HIS 171 - Making Modern South Asia

This course is a historical introduction to the history of South Asia, from the end of the Mughal empire  through to decolonization. It is a survey of major social and political struggles throughout the British colonial period threaded through historical debates about about religious reform, political representation in an colonial context,  the political economy of empire, the limits of law, environmental justice and the reproduction of caste society. In order to understand the complexity of the social and political discourse of the period (roughly 1818-1947), we will read primary texts, including autobiographies, speeches, dialogues, treatises, ethnography, and literary fiction. We will analyze, among other things, what was at stake in formulations of “tradition” and “modernity.”

As the course progresses into the era of decolonization, we will examine the legacies of these contestations in shaping the nation-states of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri-Lanka and Nepal through to the early 21^st century. The course will be oriented though India in the post-1947 period while being alert to the spatialized historical legacies that shape India’s overbearing role in the geopolitics of the modern subcontinent. How do concepts such as gender, caste, religion, indigeneity and nation change over time? Using film and digital resources, we will draw on representations of South Asian culture and history to complement our analyses throughout the semester.

Satisfies the Historical Thought requirement.
Satisfies the cultural diversity requirement.
Satisfies interdisciplinary minor requirement in South Asian studies.