)The aim of this research project is to investigate how Muslim-American undergraduate women experience racialization in public and private spaces, examine whether those experiences give rise to a racialized identity, and highlight how they resist and cope with their racialization. The recent application of the term racialization to discuss the Muslim experience in the west has encouraged scholars such as Leon Moosavi, Saher Selod, Mythili Rajiva, Ming H. Chen and others, to engage in critical discourse within the scholarship of race and ethnicity regarding this often-neglected population. It is due to the unique, and gendered relationship that the female Muslim-American population has with the United States, particularly as a result of 9/11 and the label of 'oppressed' being imposed upon them, that it is important to comprehend how specifically Muslim-American women experience racialization. While these studies have broadened the understanding of how Muslims are, and continue to be othered, few studies have focused on the specific areas within public and private spaces where this marginalized group is racialized. This study attempts to fill this gap in existing research by examining how peers, mass media, educational institutions, law enforcement, family, and religious communities racialize Muslim-American women, and how these gendered experiences shape their racialized sense of self. In doing so, it also examines the impact of religious, racial, ethnic and cultural signifiers on the female Muslim-American experience of racialization, and demonstrates how these women employ certain strategies of resistance and coping mechanisms to deal with their racialization.
- Radical feminist empathy: reflections on our life-stories, our right to an education, to staying the courseSamanta, Suchitra (2021-03-03)This talk was my contribution to a TEDxVT two hour event featuring speakers across diversity on the topic of empathy, education, and perseverance
- The Return: Understanding why Black Women Choose to "Go Natural"Thompson, Joy Janetta (Virginia Tech, 2018-06-08)The purpose of this study is to analyze and understand why some Black women in Greensboro, North Carolina have made the decision to wear their hair naturally, in its original kinky, curly, non-straightened form. I’ve chosen this topic because “in our society, long straight hair has generally been considered the gold standard for attractiveness” (Rosette & Dumas, 2007, p. 410) and by deviating from that gold standard, Black women are affected, personally and politically. In my perspective, it is important to understand why a woman would opt to make this choice, knowing the potential backlash she faces (i.e. losing her job, rejection in a romantic relationship, or school suspension). To facilitate this purpose, the guiding research inquiries included 10 questions about the woman’s hair journey, at different stages of her life: before perming, while perming, and going natural. In speaking with 10 women from three different generations, I found that the process of going natural is at once complex and simple, is simultaneously gradual and instant, both terrifying and liberating. Ultimately, I learned that even though various factors play a part in this process, “going natural” is a decision mostly directed and determined by the woman standing in the mirror.
- The 'Self-Animal' and Divine Digestion: Goat Sacrifice to the Goddess Kali in BengalSamanta, Suchitra (1994)My paper explores the cultural meaning and central logic of the gift-offering of goats, pathabali. I elicit this meaning from the incantations in the rite of bali itself, my own observations on ritual action that follows it, as well as from myth and exegetical commentary. I propose that a specific and indigenous concept of the Hindu self, in relation to the divine, is central to understanding bali. My proposition is based on the premise that the Hindu conception of deity as Sakti is essentially different from that of Judea-Christian divinity. Where in the Western tradition God and man are perceived as two separate entities, the distinctions between sacrifier and Sakri are, as I will show, ambiguous. The meaning of sacrifice to Sakti has less to do with the personality of God than with the act itself, that which represents the relationship between divinity and sacrifier. Crucially, such an act involves the intent, the “self” of the sacrifier. Act, intent, and self are defined within a unique cultural configuration that bali, in act and exegesis, involves. Such an approach offers a different perspective from that of previous theories of sacrifice in anthropology, which drew largely from the Judea-Christian tradition (see also Das 1983; Hayley 1980; de Heusch 1985). I support my argument by presenting and discussing a theme that is dominant in the different types of discourse related to bali. This theme suggests a homology between the 'self' (jiva) of the sacrifier and the sacrificial animal (pasu), and the "consumption" of the "self-animal" by the goddess over many lifetimes until it achieves union with divinity and liberation (moksa).
- "Thank you for today" (poetry)Samanta, Suchitra (2021-06)
- The Unsafe Home: An Analysis of Reported Domestic Violence in IndiaRaj, Anamika (Virginia Tech, 2019-07-30)Violence against women has been acknowledged both nationally and internationally as a violation of women's basic human rights, an issue which weakens the overall development of women globally. India enacted the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act in 2005 in order to address the issue of domestic violence. This work examines the impact of the law and women's education and economic status on reported cases of dowry deaths and cruelty by husband and his relatives in 28 states of India between the years 2001 to 2016. My study hypothesizes that the states' female literacy rate and female workforce participation are negatively associated with the rate of reported cases of dowry deaths and cruelty by husband and his relatives. This study supports the ameliorative hypothesis that higher literacy rates and advanced economic and political status help reduce the victimization of women. Also, variations are seen among the 28 states for the cases of reported dowry death rates and cruelty by husband and his relatives' rates, suggesting that rates of dowry death are significantly higher in the eastern region and rates of cruelty by husband and his relatives are significantly higher in the south and the west (compared to the north).
- The Vernacular of Whiteness: The Racial Position of Asian and Asian Americans in Upholding the U.S. as a White Supremacist EmpireKim, Joong Won (Virginia Tech, 2022-08-10)Given the extensive literature and findings on contemporary racial dynamics, analysts have yet to fully theorize a critical perspective on the role that Asian and Asian Americans play as transnational racial actors in upholding the dominant racial ideology today; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). This is central to the global, transnational racial order that structures a racially affective economy of language use. Such racially affective economy extends to other facets culture, particularly the reception of Hallyu. This dissertation is a qualitative study spanning approximately three (3) years of participant observation across multiple sites incorporating open-ended interviews with Asian and Asian Americans at a historically and predominantly white university in the Southeastern United States. This study also utilizes autoethnographic reflections and archival materials in conjunction with participant observation and interview data. Through approaching every aspect of the qualitative design in this study as a participant myself, such as ethnographic participant observation, open-ended interviews, autoethnography, and archival materials, I locate and explore how Asian and Asian Americans reproduce their racial position in the hierarchy by the reification of the racial category, "honorary white" (i.e., wedge between Black and white). The racial apathy intertwined with the imperial modality observed in this dissertation is indispensable to the global construction of race. This dissertation critically engages and interrogates how DEI initiative aimed at Asian Americans at Southern University (pseudonym) works in tandem with the nation-state, effectively producing and matriculating bicultural and transnational racial actors while taking advantage of the racialized laborers in DEI. This dissertation brings together three (3) analytic points of exploratory findings from Asian and Asian American students, staff, and faculty at SU in illustrating some of the key reasons why white supremacy reigns despite the higher visibility of Asian popular culture (i.e., Hallyu) and institutional emphasis on DEI.
- Visible Muslims, Political Beings: The Racialized and Gendered Contours of a Digitally-Mediated Muslim WomanhoodIslam, Inaash (Virginia Tech, 2021-06-08)The purpose of this project is to examine how contemporary contexts of Islamophobia contribute to shaping notions and performances of Muslim womanhood. I center Muslim female social media influencers in my analysis and examine how they perform and (re)define Muslim womanhood through fashion, aesthetic labor, the hijab, and modest embodiment practices online. The specific research question that undergirds this project is, "How do contexts and discourses of Islamophobia contribute to shaping notions and performances of Muslim womanhood?" My data is derived from interviews with Muslimah social media influencers in the US, UK, and Canada; a survey with their social media followers, and a content analysis of their photo and video posts on Instagram and YouTube. Findings suggest that racialized and gendered expectations of Muslim womanhood emerge on the one hand, from the western non-Muslim community's racialized perceptions and understandings of Muslim women and Islam, and on the other, from the western Muslim community's reaction to its racialization in the global war on terror. The result of these expectations is the imposition of representational and moral responsibilities on Muslim women, who are regarded as visible and public representations of the Muslim community and of Islam as a faith. Findings also suggest that in response to the burden of these expectations, Muslim women exercise their agency to mobilize Islamic feminisms to their advantage in order to negotiate with, resist, and critique western Muslim and non-Muslim expectations of modesty, piety, empowerment, and the hijab. Consequently, Muslimah influencers are forcing western Muslim and non-Muslim communities to reevaluate their expectations of who fits within the category the 'Muslim Woman' while also opening up a discursive space for the possibility of new formulations and conceptualizations of Muslim womanhood that are more aligned with egalitarian Islamic feminist interpretations of Muslimah ways of living and being.
- The 'War on Terror' and Withdrawing American Charity: Some Consequences for Poor Muslim Women in Kolkata, IndiaSamanta, Suchitra (2004)My paper discusses the apparent consequences of the American "war on terror" for a private American donor agency working in a largely Muslim slum area in Kolkata, and for the women who live there.
- Young Moroccans Navigating Family, School and Work: Exploring Agency in contexts of Neoliberalism and ColonialityBerrada, Nada (Virginia Tech, 2021-01-14)Middle East and North African (MENA) nations, including Morocco, are witnessing the largest cohort of young people in their history, which today makes up roughly one-third of their total populations. Influenced by the democracy uprisings in 2011, state, media, and international organization discourses on youth in the Middle East and North Africa have solidified in two directions. One perspective presents the group as a threat to the security and fabric of their nations, potential purveyors of delinquency and extremism, in states of "waithood." The other view, a variant of which is explored here, considers the cohort as a group that constitutes an untapped potential and hope for addressing the ills and flaws of their societies. This accounting depicts Moroccan and MENA youth as passive victims of circumstances while also assuming their abilities to address their life circumstances without considering the complex contexts they confront. While those structural realities are surely real and sometimes paralyzing, youth can and do deploy several tactics, strategies and subversive accommodation to address the conditions they confront. That is, they continuously navigate liminal spaces created as they seek to move from "where they are" to "where they wish to be." This dissertation explores how a sample of young men and women from underprivileged neighborhoods in Morocco exercised their agency in their everyday lives. Addressing their family, education and work, this study draws on the findings from 30 semi- structured interviews focusing on the challenges and agential potentials of young individuals from underprivileged neighborhoods in Casablanca, Morocco, as they described their everyday paths to coming of age in their society. To contextualize their journeys, I present how young people have historically demonstrated individual and collective agency in ways that helped shape Moroccan modern history. I then employ the concepts of bounded agency, liminal space, tactics, strategies and subversive accommodation to demonstrate how young individuals navigated their everyday lives within their families, as well as educational and work trajectories. I argue that young people are not simply passive; they indeed exercise strategies and tactics to navigate and negotiate their daily lives. However, they do so in bounded or limited conditions as they address colonial legacies of social inequality compounded by demographic realities and neoliberal policies that have deepened those conditions. This study challenges mainstream conceptions of youth agency as empowerment, resistance and freedom and instead suggests that the agency of youth as well as their everyday aspirations and struggles need to be contextualized based on the social and material conditions in which they live. Their agency is real, but so too are the structurally difficult and limiting social, political and economic conditions they confront.