Dr. (Mrs.) VIJAYA RAMASWAMY
Professor
Centre
for Historical Studies,
School of Social Sciences, JNU.
Phone:- 2670 4473
Residence Address: 1468, Purvanchal, JNU Campus, Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi - 110067
Phone:(Residence)91-11-2618
4487 91-11-26185479
Email
biyarangu@yahoo.com
vijukrishnan@gmail.com
ACADEMIC/RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Multiple areas of specialisation which are as follows:
Socio-Economic History of South India
This continues to be a major area of academic and research interest beginning from the publication of my first book: Textiles and Weavers in Medieval South India from Oxford University Press in 1985.
The following courses on economic history have been designed and taught by me at JNU:
Course taught:
Economic History of Ancient India, Compulsory Course
New Courses Introduced:
Economic History of Ancient to Medieval South India as optional course at the M.A. level
Thematic History of Economy in Pre-Medieval South India as Seminar Course for students of M.A. final
Economic Issues in the History of Ancient and Early Medieval South India as M.Phil Seminar Course
Economic History of Ancient to Medieval South India as M.Phil lecture course.
The broad focus of these courses is problematisation of leading issues in the economic history of South India to enable in-depth research at the M.Phil and Ph.D stages. The courses seek to redress gender imbalances in the study of major themes/issues in South Indian economic history. The course provides a certain degree of flexibility to enable interested students from other centres to participate in the course.
Religion and Society:
For the last fifteen years many of my major publications have been in the area of ‘Religion and Society’ with special reference to South India. This includes two books published by Oxford University Press (Divinity and Deviance: Women in Virasaivism,1996) and The Indian Institute of Advanced Study (Walking Naked: Women, Society, Spirituality in South India, 1997).
I continue to publish in this area of specialisation as well as guide research.
Folk Lore:
I have published articles in national and international journals using ballads, folk songs and tales as the basis for studying social history especially of women. The most recent publication in this field is '‘The Taming of Alli’ in ATLANTIS , the leading Canadian Journal of Women’s Studies, vol 27, 2002.
Women’s Studies
Have been involved in research in the sphere of women’s studies resulting in several publications over the years including my book: Re-searching Indian Women (Manohar Publishers, 2003.).
I also act as resource persons for departments/universities specialising in women’s studies. The most recent is the conduct of a full day’s workshop at the Women’s Studies Centre of Pune University on September Twelfth, 2002.
RESEARCH / SELECT PUBLICATIONS
BOOKS:
1985 Textiles and Weavers in Medieval South India, Oxford University Press
1986 2006, Textiles and Weavers in Medieval South India, Second Edition, Oxford University Press.
1996 Divinity and Deviance: Women in Virasaivism, Oxford University Press
Walking Naked, Women, Society, Spirituality in South India, The Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla.
2007 Walking Naked, Women, Society, Spirituality in South India, Second enlarged and revised edition, The Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla.
2003 Re-searching Indian Women, Manohar Publications, New Delhi.
Historical Dictionary of the Tamils.: Forthcoming from Scarecrow Press, New York
ARTICLES:
‘Visvakarma Craftsmen in Early Medieval Peninsular India’, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol.47, part 4, 2004.
The Taming of Alli in the Canadian Women’s Studies Journal of Mount St.Vincent University, ATLANTIS, VOL.27, 2002
Interactions and Encounters: Indian Looms and Crafts Traditions Abroad - A South Indian Perspective in A. Rahman ed. India's Interaction with China West Asia and Central Asia, OUP, 2002.
Alien Weaves: Impact of Globalisation and Consumerism on Indian Weavers - IIC Quarterly, Monsoon Issue, 2002.
Crafts Through History: A Historical Overview of Indian Craft Traditions in SEMINAR Special Issue on ‘Celebrating Crafts’, 23rd March,2003
Women Saints in Medieval Indian Society in A.Rahman edited History of Indian Science, Technology and Culture:A.D.1000-1800, Oxford University Press, 2002.
Tamil Separatism and Cultural Negotiations: Gender Politics and Literature in Tamilnadu in Social Scientist, vol.27, Nos 5-6, May-June 1998.
‘Women and the Domestic in Tamil Folk Songs’, Man in India, Vol.74 No. 1, 1994
‘Metallurgy and Traditional Metal Crafts in Tamil Nadu’, Indian Journal of History of Science, 29 (3), 1994
Rebels-Conformists? “Women Saints in Medieval South India”, Anthropos, (published from Germany) March 1992
‘Artisans in Vijayanagar Society’, The Indian Economic and Social History Review, Vol. XXII No.4, 1985
‘Genesis and Historical Role of Master Weavers in South Indian Textile Production’, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. XXVIII, 1985
EDUCATION
1981 Ph.D from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on "Weaving Communities of Medieval South India-A Socio- Economic Survey"
1978 M.Phil from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on " Weavers of the Kanchipuram Region-circa 700 to 1700 A.D." First A (8 points on a 10 point scale)
1974 M.A. (History),with specialisation in Medieval Indian History,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi First A Minus (7.4 on a 10 Point scale)1972 B.A. (Hons) History, Delhi University Second Division-57% (III rd Rank in Delhi University)
1969 Higher Secondary, Delhi Board of Secondary Education First Division -64%
CAREER PROFILE
1974-76 Lecturer in History at Kirori Mal College, Delhi University
1976-85 Lecturer in History, Gargi College, Delhi University
1985-98 Reader in History, Gargi College, Delhi University
1998-99 Reader in History, Dept of History, Delhi University
1999-2001 UGC Research Awardee, Dept of History, Delhi University
2002 Associate professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
2004 to date Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Academic Outreach
Resource Person for the past six years for the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy, Musoorie.
Resource person for the Indian Institute of Publication Administration.
As Indo-Shastri Fellow delivered lectures at Ottawa, Association of Religious Studies; University of York and the University of Toronto.
Presented a paper on the theme of ‘Terror and Tranquility’ in the International Conference at Montreal, Canada on ‘World Religions after September Eleventh, September 11-15, 2006.
AWARDS and HONOURS
2001 Prof. Hiralal Gupta Research Award for the Best Book by a Woman Historian for the years 1996-2001, given by the Indian History Congress, Bhopal
1999 Three-year UGC RESEARCH AWARD for Social Scientists on "Tamil Women from the Underside of History-In Search of a New Paradigm", tenable at University of Delhi.
1998 Indo-Shastri Canadian Fellowship tenable at York University, Toronto, Canada.
1992-95 Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla.
1989 Project for the Indian Council of Historical Research on Crafts and Craft-Persons in South Indian History.
1988-89 Fulbright Fellowship to the United States tenable at University of California, Berkeley, USA.
1985-87 Government of India Project sanctioned by the Ministry of Commerce, (later Ministry of Textiles) on Weaver Folk Traditions In South India.
1981 Award of the British Council under the 'Exchange of Young Social Scientists Scheme tenable at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.