History 291E - S-Intro to S.Asian Hist&Cultre

This course is designed to introduce students to the history of South Asia from the earliest period of recorded history to the present. In addition to tracing major political events, this course will explore special topics such as the institution of caste, the emergence of various religious traditions, the development of early centralized empires, and the expansion of Mughal power in South Asia. We will then investigate the expansion and working of the British colonial state and the transformations affected in administrative, political, economic, and cultural spheres due to colonialism. Simultaneously, we will examine the communal, caste, and gender dimensions of anti-colonial nationalist politics. We will discuss the attainment of freedom from colonial rule in 1947, the partition of India and the subsequent development of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh as independent nation states.

Open to Seniors, Juniors & Sophomores only.