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With the objective to discuss current visions of masculinity across the gender spectrum in India and Bangladesh through various discursive, cultural and educational activities, the Goethe-Institutes in India and Bangladesh have organized an online International Conference titled M3: Man, Male, Masculine on September 3 and 4, 2021. Pre-registration for the conference will be mandatory and it will be free of charge.
M3: Man, Male, Masculine is a South-Asian regional project on the theme of Masculinities and includes topics such as Masculinity and Power, Masculinity in the Media, Performing Masculinity and How to tackle the Topic (Speaking about masculinities with youngsters).
The International Conference will bring together intellectual and cultural perspectives from experts and artists from South Asia and Europe on the theme of masculinities and will offer a multi-faceted approach through discussions, exhibitions, workshops and performances. Through the discussions, the conference will explore the different notions of masculinity, how men are perceived and how masculinity is constructed in media, art and performances and how all this makes young humans, who identify themselves as male, feel?
Speakers including Esha Aurora, Journalist from Bangladesh, Fikri Anil Altintas, Writer and #HeForShe Catalyst from Germany, Urvashi Butalia, Feminist Researcher and Writer from India, Florian Fischer, freelance Consultant on Social Issues from Germany, Meena Kandaswamy, anti-caste activist, novelist from India, Michael Meuser, Professor of Sociology, Dortmund University, Sumathi Ramaswamy, Professor of History & International Comparitive Studies, Duke University, USA, Meenakshi Shedde, Film curator, Journalist, Feminist from India and Anokhi Shah, New Media Artist, Architect from Pune among others will participate in the conference.
Also India based artists including Aditi Mittal, writer, comedian and actor, Anamika Joshi, Spoken-word artist, Mandeep Raikhy, Dance practitioner and choreographer, and Susanne Sachsse actress, Kerstin Rickermann and Silke Beller, Film-makers from Germany will be present during the conference.
“The idea is to provide, through various perspectives and formats, a chance to not only develop an understanding of stereotypes and role models, but also reflect on individual perceptions of masculinity. Our Homepage focuses on masculinities in general with a particular emphasis on the prevailing scenario in India and Bangladesh,” said Geetha Vedaraman, Programme Coordinator, Goethe-Institute, Chennai.
The participating Goethe-Institutes in Pune, Chennai, Delhi, Dhaka, Kolkata and Mumbai have been exploring the topic through different cultural projects in cooperation with local partners in these cities, and will continue to do so throughout the year.
Goethe-Institute homepage also features short films on ‘A real man would never …’ from each of the participating cities as an interesting entry-point to the project. The films feature interviews with men chosen at random about their views on what a real man would never do. Responses range from very serious “A real man would never harm a woman” to completely unexpected “A real man would never leave the house without his mobile”.
Interested participants can pre-register on the following link: https://bit.ly/RegisterGIM3
