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
- Acquire a basic knowledge of South Asian history from 1500 to the present
- Learn to read and analyze primary sources from this period
- Learn to analyze and make sense of scholarly arguments around these primary sources
- Formulate a historical question and write a short paper with a thesis
- Understand how knowledge of South Asian history influences present-day debates and its impact on global and international affairs
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.
