HON 214 Encountering South Asia
Membership in honors program required. Studying the history, culture, and politics of South Asia in the course of a semester is a daunting task, to put it mildly. Yet, it's a task well worth the effort. This course takes on the challenge of condensing the vast and complicated histories and cultures of the four major national states in South Asia--Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka--by focusing on histories, institutions, feminisms, political economy, and cultural representations. Starting with an overview, this course provides an introduction to the region's history and the ways in which colonial rule and anti-colonial nationalist struggles set the stage for religion, gender, nation, caste, class, and language to become central points of contestation. It addresses a range of issues, including the significance of nationalisms, communalisms, caste, women's issues, gay sexuality, economic liberalization, terrorism, and Hindi film (aka Bollywood).
Course Type
GC, HON