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Planning for the M.Phil./Ph.D.
programme in Women’s Studies was taken forward
during 2008-09. A major step in this direction was
achieved by the official signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding with IGNOU between CWDS and the Vice
Chancellor of IGNOU in September 2008. The
Chairperson of CWDS, Director and faculty, Vice
Chancellor and Registrar of IGNOU, and faculty from
Schools of Social Sciences, Education, and Gender
and Development were present on the occasion. The
MoU establishes that the Joint Programme in M.Phil./Ph.D.
is to be prepared by CWDS and IGNOU in which the
face-to-face component will be the primary
responsibility of CWDS and the distance education
version will be in the hands of IGNOU faculty. The
degree will be given by IGNOU as per IGNOU Rules for
M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees. Considerable fluidity
and sharing is also envisaged in the pedagogic
process as IGNOU moves towards greater convergence
in its teaching methods and seeks to establish more
class room based teaching modules. The Vice
Chancellor emphasized the significance of the MoU
with CWDS, also being one of the first to be
prepared by IGNOU at the M.Phil./Ph.D. level.
The Women’s Studies
Department of IGNOU is now being housed with the
newly established School of Gender and Development.
The process of planning
various aspects of the course is fully underway. An
Expert Committee meeting drawing on women’s studies
scholars from different disciplines held a meeting
on November 24th 2008 to discuss and
ratify the broad structure of the M.Phil Programme:
It was agreed to adopt the following order of
courses for the Teaching Programme:
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1) |
History of Women’s and Gender Issues: An
Introduction |
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2) |
Concepts and Theories in Women’s Studies |
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3) |
Feminist Research Methodologies |
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4) |
Optional Topics in Women’s Studies |
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a) Topics in Gender, Sexuality,
Culture |
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b) Emerging Issues in Women’s
Studies: Term Papers |
Each course will be
prepared by individual Course Planning Committees.
The format of each course (broadly 8 Blocks with 4-5
Units per block, as per the IGNOU structure) would
consist of 1500-2000 word introduction/overviews for
each Unit, followed by a list of required and
supplementary readings. The scope of Course
Committee Meetings would include discussion and
finalization of topics, blocks and units, allowing
for some flexibility in the number and length of
blocks and units depending on the requirements of
the course.
The Course Planning
Committee for the Course “Concept and Theories in
Women’s Studies” was held on 23rd
February 2009. A course outline was agreed upon,
with the following broad block heads:
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i) |
Introducing Women’s Studies |
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ii) |
Some Key Concepts |
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iii) |
Political Economy, State and Citizenship |
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iv) |
Discrimination, Intersectionalities and
Group Identities |
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v) |
Women, Gender and the Family/Household |
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vi) |
Culture and Representation |
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vii) |
Interrogating
Feminisms |
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viii) |
Interrogating
Feminisms |
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ix) |
Concepts, Languages and Translation |
Subsequent Meetings have
been held for other courses, as well as to determine
methods of evaluation, in the months of April and
May 2009.
It is planned to offer
the direct Ph.D. from the year 2009-10, and this has
been suitably advertised. The full M.Phil./Ph.D.
programme with all the course materials in place
will be offered from 2010-11.
The existing Faculty of
CWDS in cooperation with IGNOU faculty and an expert
committee of women’s studies scholars from
Universities are developing the programme. CWDS
faculty involved include Indu Agnihotri, Renu
Addlakha, Neetha N., Karen Gabriel, Sreelekha Nair,
and Mary John. Programme Coordinators in IGNOU are
Prof. Anu Aneja and Prof. Debal Singha Roy.
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