Social changes and Gender in South Asia

该工作组取得的主要成果如下：1.在批评现有史学以及分析印度出版的妇女期刊的内容时，研究表明：(1)最近南亚性别研究中的一个显著趋势，即对妇女作为印度国家地位象征的形象进行话语分析，导致对现实生活中的性别关系的分析被忽视；(2)“中产阶级”的性质发生了巨大变化，独立后重建了理想的家庭主妇。关于最近在家庭结构和性别关系方面的变化，已经证实，生活方式和信息全球化的进步并不一定立即带来性别意识形态的西化，但它不仅为印度妇女创造了一个新的模式，而且还创造了一个家庭模式作为一种“文化模式”。由于该工作组在与家庭/性别关系有关的各个领域进行了实证研究，亚洲国家家庭/性别研究中普遍持有的前提是从传统向现代过渡的普遍理解可能会受到有效质疑。同时，这些研究将能够通过考察家庭/性别关系的变化方面，为探索现代性的另一种轨迹提供基础。

The main results produced by this working group are as follows.1. While criticizing existent historiography as well as analyzing the contents of women's journals published in India, it has been shown that (1) a marked trend in recent gender studies in South Asia, that is, discursive analysis of the image of woman as a symbol of Indian nationhood, has led to the neglect of the analysis of gender relations in real lives, and that (2) there have been drastic changes in the nature of the "middle class" and the re-construction of an ideal housewife after Independence.2. Regarding recent transformations in the family structures as well as in the gender relations, it has been confirmed that the progress of globalization in the life style and information does not necessarily bring about an immediate westernization in the gender ideology, but that it creates not only a new model for Indian women but also a family model as a "cultural model".3. As a result of empirical researches pursued in various fields concerned with family/gender relations by this working group, the general understanding commonly held in the family/gender studies in Asian countries, which presupposes a transition from tradition to modernity, could be effectively contested. At the same time, these researches will be able to provide a foundation for exploring an alternative trajectory of modernity through examining the changing aspects of family/gender relations.