Voices from the Waters 2013, 8th International Travelling Film Festival on Water

The Department of Sociology, Christ University, will be screening films as part of Voices from the Waters 2013 8th International Travelling Film Festival on Water. 

Given below is the schedule for the screenings at the two venues. These films will be screened on August 29, 30 and 31. Please contact the Department of Sociology for further details at (080) 4012 9436/9068

Venue 1, Room 105, Central Block

Day	Time	Schedule
Thursday	9 to 10am	Inauguration + Wetlands: Sponges of the earth(26min)+ Discussion
	10 to 12pm	Holy Water(1:21:59) + Discussion
	12 to 1pm	86 centimeters(40min) + Discussion(15mins)
	1 to 2 pm	Break
	2 pm to 2.30 pm	A changing delta(25:39)+discussion
	2.30 to 3pm	Kochuripana(25:28) + discussion
	3 to 4pm	Life and Freedom(47:48) + Discussion
Friday	9 am to 10 am	The sea in me(59:52) + Discussion
	10 to 11am	Bagalkot saga(23.36) +10 Paisa(9:46) +  Discussion
	11 to 12pm	The whistle blowers(45min) + Discussion
	12 to 1pm	Kumen Kohan(39.07)+ Bhoot bant(3:27)  + Discussion
	1 to 2 pm	Break
	2 pm to 2.30 pm	Valakanuikal(15:37) + Discussion
	2.30 to 3pm	The king's River(14:39) + Discusion
	3 to 4pm	Tim Bakti(35:43) + Discussion
Saturday	9 to 10am	Remains of a river(47min) + Discussion
	10 to 11am	Anna,Emma and the condors(20:19) + Nile Perch(16:46) + Discussion
	11.05 to 12pm	I whish I went to feuodor(34:52) + Discussion
	12 to 1pm	Entry for voices from the water(12:11) + The thirsty crow(7:1) + Notoilri no bedi(5:22) + Discussion

Venue 2, Room 101, Central Block

Day	Time	Schedule
Thursday	10 to 12pm	Smoking Fish(1:20:55)+ Discussion +  Discussion
	12 to 1pm	Remains of a river(47min) + Ganga at risk(2:43) + Discussion
	1 to 2.30pm	Break
	2.30 to 3pm	Rain forest waters of cascadia(3:39) + Pyaasi(4:8) + discussion
	3 to 4pm	I whish I went to feuodor(34:52) + A can of water risky(4:26) + Discussion
Friday	10 to 11am	A changing delta(25:39)+Embedded water (6:10)  + Discussion
	11 to 1pm	Life/death(1:03:32) + Discussion +Out in the open(9:32)  + Discussion
	1 to 2.30pm	Break
	2.30 to 3pm	Water harvesters of the western ghats(12.56) + The plentifulness paradox(5:34)+  Discussion
	3 to 4pm	Save our water(4:08 )+Change for the better(3:43) + Nanku air ajj(12:50)+Discussion
Saturday	10 to 11am	Water and natural resources(56:52)
	11 to 12pm	86 centemeters(40min) + Patangi(2:45)+ Discussion
	12 to 1pm	Little Hands(6.56) + Meghnadi(11:42) + Democracy +Discussion

SAMBANDH 2013

	EVENT	DETAILS RESULTS DECLARED	DEADLINE/ DATE
1	Newsletter	Each team may comprise of a maximum of 5 and a minimum of 3 members. The newsletters have to be submitted to the department on the date specified The newsletter must contain: 1 original photo and 2 original articles. The news will cover events occurring in Bangalore, India and the world, from the day’s paper; at least 1 article in the business section, sports section and entertainment section; title, classifieds, advertisements, cartoons must be included in the draft. The theme for the festival, 'Water cooperation' should be reflected. Submit entries to Maya M /Suparna Kar  PRIZE First: I EPS Trisanki saikia Ayushi Mehta Ankita Baruah Annanya Bhuyan	August 20
2	Creative Writing	Individual Event: Submission of essay, poem, story, comic strip Venue: 101/105  PRIZE Essay: JS Chaithraa, II PSEco Poem: Elizabeth Shaji, II PSEco Comic Strip: Roshni Kurien, II PSEco	August 14 12 noon
3	Photography	Individual Event 3 – 6 photographs should be stuck on to a single chart paper with captions These charts have to be submitted to the Department by the date specified Theme: Water Submit entries to Maya M /Suparna Kar  PRIZE First: Anumathi G Malak, II PSEco  Second: Isha, I EPS	August 19
4	Quiz	Teams of 2 Rounds: Current Affairs, World of Sociology, Audio Visual, Rapid Fire and others Venue for Prelims:C101/C105 Venue for Final Quiz: Sky View Team 1: I EPS, Saagar and Tasneem  FIRST PRIZE   Team 2: III PSEco, Brinda and Prajwal Team 3: II PSEng, Sajan and Bishal Team 4: I EPS, Puneeth and Nikhil  SECOND PRIZE   Team 5: II PSEng, Shruthi and Akhila	Prelims August 14 Finals August 21

Debate on the Reservation System prevalent today in Educational Institutions

On 20^th July 2013, a debate was conducted by the Department of Sociology, the topic being “The Reservation System prevalent today in Educational Institutions”. There were four students debating this topic, two of whom were for the motion and two, against. The topic demanded opinions on whether or not the current Reservation system in the Indian society should continue to function.

The major aspects which were covered by those going for the motion were mainly regarding how this system gave the backward classes a fair chance of competing with those who belonged to relatively wealthy families. The speakers went on to talk about the Indian society being a highly stratified one and how there was a requirement of making the economically poor, backward classes of our society aware of the rules, policies, etc. as relevant to reservation. However, they further went on to mention about the need to regulate the reservation policies which rose eyebrows in the audience as it was felt that this aspect of regulation did not justify the speaker’s stance of speaking for the topic.

On the other hand, those going against the topic, disagreeing with the above mentioned points put forth their views arguing that the people belonging to the General Quota were deprived of the seats due to the concept of reservation. The strongly believed that due to corruption, the creamy layer of the They dwelled on the history of reservation policy making a mention of the basic aim for which this system was formed in the first place. They further spoke about how the politicians took advantage of this system to gain more votes giving an example of Tamil Nadu where the percentage of reservation has gone upto 69%, their point being that the reservation should be proportionate to the population.

The audience also took active part and one of the points that emerged was that by encouraging reservation the backward classes in a way were further being marginalized, making them feel inferior. Another suggestion that came about was the idea of introducing reservation in schools and in primary phases of education rather than in higher education institutions like colleges and universities.

Suggestions were varied and in plenty but it was obvious that the current system needs to be improved upon.

Film Club July 2013

The second meeting of the Film Club of the Department of Sociology was held on July 31, 2013. It was conducted by the students of M.A Applied Sociology. The resource person for this session was Amutha Manavalan, Assistant Professor with the Department of Media Studies, Christ University. Ms. Manavalan has done her Post Graduation in Communication from Bangalore University. She is an amateur film maker, who came with the intention of providing tips and techniques on Film making. The session was attended by two faculty members of the Sociology Department; Maya Mohan and Sudhansubala Sahu.

The welcome speech was given by Namrata Paul where she gave a brief background about the speaker. The intention of the talk was to provide quick steps of Script Writing. During the session, the speaker screened four documentaries; Buoyants, the Black Hole, Embrace Life and World’s best 1 minute movie. Every documentary emphasized different aspects of life which often go unnoticed. Issues like Refugee Camps, importance of seatbelts and the Human’s undying greed are some of the areas which were projected through these short films.

The audience was quite interactive and clarified their doubts. This session helped us in viewing different key points which needs to be in consideration while making a Short Film and emphasising on the “Sole Purpose” behind making a movie.

Report by

Margaret Johnson

'Deviant Heroes': A talk by Dr Brian Wolf

DEVIANT HEROES: NON-CONFORMISTS AS AGENTS OF JUSTICE AND SOCIAL CHANGE

A talk by Prof. Brian Wolf

In everyday understanding, human beings associate deviance with something that is not the usual form of functioning or act of behavior. Thus anything that goes against this usual way is considered to be bad or detrimental to the society. In various contexts, rules and instruments of social control can represent an unjust and oppressive social force. 

On Wednesday, July 17 2013,we welcomed Prof. Brian Wolf, from the University of Idaho, Moscow, who helped us to understand this from a different perspective through his article on “Deviant Heroes” as agents of justice and social change. In his article he holds that deviant heroes are those who violate the existing unjust rules and norms and face the repercussions of social control, even as they simultaneously effect positive change. They bring about such changes in their own way. 

This session has been very interactive. It began with the definition of what deviance and its ways are. Students participated by stating their own views, and Prof Wolf elaborated further. There were also examples given with comparisons on how deviance and its understanding differ depending upon one’s culture. There are, for example, differences in the Indian and USA ways of considering an act to be deviant. He also laid emphasis upon the classical ways of understanding deviance by Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Socrates.

There were instances of real life deviant heroes who fought and struggled against the firm norms and rules which were harmful or were considered unjust. In India, Phoolan Devi, the Bandit queen fought against the existing system and could be considered to be a deviant hero too. There are religious leaders as well who showed great example of heroism. There was the instance of a woman given wherein she climbed and stayed on a tree for two years just to stop the cutting of trees. She remained there until the people concerned undertook not to cut them down. Deviance may be regarded as a crack in the society. Social control is one of the measures that could be used to keep a check.

Finally at the end of the session there was discussion with regard to the various perspectives of how and what students felt about deviance being a part of life and to share instances of heroic deviance. Heroic deviance can be practiced to some degree by anybody. Yet if more people were to embrace the principles of such heroism it could help alter the environment. Conformity in contrast to deviance would mean accepting the hurtful situations which is not right. Therefore deviance becomes important in order to have conformity of some kind or the other. The session thus ended with active participation and exchange among everyone present. We would like to thank Prof Brian Wolf for such an interesting and active session.

By

Anusuya Borkotoky

'Scientifying the Orient: Race, Gender and Sex in the Colonial Tropics'

The National Institute for Advanced Studies (NIAS), had organized a talk on “Scientifying the Orient: Race, Gender and Sex in the Colonial Tropics” by Samiparna Samanta. She’s an eminent historian who is an Assistant Professor of History at Georgia College and State University, Milledgeville, Georgia, USA. The talk was scheduled in NIAS on July 19, 2013. Students and other professionals from different colleges and universities were invited. The postgraduate students of the Department of Sociology of Christ University attended the talk along with some of their faculty member.

The talk was based on the “Oriental” East. The focus was on constructivism as a historical approach. The other main arguments of the lecture were the Colonial Construction of race, sex and gender with respect to India, Africa and West Indies. The abstract for the talk is given below:

Abstract: Over the past decade or so, a growing number of scholars have argued that science is a social construct much like art or music. In light of this new development, concepts of race, gender, sexuality, and identity formation have undergone massive transformations as historical categories. Using this larger historiographical framework, my paper demonstrates how an ‘Orient’ came to be perceived and pictured in European imagination in the nineteenth century through the lens of ‘science.’ By drawing examples from Asia, Africa and Latin America, I show the varied ways in which the West often employed the legitimizing power of ‘science’ to romanticize, eroticize and at times demonize colonial cultures. But more importantly, I examine how nineteenth century colonial constructions of ‘race’ and ‘sexuality’ were used to project the relative backwardness of non-European cultures and societies and thus activate the tension between the “modern” and the “archaic.” The paper thus attempts to problematize the construction of colonial knowledge around ‘thuggee,’ ‘criminal communities,’ ‘prostitute,’ Hottentot Venus, among others to show the power of nineteenth century race science. An exploration of the multiple portrayals of ‘Orient’ also manifests within itself a larger, crucial theme ---- the power of representations, and the way that can form a dominant trope for subjugation of a colonized people. In the course of this meandering trajectory however, I conclude that the colonized were not passive recipients of Western cultural intrusion. Rather, my own research on nineteenth and twentieth century dietary discourses in Bengal demonstrates how the colonized populations (for instance, twentieth century Bengali literati) in their understanding of diet, disease and germs, at times translated Western notions of science, sanitation, and medicine and imagined it in their own cultural contexts.

A key argument was on the social construction of science and its basis as being affected by culture and the social context of a society. It’s not a value-free knowledge.

The talk was interesting as it was based on fundamental ideas of how the Westerners have constantly ignored the East. As a result the non-westerners do not have an identity, a history and an existence of their own. Nineteen Century “Imperialism” was discussed in details and also the universalization of Europe. The essence of the paper lies in the statement by Karl Marx, “Asia fell asleep in history.”

The lecture covered important ideas of science as a dominant paradigm, imperialism, the Westerners as dictators, notions of race, gender and sex. A couple of questions and arguments followed the talk. Ideas were exchanged between the speaker and other students and scholar who raised important issues related to the topic.

On behalf of the students of Christ University I would like to convey my thanks to the Department of Sociology for giving us the opportunity for being a part of such an intellectual event.

 by                                                                                                                 

Chandni Sarda

Cross Cultural Dialogues

SOCIOLOGY ACTIVITY: DISCUSSION ON CROSS CULTURAL EXPOSURE AND INTERACTION BY INTERNATIONAL SYUDENTS

Date: 29^th June, 2013, Wednesday

John F. Kennedy  rightly said, “If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.”

The session on “CROSS CULTURAL EXPOSURE AND INTERACTION”, by II PSEco, which involved international classmates sharing stories from their native lands,  validated this statement.  

Having the privilege of interacting with classmates from Nepal, Korea, Nigeria and Congo the session not only acquainted them with the differences, but also similarities between these cultures. The students spoke about the history of their country and the current socio-political scenario. Nepal, for instance was ruled by Narang before it became a democracy. All these places are inhabited by people from various ethnic groups, in Nigeria for example, where regions are divided based on the language they speak. Food, exhibited the taste, sweet or spicy, of the different regions, in great variety.

Each speech left with food for thought. The students from Nepal stressed on the importance of culture for them in spite of the western influence, those from Korea and Nigeria emphasised on the growth of their country attributed to education. “We take our culture very seriously and are extremely proud of it” added Cristelle from Congo. The hour ended with a brief question answer session between the speakers and the students on the literature, art and customs of these myriad cultures. This activity hour left the students, as students of sociology, under the esteemed supervision of Dr. Sheila Mathew, with an enriching experience.

                                                                                                           

                                                                                                            Aishwarya Menon

                                                                                                            Somya Bajaj

Two Perspectives on the 
National Young Sociologist Workshop by Shreya Murali (II EPS)

On Saturday,the 30^th of June 2013, Shreya Murali student of II EPS and winner of the ‘Young Sociologist 2012-2013’ visited I EPS to give a presentation on the ‘Young Sociologist’ competition and discussed her experience as a participant. The Annual ‘Young Sociologist’ Competition conducted by Christ University provides a platform for undergraduate students across the country to interact, participate and exchange their views on important social matters.

  In the presentation Shreya Murali introduced this competition and stressed on the importance having reliable and primary data to support one’s academic research paper. She also gave the students valuable insight into how to structure and format a research paper and collect accountable data.

Shreya Murali also gave an account of her experience with the competition. The topic she had chosen for her research was ‘India the biggest democracy: A Farce’. In her paper she sought to unveil the deep seated social stigma against the transgender community in India and critique the Amendment to section 36 (A) of the Karnataka Police Act which empowered the commissioner to pass orders to maintain a register on names and places of all the transgenders, who are reasonably suspected of kidnapping or emasculating boys. Her research also revealed that only 8% of the people that participated in her survey (on the perception of the rights of the transgender community) were willing to have people from the transgender community in the workforce, the rest were either neutral or appalled by the idea. This research unmasks the dichotomy in the system where an entire section of the population has been deprived of its political rights.

As many students raised their hands to ask the speaker questions it was clear that they were quite inspired by the presentation and were curious to know more about the subject. Shreya Murali’s passion was contagious and encouraged us all to participate in the following ‘Young Sociologist’ competition.

By:   Ishita Karra

I EPS

The students of I EPS attended a workshop on the National Young Sociologist Competition, an annual inter-collegiate event where budding sociologists avail the opportunity to prepare and present a full-scale academic paper. This national-level competition is held by Christ University in December every year which witnesses participation from across the country. The workshop was conducted by Shreya Murali of II EPS who was the “National Young Sociologist” for 2012. Having conducted a previous workshop on academic writing with I EPS, Shreya quickly went through the basics of a good academic piece and as always, emphasised on the importance of avoiding plagiarism and giving credit where is it due to be given. 

After establishing the codices of academic writing, Shreya moved on to another important factor in academic writing; Authentic and reliable research.  Research was the soul of any academic piece and it was to be done with utmost sincerity and dedication. Research, she said, has to be intense and could possibly last for weeks which means that one should never have a laid-back attitude regarding the same. Towards the end of the workshop, Shreya presented her award-wining academic paper Titled “India is the world’s biggest Democracy – A FARCE” in which she took up the research regarding the lack of emancipation of the third gender. Her presentation gave the students a sound idea of what an academic paper looks like and how research is meant to be carried out. Post the workshop, the students of I EPS seemed to be nervous regarding the fast-approaching deadline for CIA 2 in sociology which involved writing of a well-researched academic paper. Although we don’t know whether Shreya will take part in the “National Young Sociologist 2013”, we would have liked her to break a leg at the competition this year but considering that has just broken her hand, we would, instead, just like to wish her All the Best for her future endeavors in appreciation for the help given and time devoted to the students of I EPS.

By

Jaikishan Agarwal

I EPS

 

Film Club

The Department of Sociology, Christ University, conducted the inaugural ceremony of the Film Club today on June 26 2013, Wednesday at Sky View, Central Block, from 12-1 pm. All those who were interested were invited for the film screening and then a discussion with the filmmaker Prof. Aasita Bali.

            Prof Aashita Bali is from the department of Media Studies and currently the assistant professor. She holds a degree in B.com and has also completed her MCS and MPhil Programe. She has also been part of the organizing committee of various seminars like ‘Media Meet’, ‘Voices from Waters’, international film festival etc. which have been held in Christ University itself.

            Here today was held the screening of her documentary ‘Red Salt’ which was of the duration 8 minutes 17seconds and addressed the women of Gujrat who worked in saltpans. The very idea of this documentary roots to when Prof. Bali was working in ISRO as an assistant. It was working with a NGO who were targeting for make-shift schools for children living in the desert areas. It was then when the idea for the focus upon women came upon. Thus resulting in this documentary which not only shows how the women work despite difficulties but also their way of looking at the very prospect of work. The self-sacrificing attitude of the women wherein they think of certain things as their duty.

            Prof. Bali said that documentary is not a popular form of expression as many of us may do agree. It started with the 2^nd world war for the purpose of propaganda. The filmmakers struggle in the process to get themselves through. Unlike a feature film it does not work for entertainment purpose.

            The film ‘Red Salt’ addresses the lives of the women in Gujrat who work in saltpans in extreme harsh weather conditions. Their lives are nomadic and therefore they do not have access to the health and nutrition care. The children too because of this are deprived of education and ends up doing the same. India produces 12-17 million salts every year and 70 per cent of it is contributed by theses Gujrat women. Yet they do not have the basic necessities of life. They are paid as much as only Rs.20/day and Rs 2/kg (approx). Due to the saline water they do not even have proper drinking water because of which they face severe health problems. Once a week the truck carrying drinking water comes for which the people have to walk for 5kms. The film began by depicting the wounds, swelling, sores etc that women had as a result of their work in saltpans. These as mentioned do not even heal and just gets worse. It starts with itching and then burning and ultimately leads to the selling of the organ. During winter the pain increases all the more. In one part of the film it is shown the contrasting attitudes of the women by the songs they sung which were their own form of expression.

            The immediate reaction was one of utter shock and the harsh reality behind the pinch of salt that we all have every day. There is an attempt to question why women are not treated equally as men? Why the government despite being aware does nothing? Many of the top most companies primarily get salt from this region yet it remains what we saw. This is an ugly truth that the women themselves now know and live for. Provisions like rubber shoes or gloves are mostly given to the men and whatever little the women get they give it to their children. Such a self-scarifying attitude needs to be changed but this is only possible with knowledge which they certainly lack.

            This has been a self-funded film made with pure honestly and hard work in order to make us all see and understand the importance of the ‘pinch of salt’. Therefore this film has been very touchy and informative for all of us. I would like to thank Prof Aashita Bali for sharing with us such a wonderful piece of her work the ‘Red Salt’ as it is very aptly put.  

Report by Anusuya Borkotoky

MA Applied Sociology

Christ University

Open Forum

‘On Being a Prostitute’
15.06.2013

Prostitution is the business or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute or sex worker. Prostitution is one of the branches of the sex industry. Estimates place the annual revenue generated from the global prostitution industry to be over $100 billion. Prostitution is sometimes referred to as "the world's oldest profession".

On the 15^th of June, III PSEco came together as a whole and held their first Open Forum of the year. Of course, this has been a trend we have come to follow since the last two years. The Open forum was held to bring to light the otherwise little known facts of Prostitution, not only in India but also around the globe. This ‘Open Forum’ was moderated by Rony Joe. There were quite a few well-spoken Panelists who spoke on the topic. The panelists were not as much addressing the class, as they were in constant conversation. Sreya Khastgir started things off by narrating the life and times of Munni, a prostitute who dwelled in Sonakashi; said to be the largest red light area in India. Through her narration Sreya vividly exposed the realities of a Prostitute which left the vicinity astounded.

Followed by Shreya was Shruthi Mahadevan who took us to Vedic India and threw light on the history of prostitution, what followed came as a shock to everyone as no one present there could have ever thought of Prostitution having divine legitimacy, Devadasi; a woman or man said to be married to God. The Devadasi as a profession was one of importance and is said to have got Royal endowment. This changed with the Mughal Invasion of the Indian subcontinent and later with the might of the British colonization which made the Noble Devadasi nothing but a street hooker.

Narasimha Rao took a different approach to the concept of Prostitution. “Sex work as a way of life” was the core of his idea and for the first time since the forum opened, the term “Sex worker” was introduced. This drew a different picture as the “sex worker” was a part of the economic section of society and not a meagre outcast. The Sex Industry today is a Multi-Billion Dollar industry and ever growing, making it an economic asset in few countries especially in the South-East Asian countries. Women and Men across the world have developed the basic idea of a “sex worker” into an art and this trend is now being molded into the Indian scenario. Today, selling one’s body has become a choice, the question arising has the Indian Prostitute become the next “Pretty woman”.

This was followed by the Transgender. The life of a transgender is governed by the reality of either a cadger or a sex worker. Pragati Manjunath, the panelist who followed, exposed the harshness a transgender must face. There are only a very few who can stomach it. The stigma against the third sex is one which is very strongly held, yet they are held in the Noblest thoughts; A Transgender is given divine authority is some cultures, blessings by them are given a lot of sentiment as it is considered to be extremely auspicious et sic a curse by one is not taken lightly. Rights of Transgender in the Indian Sub-Continent are not given much heed because of the earlier mentioned stigma.

Glory Mathew threw light on something which had not crossed my mind in the slightest; Progeny of Prostitutes. Glory Proposed Prostitution more often than not leads to illegitimate progeny, mostly due to the malfunction of contraceptives or the use of none. The social reality of a female sex worker makes her want an offspring because she is devoid of social relationship and hence requires a concrete bond even if minimal. The Progeny although do not often get to have a normal social setting, some are scarred by the basic fact that they are illegitimate. Most don’t ever have schooling, or worse, become prostitutes themselves.

Following up on Child Prostitution, Trishala Ballal brought up the topic of Child Trafficking. According to her data, Child Trafficking is the 3^rd largest profitable industry in the world, as unworldly as the sounds if one thinks about it, it could very much be so. Over half a million children under the age of 14 are trafficked in a financial year, which may seem a low count when one compares it to the world population but if a decadal count is taken that sums up to more than 5 million. Most countries don’t have a population that big.

I was asked to draw a conclusion on our discussion; in my opinion, I think it boils down to dignity of labour, where one looks at prostitutes as a labour force and does not associate derogatory connotations to the words ‘sex worker’.  If we look at the sex workers of South-East Asia, for example, one can see that they have come to be accepted as dignified artists and have also become economic assets.

In respect to the discussion held, it was quite the eye-opener, leaving a few dumbstruck, and the rest astounded. It provided insight into the base realities of this profession. It helped us form a more informed perspective on this social stigma.

Yudh Vir  Saund