Writing Autobiography as an LGBTIQ Activist in India

The guest lecture is held in the context of the South Asia Forum.

Cooperation

Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology and URPP Asia and Europe

Location

Room AND 3.46, Andreasstrasse 15, 8050 Zürich

Registration

Registration required by November 17, 2016: anne.breubeck@uzh.ch

Description

A. Revathi is a writer, poet, actress and activist from Tamil Nadu who fights for human rights, especially for the LGBTIQ people as well as Dalits and Adivasis in India. Being the first author writing about Hijras/Thirunangais in Asia, Revathi wrote a scientific anthology of life-stories from other Thirunangais in Tamil Nadu - «Our lives, our words: Telling Aravani lifestories» (2011; Tamil Original in 2004) - for which she conducted research through interviews. In addition to that she is the author of two autobiographical books - «The Truth about me: A Hijra Life Story» (2010) and «A Life in Trans Activism» (2016) - in which she narrates her experiences as a Hijra/Thirunangai in India. On the basis of her writing we would like to discuss with Revathi how she perceives the relationship between literature and social sciences in general and between autobiographical accounts and ethnographies in particular.