SAS 2004H S
Issues in South Asian Studies: A Region and the Disciplines

January - April 2012

Course Description:

This reading-intensive seminar serves two purposes: 1) to introduce students to a range of disciplinary perspectives on the region of South Asia, and 2) to critically examine the formation of disciplinary knowledge around the concepts of area and region.  We will focus in particular on the ways in which colonialism, anti-colonial nationalisms, and postcolonial imperial formations have shaped disciplinary categories and institutions, always mediating interpretations of South Asia’s past, present, and future.  Although units have been organized roughly around disciplinary nodes, certain themes such as gender, postcolonial modernity, ethnicity/community, nationalism, and the political economy of representation will cut across our readings and discussions.

As a final project, students will be asked to write a 15 page original research paper in which they engage with the history of their own disciplinary formation in relation to the area, with the aim of refining their research project.  Or, students may opt to write a formal research proposal.  All papers topics must be discussed beforehand with the instructor during office hours.

Prerequisites: None
Time: Thursday, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Location: Innis College, Room 209
Instructor: Prof. Francis Cody

To view the 2009 syllabus for Issues in South Asian Studies, please click here.