South Asian Studies | University Bulletin

Objectives

The South Asian Studies program provides a minor (open to students in any major) for those who wish to structure their studies of South Asia or the South Asian Diaspora. The minor offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the literatures, histories, societies, cultures, religions, arts, and contemporary importance of South Asia and of diasporic South Asian communities. South Asia is a very significant region, which now encompasses the political nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan. Students completing the minor will come away with a strong understanding of the intellectual, cultural, political, economic, and social developments at key periods in South Asia’s history and in the contemporary era.

Learning Goals

The learning goals for students completing the South Asian Studies minor are threefold: knowledge about the region of South Asia; core skills that can be used in graduate study or in a variety of professions; and critical awareness and engagement as the basis for social justice and global citizenship.

Knowledge: The South Asian Studies minor provides students with broad yet intimate knowledge of South Asia. South Asian Studies focus on the study India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and in certain contexts include a discussion of Afghanistan, Maldives, Myanmar, and Tibet. Students completing the minor:

will come away with a strong understanding of the intellectual, cultural, political, economic, and social developments at key periods in South Asia’s history and in the contemporary era.
will be exposed to a range of disciplinary approaches to the study of South Asia, including those of Anthropology, Comparative Literature, Economics, English, Fine Arts, Religious Studies, Social Policy and South Asian Literatures.
will acquire in-depth knowledge of a particular world region, complementing broader comparative majors such as International and Global Studies, Anthropology, Comparative Literature, History and Politics.

Core Skills: In addition, South Asian Studies students acquire core skills that can be used in graduate study or in a variety of professions. Critical thinking, writing and conducting scholarly research are emphasized in almost every class. Through exposure to South Asia, students sharpen their critical skills regarding the production of knowledge and sensibilities in traditions beyond the West and global North.

Critical Awareness and Engagement (Social Justice): The conditions of our time call out for a new generation of leaders proficient in diverse cultures. By studying in depth a world region beyond the United States, graduates gain knowledge and perspectives needed to participate as informed citizens in a global society. As South Asian Studies minors, students will be focusing on one of the most dynamic and important areas of study for global citizens of the 21st century.

Upon Graduating: Students completing the minor may find their knowledge of the region useful for professional careers in business, international law, international relations, government, journalism, education, international public health and NGOs. In addition, students who wish to continue in the study of South Asia beyond Brandeis may pursue graduate study in fields such as anthropology, history, literature politics, and economics by selecting a program that permits a specialization in South Asia.

How to Become a Minor

To enroll in the program, students must see the undergraduate advising head. Together they will select as an advisor a faculty member who seems best suited to that student's interests. Students in the minor work closely with the advisor to develop an individual plan of study. In addition to selecting courses at Brandeis, students may take advantage of the resources of neighboring institutions through the Boston Area Consortium. Courses may be taken at Boston College, Boston University, Tufts University, and Wellesley College. Study abroad in South Asia for a semester is also encouraged.

Program Faculty

Ulka Anjaria, Chair and Undergraduate Advising Head
(English)

Jonathan Shapiro Anjaria
(Anthropology)

Sarita Bhalotra
(Heller School)

David Engerman
(History)

Talinn Grigor
(Fine Arts)

Sarah Lamb
(Anthropology)

Nidhiya Menon
(Economics)

Harleen Singh
(German, Russian and Asian Languages and Literature and Women's and Gender Studies)

Govind Sreenivasan
(History)

Requirements for the Minor

The minor in South Asian studies requires a minimum of five semester courses, distributed as follows:

A. India and Pakistan: The Making of Modern South Asia (SAS 100a), the South Asian studies core course.

B. Four additional courses from the approved South Asian studies curriculum, taken from at least two different departments.

C. A minimum of three of the five courses required for the minor must be taken from Brandeis faculty. Courses taken at other institutions for credit must be approved by the student’s advisor and program chair.

D. No course with a final grade below C- can count toward the SAS minor and no course taken pass/fail may count toward the minor requirements..

E. No more than two courses taken for the SAS minor can double-count toward any other single major or minor.

Students are also encouraged to spend one or two semesters abroad at an approved academic program in South Asia during their junior year. Appropriate courses taken abroad may count toward the minor. More information can be obtained in the Office of Study Abroad in Usdan 127.

Courses of Instruction

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

SAS 92a Internship
Combines off-campus experience in a South Asia-related internship with written analysis under the supervision of a faculty sponsor. Students arrange their own internships. Counts only once toward fulfillment of requirements for the minor.
Staff

SAS 98a Independent Study
Usually offered every year.
Staff

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

ANTH 134a South Asian Culture and Society
[ nw ss ]
May be repeated for credit if taught by different instructors.
Examines the diversity and richness of the cultures and societies of South Asia, with a focus on India. Concentrates on the lived experiences of class, caste, gender, religion, politics, and region in people's everyday lives. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Anjaria or Ms. Lamb

IGS/SAS 160a The Rise of India
[ nw ss ]
Formerly offered as IGS 150a.
Examines how India rose to become a world power. With one-seventh of the world's population and a booming economy, India now shapes all global debates on trade, counter-terrorism and the environment. How will it use its new influence? Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Singh

REL/SAS 152a Introduction to Hinduism
[ hum nw ]
Introduces Hindu practice and thought. Explores broadly the variety of forms, practices, and philosophies that have been developing from the time of the Vedas (ca. 1500 BCE) up to present day popular Hinduism practiced in both urban and rural India. Examines the relations between Hindu religion and its wider cultural, social, and political contexts, relations between the Hindu majority of India and minority traditions, and questions of Hindu identity both in India and abroad. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Nair

REL/SAS 162b Religions in South Asia: India, Pakistan and Beyond
[ hum nw ]
Examines religious traditions of South Asia, including Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Islam and Sikhism, from the perspectives of scriptural texts, art, philosophy, history, anthropology and film. Explores the central ideas and practices of the region's religious traditions, as well as the role of religion in South Asian society, politics and culture. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

SAS 100a India and Pakistan: Understanding South Asia
[ nw ss ]
An exploration of the history, societies, cultures, religions, and literature of South Asia--India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Uses perspectives from history, anthropology, literature, and film to examine past and contemporary life in South Asia. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Anjaria, Ms. Anjaria, or Ms. Singh

SAS 101a South Asian Women Writers
[ hum nw ]
Includes literature by South Asian women writers such as Amrita Pritam, Ismat Chugtai, Jhumpa Lahiri, Kamila Shamsie, Tahmina Anam, and Chandini Lokuge. Some of the works were originally written in English, while others have been translated from the vernacular. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Singh

SAS 110b South Asian Postcolonial Writers
[ hum nw ]
Examines the postcolonial novel written in English within the shared history of colonialism, specifically British imperialism, for South Asia. Writers include R.K. Narayan, Salman Rushdie, Anita Desai, Arundhati Roy, Mohsin Hamid, Romesh Gunesekera and Daniyal Mueenudin. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Singh

SAS 130a Film and Fiction of Crisis
[ hum nw ]
Examines novels and films as a response to some pivotal crisis in South Asia: Independence and Partition, Communal Riots, Insurgency and Terrorism. We will read and analyze texts from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in an effort to examine how these moments of crisis have affected literary and cinematic form while also paying close attention to how they contest or support the narrative of the unified nation. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Singh

SAS 140a We Who Are at Home Everywhere: Narratives from the South Asian Diaspora
[ hum ]
Looks at narratives from various locations of the South Asian Diaspora, while paying close attention to the emergence of an immigrant South Asian public culture. Examines novels, poetry, short stories, film, and music in order to further an understanding of South Asian immigrant culture. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Singh

SAS 150b Indian Film: The Three-Hour Dream
[ hum nw ]
A study of Hindi films made in India since 1947 with a few notable exceptions from regional film, as well as some recent films made in English. Students will read Hindi films as texts/narratives of the nation to probe the occurrence of cultural, religious, historical, political, and social themes. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Singh

SAS 155b Cinema and Society: History, Film, and Visual Culture in Pakistan
[ nw ss ]
Explores the rise, fall and reprise of the Pakistani film industry against a backdrop of the country's tumultuous past and present. Films, throughout, will be studied alongside history as complex works of art; as mirrors and construction-sites of national identity; as discourses generating and disciplining sexualities and genders; as expressions of desire and disavowal; anxiety and transgression. The course will increase students' knowledge of Pakistan and its film history; of cinema as a cultural form and mode of critical and artistic expression; and of cinema culture and cinephilia as part of Parkistan's visual and media landscape. Special one-time offering, spring 2014.
Mr. Ahmad

SAS 164b Pakistan: History, State and Society
[ nw ss ]
Introduces the unsettled history and contemporary predicament of Pakistan. Theses examined include: Muslim nationalism in South Asia, contending perspectives on the country's origins, the complex relationship between U.S. imperialism and the post-colonial state, controversies associated with the so-called War on Terror, the escalation of sectarian attacks against minorities, and progressive public discourse and activism. The course asks: Is Pakistan a democracy in substantive terms? Will it survive, and what are the implications of this survival for its people and those living in neighboring countries? It concludes with a discussion of why the study of Pakistan has particular importance for America, which has historically invested heavily in fighting Communism and now Terrorism in South Asia and beyond. Through the study of primary and secondary texts, news media, school textbooks, and video clips, we pay special attention to history as it has unfolded against official discourse and in everyday lives. Special one-time offering, spring 2014.
Mr. Ahmad

Core Course in SAS

SAS 100a India and Pakistan: Understanding South Asia
[ nw ss ]
An exploration of the history, societies, cultures, religions, and literature of South Asia--India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Uses perspectives from history, anthropology, literature, and film to examine past and contemporary life in South Asia. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Anjaria, Ms. Anjaria, or Ms. Singh

Core Electives in SAS