J. Devika Explained

J. Devika
Birth Date: 6 May 1968
Birth Place:Kollam, Kerala, India[1]
Occupation:Professor
Genre:Women's studies, sociology, history
Movement:Feminism
Notableworks:Kulasthreeyum Chanthappennum Undayathengane

Jayakumari Devika (Malayalam: ജെ. ദേവിക) is a Malayali historian, feminist, social critic and academician from Kerala.[2] She currently researches and teaches at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram as a Professor.[3] She has authored several books and articles on gender relations in early Kerala society.[4] She is bilingual and has translated both fiction and non-fiction books between Malayalam and English. She also writes on gender, politics, social reforms and development in Kerala on publications like Kafila, Economic and Political Weekly and The Wire.[5]

Education

Devika did her Master of Arts in Modern History (1991) from Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and obtained her Ph.D. in History from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.

Writings

Devika's early research was about the emergence of modern binary gender as a language of describing society and social change in the early twentieth century in Kerala. In her later writings, she has followed the gendering of development in Kerala through a history of public consent for contraception between the 1930s and 1970. She has also published translations of writings by first-generation feminists in Kerala in the book Her Self: Early Writings on Gender by Malayalee Women 1898-1938.[6] [7] In her later research, Devika explores contemporary political and social issues through a historical lens and her concerns are wider than gender, and rather, focus on intersectional power. Her later books have been about gender and politics in twentieth century Kerala, and about the gendered history of the Malayali literary public.[8]

She has published an introduction to feminist theory that places it within the history of modern western thought, titled Streevadam, and published in 2000. In her book Kulasthreeyum Chanthappennum Undaayathengine? she gives an alternative reading of Kerala history from the feminist perspective. She traces Kerala's social and political history and providing interesting insights. For example, she explains how dress code of saree and dowry became prevalent in Kerala. The Hindu reports in their review"Authored by J. Devika, Associate Professor at the CDS, the book is an incisive take on the invisible spaces to which women have been consigned in conventional history and reaches out to the silent depths where women's powerful actions and articulations of the past lay buried. The book, an attempt to centre-stage women in Kerala history, looks how false notions about women got reinforced in the public mind because of the accounts in the "neutral" history texts, how freedom has eluded Kerala women despite their high educational entitlements and what role they have played in major historical junctures.".[9] Her work in this area also includes the 2007 book Engendering Individuals: The Language of Re-Forming in Early Twentieth Century Keralam,[10] and the 2008 book Individuals, Householders, Citizens: Malayalis and Family Planning, 1930–1970.[11]

Devika has translated number of books from Malayalam to English. Notable among them are the translation of Nalini Jameela's autobiography[12] and the short stories of K. R. Meera[13] [14] [15] and Sarah Joseph. She also translated the well acclaimed Malayalam novel, Arrachar by K. R. Meera into English as Hangwoman in 2014.[16] In 2017, She translated the Malayalam novel, Enmakaje by Ambikasuthan Mangad into English as Swarga.[17] [18]

She has published several essays in academic journals published from within and outside India, delivered several talks around the world and written extensively on contemporary issues in Malayalam and English. Devika also writes extensively in Malayalam, in contemporary publications.She has also written for children, and her work was published by the Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishat

She also has a website about the first generation Malayalee feminists called Swatantryavaadini.[19]

Publications

Books in English

Books in malayalam

Journals

Translations

From Malayalam to English

From English to Malayalam

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Devika Jayakumari Centre For Development Studies - Academia.edu. cds.academia.edu. 2020-01-19.
  2. Web site: Women's presence in social media an ongoing struggle. Sahadevan. Sajini. Mathrubhumi. 6 February 2018 . 2020-01-19.
  3. Web site: Centre For Development Studies . cds.edu . 25 November 2013 . 7 November 2013 . https://archive.today/20131107051403/http://www.cds.edu/people/dr-j-devika/qualification.html . dead .
  4. Web site: Centre For Development Studies . cds.edu . 25 November 2013 . 7 November 2013 . https://archive.today/20131107051428/http://www.cds.edu/people/dr-j-devika/publications.html . dead .
  5. Web site: About. 2006-10-19. KAFILA - 12 YEARS OF A COMMON JOURNEY. en. 2020-01-19.
  6. Book: Her Self: Gender and Early Writings of Malayalee Women . 9788185604749 . Devika . J . 2005. Stree .
  7. News: Continuing struggle (review of Her Self: Early Writings on Gender by Malayalee Women 1898-1938, translated and edited by J. Devika). 5 June 2005. The Hindu. 2020-01-19. en-IN.
  8. Web site: Writing is my revenge: K.R. Meera. Kuruvilla. Elizabeth. 2017-03-03. Livemint. en. 2020-01-19.
  9. News: https://web.archive.org/web/20131203022217/http://www.hindu.com/2010/10/11/stories/2010101154400400.htm. An untold story, with no strings attached (review of Kulasthreeyum Chanthappennum Undaayathengine?, by J. Devika). 3 December 2013. dead. The Hindu. C. Gouridasan. Nair. 11 October 2010.
  10. Sreekumar . Sharmila . Radhakrishnan . Ratheesh . June 23–29, 2007 . 25 . Economic and Political Weekly . 4419729 . 2410–2412 . History of an emergence: 'woman' and 'man' in modern Kerala (review of Engendering Individuals: The Language of Re-Forming in Early Twentieth Century Keralam, by J. Devika) . 42.
  11. Anandhi . S. . October 2012 . 10.1177/006996671204600318 . 3 . Contributions to Indian Sociology . 433–437 . Review of Individuals, Householders, Citizens: Malayalis and Family Planning, 1930–1970, by J. Devika . 46. 220706056 .
  12. News: Nalini's story (review of Autobiography of a Sex Worker, by Nalini Jameela, translated by J. Devika). Mahadevan-Dasgupta. Uma. 5 October 2007. The Indian Express. 2020-01-18.
  13. Banerjee . Purabi Panwar . 5 . Indian Literature . 44479457 . Review of Aa Maratheyum Marannu Marannu Njan: And Slowly Forgetting that Tree, by K. R. Meera, translated by J. Devika . 59 . 289.
  14. Review of Yellow is the Colour of Longing, by K. R. Meera, translated by J. Devika. 31 October 2011. The Caravan. en. 2020-01-19.
  15. Kerosine. Review of Yellow is the Colour of Longing, by K. R. Meera, translated by J. Devika. Anisha. Kashwani.
  16. Dhar . Tej N. . 1 . Indian Literature . 44479279 . Review of Hangwoman, by K. R. Meera, translated by J. Devika . 59 . 285.
  17. News: Nair . Aparna . Paradise lost (review of Swarga, by Ambikasuthan Mangad, translated by J. Devika) . The Hindu . May 11, 2017 . en-IN.
  18. News: The fight against environmental crime (review of Swarga, by Ambikasuthan Mangad, translated by J. Devika). Hindustan Times. 2 April 2017. Malavika. Vyawahare.
  19. News: The Hindu. Academic-author J Devika begins website dedicated to feminists of Kerala in the first half of the 20th century. Saraswathy. Nagarajan. 3 October 2020.
  20. Web site: R. Unni. November 15, 2020. 'The Cock is the Culprit' review: Unni R's book is a hilarious political satire. The News minute.
  21. Web site: Oct 28, 2017. Rest, perturbed spirit.... Deccan Herald.
  22. Book: The Oxford India anthology of Malayalam dalit writing. Oxford University Press. 2012. 9780198079408. Dasan. M.. New Delhi.

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