Keywords: Caste, Gender, History of Education, Dalit Feminism
Bio: Shailaja Paik is Associate Professor of History and Affiliate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Cincinnati.
“Education is not merely for gaining degrees or getting employment, but it has a significant potential for fighting systemic oppression. And that is …where I see Dalit pedagogy is heading.”
In this interview, Dr. Paik discusses:
- Her motivation for centering Dalit Women in her work.
- What terms she uses to refer to caste-oppressed communities and why
- Theories (e.g., Black feminism, Dalit activism, critical pedagogy) and methods (oral history) she uses to understand Dalit women’s educational experiences
- Her recommendations, based on her research and praxis, for supporting Dalit pedagogy.
Further Reading:
- Her first book Dalit Women’s Education in Modern India: Double Discrimination (London and New York: Routledge, 2014) examines the nexus between caste, class, gender, and state pedagogical practices among Dalit (“Untouchable”) women in urban India.
- Her second book The Vulgarity of Caste: Dalits, Sexuality, and Humanity (Stanford University Press) focuses on the politics of caste, class, gender, sexuality, and popular culture in modern Maharashtra.
- Paik, S. (2022). Dr Ambedkar and the ‘Prostitute’: Caste, sexuality and humanity in modern India. Gender & History, 34(2), 437-457. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-0424.12557.
- Paik, S. (2021). Dalit feminist thought. Economic and Political Weekly, 56(25). Also published as book chapter in Leela Fernandes ed. Routledge Handbook of Gender in South Asia.
