Global Arc

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.

The Mahabharata is considered to be the world's longest epic poem and among the foundational works of South Asian civilization. Students will learn the basic story and characters and read selections from published and unpublished parvans or "major books" of the epic, to understand its cultural context and impact, both historically and across centuries of interpretation. Recent scholarship on the epic's historical, ritual, and mythic contexts will be examined. Course will introduce students to the Indian epics, wider issues of epic scholarship, and the transmission and living performance of epics in South Asia and abroad.

The course explores major myths and narratives of Hindu India. Through mythology and visual art we will look at Indian culture at different historical stages, and at every stage we will observe how the insiders built their relationship with the world, how they understood their place in it, their moral and religious duties, and the right organization of society. We will consider connections between myths and religious practices, social structures, historical events, and psychological and aesthetic dimensions of Indian cultural life. Reading of mythic narratives will be accompanied by analysis from selected theoretical perspectives.

How has the nexus of gender, the performing arts, and aesthetics been theorized, constructed, and experienced at different times and in different places in South Asian societies? What roles have courtesans and courtesan cultures played in artistic and performance traditions in South Asia? In exploring these and related questions we will draw from music, dance, film, literature, and ethnographic and historical sources as we consider the complexities of social and cultural discourses in relation to the performing arts.

This course introduces students to the richness and diversity of South Asian literature produced in vernacular languages and in English. Texts represent major themes and popular trends in the 20th and 21st century; and we discuss them in historical and literary contexts. Topics include cultural renaissance and nationalism; progressive- Marxist literary movement; modernist and experimental literature; feminist, dalit (oppressed castes), and diaspora literature; and various postmodern and contemporary literary trends.