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Dr. Ramarao Indira, M.A., Ph.D. (born 22 April 1952) is a South Indian Sociologist, feminist and a retired Professor of Sociology at the University of Mysore and Director of the University's Centre for Women's Studies.
Academic and Professional Career
Dr. Ramarao Indira, M.A., Ph.D. (Born 22 April 1952 in Mysore, Karnataka) is a South Indian sociologist, feminist who lives in Mysore. In her University career spanning 42 years, she has held such positions as Chair of the Department of Sociology, Director of the International Centre and Honorary Director of the Centre for Women’s Studies at the University of Mysore.
Indira had her school and college education in Mysore and joined the University of Mysore as a faculty in the Department of Sociology in 1972 and continued to teach and engage in research in the Department till her superannuation in the year 2014. She built a research culture in the department through the people-centric research projects and also training generations of students to undertake studies on themes of social relevance. She is well known for her works on gender issues in forest management, girls’ education, building capacities of women in local self-governance institutions. A columnist who has been writing on social themes in leading Kannada newspapers, her major works include Themes in Sociology of Education (Studies in Indian Sociology), Gender and Society in India(Two volumes)as editor and many Kannada books on such themes as Feminism, Women and Culture & Research Methods.
Research and Teaching Honours
Indira is an Honorary Adjunct Professor at the University of Iowa. She also taught a semester at that University as a Fulbright Visiting Lecturer. Earlier she had worked on American Women & Technical Education on a Fulbright Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. She was an ICSSR Senior Research Fellow & received four fellowships from the Shastri Indo Canadian Institute and has carried out extensive work with forest communities in Western Ghats. Dr. Indira has been a visiting faculty at Study India Programs of the Universities of Puget Sound, Iowa, Delaware, Princeton and Michigan in the United States and Mount Alison, Guelph and Concordia Universities in Canada. She has been Visiting Fellow at the University of Delhi and Sri Venkateswara University.
Current Responsibilities
She is the President of Samruddhi Foundation, a civil society group that she initiated with her family & friends for building capacities of women, research students & members of civil society. She is a Contributor and Editor of Subject Encyclopaedias, Dictionaries, Journals, Theme based books and Translation Projects.
Indira is currently heading a team that is translating Anthony Godden’s SOCIOLOGY into Kannada, besides being involved in translation projects and evaluation of forestry programmes in Karnataka. She was Secretary of the Indian Sociological Society between 2014 & 2015, and is currently the Honorary President, Alumni Association, Department of Sociology, Masagangotri, University of Mysore, Mysuru.