On April 9, Prof. Tejaswini Niranjana fromLingnan University visited SFS and gave a lecture entitled "Argument aboutFemales and Culture--With India as an Example", which attracted some 200students and teachers from SFS.

   Prof. Tejaswini Niranjana started her lecture with a Bollywood movieclip, and explained that to fully understand arguments regarding females inIndia, one needs to go back to the colonial period and nationalistic movements.She talked about how western concepts like "culture", "nationa"and "modernity" entered India and generated meanings. "Female"has long been a cultural symbol of India in discussions by colonialists as wellas Indian domestic scholars. When Indian middle-class males worked in Britishgovernment and dressed in suit and with their wives staying home wearingtraditional costumes and holding traditional rituals, Indian females became anincarnation of "authentic Indian culture". During nationalisticmovements seeking independence, Indian females were exposed to more and moreopportunities of education and work outside. However, they are still bound upwith the cultural symbol of "authentic Indian culture", which can bereflected from social requirements on virginity and virtues. Prof. TejaswiniNiranjana also pointed out that in recent years, India has changed a lot andthat young females are rebelling against traditional cultural oppression.

  Prof. Tejaswini Niranjana is an Indian scholar, Founder and SeniorResearcher of Indian Bangalore Cultural and Social Research Center, as well asDirector and Professor of Cultural Research Department of Lingnan University.She specializes in translation, cultural study, females and post-colonialtheories etc.

(Reportby Qin Jianhua  Pictures by Cen Haoxian)