Social changes and Gender in South Asia

该工作组取得的主要成果如下。通过对现存史学的批判和对印度妇女期刊内容的分析，可以看出：（1）南亚近年来的性别研究中存在着一种明显的倾向，即把妇女形象作为印度民族的象征进行论述性分析，而忽视了对真实的生活中性别关系的分析;二、独立后“中产阶级”的性质发生了巨大变化，理想家庭主妇的重新建构。关于最近家庭结构和性别关系的变化，已经证实，生活方式和信息全球化的进步不一定会立即导致性别意识形态的西化，但它不仅为印度妇女创造了一种新的模式，而且也创造了一种作为“文化模式”的家庭模式。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，亚洲国家在家庭/性别研究中普遍持有的普遍理解，即从传统向现代过渡，可能会受到有效质疑。与此同时，这些研究将能够通过审查家庭/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.