Open Class Felicity Hand
On June 6th, Dr. Felicity Hand delivered an open lecture in room 114 entitled Reading the Body in Indian Crime Writing. From the Ramayan to Aunt Lalli as her last class before retirement.
The class was a round-up session of the subject Gender Studies in English in which understandings of femininity and masculinity in India and Africa were contrasted with Western notions of these categories. Felicity began the session with a brief overview of the two Sanskrit epics Mahabharat and Ramayan which still resonate strongly with Indian audiences even today. She looked at some examples of contemporary Indian crime writing in which female sleuths – including a retired police officer and a social worker - take centre stage. Excerpts from these novels were interspersed with theoretical articles about understanding the role of women in Indian crime writing and which offer strategies for reading how women’s bodies are represented. Felicity referred specifically to one of the novels that the students had analysed during the semester, Anita Nair’s A Cut-Like Wound, which has the added point of interest for the subject as it deals with the hijra community, the so-called third gender. The students responded with acute observations about these issues.