GBL 286 INDIA'S IDENTITIES: RELIGION, CASTE AND GENDER IN CONTEMPORARY SOUTH INDIA
This Winter Term course emphasizes the diversity of contemporary Indian identities, devoting particular attention to religion, caste, and gender. This course brings students into a range of Indian religious spaces associated with Hindu, Jain, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish traditions and into direct contact with Indians from an array of caste backgrounds, education levels, and occupations, allowing them to develop an informed appreciation of the diversity of the world's largest democracy. Through directed study opportunities, lectures, and daily interactions with Indians who live and work in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, we will consider the nature of religious identity and practice; explore cultural expectations regarding gender (including arranged and other forms of marriage); assess the ways in which caste does and does not matter in contemporary society; and analyze how tradition and modernity interact in this rapidly changing nation. Cross-listed with REL 286 IS. . Application and acceptance required. Additional travel fee is required. Counts toward Civilization or Society requirement. The course may also be counted as a Religious Studies elective and counts toward the Women's & Gender Studies and Asian Studies minors. This course satisfies one unit of experiential learning toward fulfillment of the Experiential Learning Requirement.
Prerequisite
GBL 186