ABSTRACT

The Introduction to the volume contextualizes this project in the history of the discipline of sociology. Using the oldest department of University of Mumbai as a case in point, the essays draw attention to the invisibilization and marginalization not only of women in sociology but also of possible feminist interpretations of sociological phenomena. More generally, it suggests that (a) the small numbers of women, (b) the systemic marginalization and erasure of their work in and through the making of male legacies and (c) the general disabling experience of women sociologists were not features unique to the Mumbai department but were prevalent across the country. Further, the Introduction situates the volume as a continuation of the work of Sharmila Rege and her feminist sociologies that centralize intersectionality as a core category in feminist sociologies. With a particular focus on pedagogy and mentoring, the Introduction argues that the intersections in feminist and sociological pedagogy can further critical pedagogies in both constituencies. Dividing the essays in the volume into the three thematic areas of science and health environment, gender, masculinity and sexuality and law and the question of consent/desire, the Introduction suggests ways in which these areas have been altered by critical feminist perspectives. The Introduction ends with addressing some important conundrums in the making of a feminist sociology in India. It argues against the making of legacies but urges for the naming of feminism in sociology.