Gender Studies Courses in DU

If you plan to take up development studies or work with an NGO, it makes sense to go for gender studies, as “without it there can’t be any development studies,” says Dr Manjeet Bhatia, co-ordinator, Women’s Studies and Development Centre, Delhi University, North Campus.
 
WSDC runs three-month certificate programmes in gender studies at graduate, postgraduate and advanced levels. The advanced programme begins in January and the last date for applications is January 7. The other two courses start in July, when the DU session begins.

Who should apply?
Youngsters from science as well as humanities opt for the programmes, say WSDC officials. “One may or may not take up gender studies for a specialised career but it certainly broadens the outlook,” says Bhatia. “A student’s personality develops after completing this course.”
Suranjana Barua, a PhD student, found gender studies an important part of her own subject — linguistics. “I am doing research on how boys and girls use language as a tool to dominate each other. Studying gender would give new dimension to my research,” she says. “My peers came from disciplines like English, history, law, sociology and even commerce.”

There are others who study gender only for skill development, not keeping any academic or professional goals in mind. Bashobi Banerjee, a sub-editor in a publishing house, studied gender because “it’s the buzzword these days. Having been to a girl’s college, my vision couldn’t go beyond women’s studies. I took up gender studies as it talks about both women and men.”
 
What’s it about?
The advanced course is research-oriented. The main subjects include women’s studies, concept of gender, feminism and varieties, Indian perspective on gender, radicalism and women and law. 
Bhatia says, “Preference is given to those doing or planning to do research on the subject, but admission is open to anyone with a PG degree with 50 per cent.”

Other gender courses (at UG and PG levels) are interactive, in which workshops, field visits and assignments with NGOs comprise 50 per cent of the course content. After the course, students can join research projects with WSDC or other bodies. For more details, call 011-27666669.

Source:www.hindustantimes.com/HTHorizons