Course Description
Exploration of the social, economic, and political life in the Indian subcontinent from a historical perspective.
Athena Title
India 1500 to the Present
Pre or Corequisite
One course in HIST or SOCI or POLS or INTL or RELI or FYOS or GEOG or CHNS or INDO or AFST
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about the history of modern India by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the history of South Asia has shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes and shaped global politics and international affairs, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
Topical Outline
- This course takes you through events, people, places, and things as a window into South Asia since 1500. We start by examining what we imagine “South Asia” to be, and go on to examine the challenges and resistances to viewing it as a unified region, and to its place in the world today. Although the primary textbook for the course is a history of modern India, the course is not focused on India, which is only one of the present-day nation-states that are considered part of “South Asia.”
- We will look at the Mughal empire and the rise of the English East India Company, British colonial rule, anti-colonial movements, the rise of nationalism, and the partitions that took place in 1947-48.
- We will then look at postcolonial nation-states in South Asia, ending with contemporary efforts to think about South Asia as a region.
- Through readings, lectures, in-class exercises, and discussions, we can think together about different aspects of social, economic, and political life in South Asia from a historical perspective.
Institutional Competencies
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
