ISHQ: A Talk by Prof. Sanjay Srivastava

A talk delivered by Prof. Sanjay Srivastava as part of CSGS's speaker's series, ISHQ: Issues in Society, History, and Queerness on November 15, 2017 at Ashoka campus.
Title: 'Natives, Citizens, Consumers: On the Cultures of Masculinities, Sexualities, and Modernity'

Abstract: This talk explores recent histories of masculine cultures in India. The discussion proceeds through outlining some specific sites where discourses of masculinities and sexualities have been produced, taking for granted the inextricable link between the two topics.Working its way through the colonial, the immediate post-colonial as well as the contemporary period, the talk ends with a discussion of 'Modi-masculinity'.Through tracking narratives of Indian modernity that draw upon diverse contexts -- colonial discourses about natives, "nationalist" sexology and post-colonial discourses of economic planning, 'liberalization" and consumerism -- the talk explores the multiple locations of masculinities and sexualities. Further, the exploration of relationships between economic, political and social contexts also seeks to blur the boundaries between them, thereby initiating a methodological dialogue regarding the study of gender and sexualities.

Sanjay Srivastava is Professor of Sociology at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi University North Campus.