Course Description
Exploring South Asian migrations in the 19th and 20th centuries to Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Singapore), Africa (Mauritius, Kenya, Uganda), the Caribbean, Europe, and the Americas. Includes a module on South Asian diasporas and the United States South.
Athena Title
South Asian Diasporas
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 or WMST or COMM
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
• Learn the historical context for migrations from South Asia in the 19th and 20th century • Explore the usefulness of the term “diaspora” to describe the rich and complex reality of South Asians abroad; look at alternatives • Learn to work with visual material (movies, photographs, posters) and oral material (music, oral history interviews) to write histories of migration and belonging
Topical Outline
The topics explored in this course will include: - The abolition of slavery and the use of indentured labor in the 19th-century British empire - Race, gender, caste, and religion in South Asian diasporas in Southeast Asia and Africa - The connection between nationalist and diasporic politics in the early twentieth century - The Partition of India and Pakistan and its impact on the diaspora - Amendments to immigration and citizenship legislation in the United States and the United Kingdom and their impact on South Asian migrations - Intertwined histories of South Asian diasporic cultures and the United States South