FROM SMALL BEGINNINGS...
India's Eugenic Pasts, Presents and Futures
30th July and 9th August
India’s Eugenic Pasts (Friday, July 30, 2021, 9-11 am EST)
The first panel taking up India’s eugenic histories would touch upon a range of questions, including those related to colonial eugenic projects, eugenics as a site of contestation between colonialism and nationalism, pro-natalist projects pre-independence, birth control movements in India and their connections to international movements for birth control, the links between eugenics and population control policies, the rhetoric of overpopulation in India and globally, eugenics during the Emergency, and other topics.
Panellists...
Betsy Hartman (Hampshire College)
Sanjam Ahluwalia (Northern Arizona University)
Mohan Rao (Jawaharlal Nehru University)
Sarah Hodges (University of Warwick)
Sharmila Rudrappa (UT College of Liberal Arts)
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India’s Eugenic Presents and Futures (Monday, August 9, 2021, 9-11 am EST)
The second panel will focus on the contemporary resonances and expressions of eugenics, and will take up matters such as new reproductive technologies, transnational surrogacy, the links between eugenics and Hindu nationalism, eugenics and the climate crisis, the eugenic rhetoric within the current Covid-19 crisis, and other topics.
Panellists...
N. Sarojini (Sama Resource Group for Women and Health)
Anindita Majumdar (Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad)
Anita Ghai (Ambedkar University)
Amrita Pande (University of Cape Town)
Harleen Singh (Brandeis University)
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The Indian reflection will consist of two panels in summer/fall 2021. One would focus on the varied histories and legacies of eugenics in India, while the other would take up the continued legacies and contemporary manifestations of eugenics in the current moment. In constituting these discussions, we hope to bring together scholars, teachers, and activists within India and elsewhere, and will do our best to schedule the webinars in a time slot that will allow for participation from as many time-zones as possible. We anticipate possibly putting together a collection of essays from these discussions.
Organisers:
Asha Nadkarni (University of Massachusetts) and Banu Subramaniam (University of Massachusetts)