Global Arc

This course will provide an introduction to the study of South Asian languages in relation to culture (and history, society and politics), addressing topics such as orality and writing systems, multilingualism and polyglossia, literary cultures, cosmopolitan and vernacular language politics, and their relationship to social identity in historical and contemporary perspective.

This course acquaints students with major developments in Indian art and architecture, while exploring issues relevant to the material. In order to gain a truly meaningful understanding of India, not just the romantic and spiritual images that endure in Western views of the subcontinent, we will examine Indian visual arts as they have existed from the time of their inception to the near present. The course is a survey of events in Indian history and visual culture that begins with the Indus valley civilization of c.2500 BC and ends with the contemporary period.

This course surveys ideas regarding gender and sexuality at various points in the cultural history of South Asia and how these ideas have shaped women's and men's lives and experiences in the society. We examine how different communities pushed against gender norms and cultural expectations using different ideologies and strategies resulting in a diverse range of feminist projects in South Asia. The course explores ideas about gender, sexuality, and feminism in various domains of South Asian life. Apart from reading scholarship on relevant topics, we analyze primary textual sources, such as religious texts, literary genres, and folklore.

This course will introduce students to the richness and diversity of women's writing in India; it will open many windows into regional Indian societies, cultures, and subcultures; and it will allow students to examine social issues and cultural values from women's perspectives. By studying women's writings from at least ten major Indian languages (in English translation), students will be able to identify differences and disagreements among different canons as well as some common features among them that justify the category of Indian women's writing.

Through texts, visual art, observation of ritual practices we will take a close look at Hinduism. We will explore its major ideas, myths, rituals, narratives, its predecessors and opponents at different historical stages. At every stage we will observe how the insiders understood their relationship with the world, their moral and religious duties, and the right organization of society. We will discuss social, philosophical, and ideological tensions within Hinduism and its dialog with outsiders. We will explore the Indus Valley civilization, the Vedas, early and classical Hinduism, and different systems of Hindu philosophy.

Science, Technology, and Society (STS) is an interdisciplinary field that explores the social and historical shaping of science and technology. This course provides an introduction to STS with special focus on South Asia. We will consider questions such as: Is Bangalore simply an Indian version of Silicon Valley? Does outsourcing truly result in a 'flattening' of the world? What issues result from virtual migration and body shopping? What is the role of national identity in constructs of Hindu or Islamic science? How do South Asian electronic cultures relate to pirate modernity? Does cell phone culture vary globally?

This course will examine the politics that led to independence for Pakistan, the challenges of ethnicity and identity politics, the pattern and consequences of state-building and economic development, the role of Islam and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, domestic politics, democracy and social change, the impacts of the cold war and the hot wars with India and the role of nuclear weapons, and the changing relationships with the United States and China.

Provides an introduction to several South Asian popular culture forms and the different approaches, methods, debates and theory used in their study. Culture forms and practices include comics, film, music, visual culture (posters, calendar art, photography, etc.), clothing, and sport, with attention given to historical and contemporary social contexts. Through attention to aspects of their production, content, and consumption, we will discuss the ways in which these forms and practices are dynamic, contested and interconnected, and how they relate to various kinds of social identity formation.

India produces more films than any other country in the world, and nothing captures the minds and imagination of the Indian public the way Bollywood does. Bollywood films have not only showcased various social, political, and cultural aspects of Indian life, they have also arguably presented a critical response to them. This course will provide students with a window into Indian society and culture as depicted in some of the most popular and influential Bollywood films. Films will be chosen to represent major cultural themes and trends since Independence.

This course examines literature and film by South Asians in North America. Students will gain perspective on the experiences of immigration and diaspora through the themes of identity, memory, solidarity, and resistance. From early Sikh migration to the American West Coast, to Muslim identity in a post 9/11 world, how can South Asian American stories be read as symbolic of the American experience of gender, class, religion, and ethnicity more broadly? Students will hone their skills in reading primary materials, analyzing them within context, writing persuasively, and speaking clearly.