New Books in Anthropology Romit Chowdhury, "City of Men: Masculinities and Everyday Morality on Public Transport" (Rutgers UP, 2023)
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Aug 22, 2023 In this episode, Ramit Shoggling discusses his book on the laboring lives of public transport workers and explores masculinity. The speaker shares their motivation for writing a book on men and masculinity, highlighting their research on sociability and men's rights movements in India. They discuss commuting in Calcutta, focusing on interactions between drivers and commuters. They explore the influence of positionality on research and the challenges it presents. The chapter also discusses how public spaces become gendered and the dynamics between different groups of men in shaping cities. They also delve into the intersection of class, gender, masculinity, and regional identity in urban commuting.
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Cities as Male Spaces
- Cities in South Asia are predominantly male spaces shaped by gendered logics of cooperation and everyday morality.
- Public transport reveals how masculinities claim urban space through relational interactions and moral performances.
Ethnography on the Move
- Romit rode alongside auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers to conduct ethnographic interviews and observe urban mobility.
- This method elicited rich stories tied to specific city landmarks and memories, revealing layers of urban masculinity.
Everyday Morality Upholds Patriarchy
- The city scripts itself as a male space not only via violence but through everyday gestures of cooperation among men.
- Everyday morality sustains male privilege by reinforcing traditional gender roles and urban patriarchy.