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An Interdepartmental Program in South Asian Studies

Last updated: November 5, 2025 at 2:10 PM

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 of 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
(English)

Jonathan Shapiro Anjaria
(Anthropology)

Brian Horton, Chair and Undergraduate Advising Head
(Anthropology)

Sarah Lamb
(Anthropology)

Nidhiya Menon
(Economics)

Hannah Weiss Muller
(History)

Rajesh Sampath
(Heller School)

Laurence Simon
(Heller School)

Avinash Singh
(International and Global Studies, History)

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

Govind Sreenivasan
(History)

Gowri Vijayakumar
(Sociology)

Requirements for the Minor

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

India and Pakistan: Understanding South Asia (SAS 100a), the South Asian Studies core course.
Four additional courses from the approved South Asian studies curriculum, taken from at least two different departments.
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.
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.
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

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(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

ENG 20a Bollywood: Popular Film, Genre, and Society
[ djw hum nw ]

An introduction to popular Hindi cinema through a survey of the most important Bollywood films from the 1950s until today. Topics include melodrama, song and dance, love and sex, stardom, nationalism, religion, diasporic migration, and globalization. Usually offered every third year.

HIST 66a History of South Asia (2500 BCE - 1971)
[ djw nw oc ss ]

Introduces South Asian history from the earliest civilizations to the independence of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Surveys the formation of religious traditions, the establishment of kingdoms and empires, colonialism and its consequences, and post-independence political and economic development. Usually offered every second year.

SAS 98a Independent Study

Usually offered every year.

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

HIST 178b Britain and India: Connected Histories
[ djw oc ss wi ]

Surveys the history of Britain and India from the rise of the East India Company to the present. Explores cultural and economic exchanges; shifts in power and phases of imperial rule; resistance and collaboration; nationalism; decolonization and partition; and postcolonial legacies. Usually offered every second year.

HIST 179b India and the Superpowers (USA, USSR, and China): 1947 and Beyond
[ nw ss ]

Examines the history of modern India through its relationships with the "superpowers," USA, USSR, and China. Covering the period between 1947-2018, the course analyses ideological, economic, foreign policy shifts and subcontinental conflict in a constantly changing geo-political scene. Usually offered every second year.

Avinash Singh

IGS 165a Revolution, Religion, and Terror: Postcolonial Histories
[ djw nw oc ss ]

Examines religious conflict, revolutionary violence, and civil war in modern South Asia. It looks at Jihad, Maoist militancy, rising fundamentalism, and political violence. Usually offered every second year.

REL/SAS 152a Introduction to Hinduism, Yoga, and the Divine in South Asia
[ 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.

SAS 100a India and Pakistan: Understanding South Asia
[ djw hum nw ss ]

Examines the making and unmaking of modern South Asia as a region, with particular focus on India and Pakistan as well as their connections to Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Using perspectives from history, politics, anthropology, literature, and film, the course introduces students to key themes in the study of South Asia, such as colonialism and anti-colonial struggles, legacies of empire, caste critique and Dalit thought, gender and sexuality, religion, and popular culture. Usually offered every year. Usually offered every year.

SAS 150b Love, Sex, and Country: Films from India
[ djw 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.

SAS 165a Cinemas of India: Caste, Gender, and State
[ djw hum ]

The Indian film industry is the largest in the world, catering to spectators within and outside the country. Often, however, the discussion of Indian cinema limits itself to the Hindi film industry or Bollywood. This course attempts to study cinema in India in different languages and genres through the categories of caste, gender, and state. It traces the beginnings of cinema in India, its development in the post-independence period, and contemporary digital cinema, focusing on Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam and going beyond a Bollywood-centric approach by complicating the discourse on region and nation. It endeavors to unpack the questions of ideology, aesthetics and affect in Indian cinema by examining the powers of caste, gender, and state in the cultural production of the country and how it is being contested in/through cinema. Special one-time offering, fall 2024.

SAS 180a Introduction to Critical Caste Studies
[ djw hum ]

An introduction to the (emerging) field of Critical Caste Studies. Through an interdisciplinary reading of various materials (print, visual, and sound), we will study the oppressive system of caste and the resistant practices to it. We will examine not only the discourse on caste power and its mechanisms of discriminatory practices, but also anti-caste and casteless textualities and aesthetics. Moreover, we will explore the role of media in the constitution of casteless imaginaries and anti-caste articulations. We will focus on the contexts and conceptualizations; history and discourse; gender and performance; and art and aesthetics. Apart from the introduction to the wide-ranging cultural, religious, economic, gender, and historical facets of South Asia, we will also familiarize ourselves with how caste/casteism is intertwined with and embedded in South Asia and the Indian diaspora, and study caste in relation to gender inequalities and race/racism. Special one-time offering, spring 2025.

WGS 135b Postcolonial Feminisms
[ hum oc ]

Examines feminist theories, literature, and film from formerly colonized, Anglophone countries in South Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa. It takes the shared path of decolonization and postcoloniality to discuss the development of feminist discourse and the diverse trajectories of gendered lives. Usually offered every third year.

SAS Core Courses

SAS 100a India and Pakistan: Understanding South Asia
[ djw hum nw ss ]

SAS Core Electives

ANTH 134a Contemporary South Asia
[ djw ss ]

Explores contemporary life in a region called South Asia (including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal) through divergent histories, cultures, and concepts. Explores not just the region’s histories and cultures, but also a string of concepts and debates that simultaneously make and unmake the region as both a stable object of study as well as place on a map—including caste, Partition, ethnic conflict, religion, nationalism, gender, kinship, liberalization, postcoloniality, development, diaspora, and queerness. Usually offered every third year.

ENG 20a Bollywood: Popular Film, Genre, and Society
[ djw hum nw ]

ENG 127a The Novel in India
[ djw hum nw ]

Survey of the novel and short story of the Indian subcontinent, their formal experiments in context of nationalism and postcolonial history. Authors may include Tagore, Anand, Manto, Desani, Narayan, Desai, Devi, Rushdie, Roy, Mistry, and Chaudhuri. Usually offered every second year.

ENG 152a Indian Love Stories
[ djw dl hum nw ]

Introduces students to writings on love, desire and sexuality from ancient India to the present. Topics include ancient eroticism, love in Urdu poetry, Gandhi's sexual asceticism, colonial regulation of sexuality, Bollywood, queer fiction and more. Usually offered every third year.

HIST 66a History of South Asia (2500 BCE - 1971)
[ djw nw oc ss ]

HIST 178b Britain and India: Connected Histories
[ djw oc ss wi ]

HIST 179b India and the Superpowers (USA, USSR, and China): 1947 and Beyond
[ nw ss ]

Avinash Singh

HIST 187b Unequal Histories: Caste, Religion, and Dissent in India
[ djw dl nw oc ss ]

Examines the religious, political, and social dimensions of discrimination in India. In order to study caste, power, and representation, we will look at religious texts, historical debates, film, and literature from the Vedic Age to contemporary India. Usually offered every second year.

HIST/IGS 180b Modern India: From Partition to the Present
[ djw dl nw oc ss ]

Examines the history, culture, and economy of modern India (1947-2019) with a focus on key concerns, such as the environment, urbanization, gender/sexual relations, and the transformations of democratic politics. Usually offered every second year.

HIST/SOC 170b Gender and Sexuality in South Asia
[ djw nw ss ]

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission of the instructor.

Explores historical and contemporary debates about gender and sexuality in South Asia; revisits concepts of "woman," "sex," "femininity," "home," "family," "community," "nation," "reform," "protection," and "civilization" across the colonial and postcolonial periods. Usually offered every second year.

IGS 165a Revolution, Religion, and Terror: Postcolonial Histories
[ djw nw oc ss ]

REL/SAS 152a Introduction to Hinduism, Yoga, and the Divine in South Asia
[ hum nw ]

SAS 150b Love, Sex, and Country: Films from India
[ djw hum nw ]

SAS 165a Cinemas of India: Caste, Gender, and State
[ djw hum ]

SAS 180a Introduction to Critical Caste Studies
[ djw hum ]

WGS 135b Postcolonial Feminisms
[ hum oc ]

SAS Elective

AAPI/HIS 163a Asian American History
[ deis-us dl ss ]

Provides students an introduction to the history and study of Asian persons in the United States from the mid-19th century to the present, with a focus on how their presence has shaped American institutions, society, and culture. We ask: How does our narrative of the United States shift when we center the experiences of Asian Americans—a group largely excluded or invisibilized in discussions of our nation’s collective past? How does studying Asian Americans push us to think about race and inequality beyond a Black-white binary? How does understanding anti-Asian racism inform our understanding of the US as a gatekeeping nation, at the same time the nation’s leaders purport it to be a melting pot and nation of immigrants? How do global politics and US imperial ventures into Asia—from formal colonial rule in the 19th century to US-waged wars and military interventions abroad in the 20th century—create waves of displaced peoples who are pushed towards America’s shores? Key themes and major events covered in this course include Orientalism, migrant labor, nativism and xenophobia, Chinese exclusion, US colonial empire, Japanese internment, the Cold War, refugees, the Asian American movement, anti-Asian violence and the murder of Vincent Chin, Asian/Black relations and the 1992 LA uprising, religion, islamophobia, the Global War on Terror, and much more. Usually offered every second year.

AAS/AAPI 129b The Spirit of Bandung: Afro-Asian Insurgency and Solidarity
[ deis-us djw ss ]

Examines the racial conflicts between Black and Asian American communities and develops an understanding of how the Afro-Asia political project is an insurgent coalitional project. To do this, we will explore the historical and contemporary struggles, insurgencies, and solidarities of Black and Asian peoples. We will learn together how Afro-Asia serves as an insurgent site of critique, resistance, and revolutionary aesthetics that connects distant geographies, diasporas, and Black and Asian peoples to a global anti-racist, anti-imperialist, and anti-colonial political imaginary. Usually offered every year.

ANTH 111a Aging in Cross-Cultural Perspective
[ djw nw ss wi ]

Examines the meanings and social arrangements given to aging in a diversity of societies, including the U.S., India, Japan and China. Key themes include: the diverse ways people envision and organize the life course, scholarly and popular models of successful aging, the medicalization of aging in the U.S., cultural perspectives on dementia, and the ways national aging policies and laws are profoundly influenced by particular cultural models. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 158a Urban Worlds
[ dl ss ]

Explores some of the essential concepts of urban theory and conducts an in-depth study of urban experiences around the world. Topics include the city and marginality, urban modernity, gender and public space, gentrification, suburbanization, transportation, transgression, and urban nature. Case studies may be from cities such as Mumbai, Lagos, New York, Paris, Dubai, and Rio de Janeiro. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 166b Queer Anthropology: Sexualities and Genders in Cross-Cultural Perspective
[ djw oc ss ]

When held together, “Queer Anthropology” might name something akin to a systematic way of cross-culturally studying human sexuality, gender, and desire that runs against the grain of dominant, socially held beliefs of normalcy (or what we now call normative/heteronormative). Sitting with this definition, we will chart the different worlds that Queer Anthropology might enable us to see and imagine. From transfeminine women who claim to experience pregnancy to sex between straight white Frat brothers to lesbian women finding community through anonymous love letters, this course moves between different scales and registers for talking about sexuality, gender, bodies, and difference. Together, we will trace Queer Anthropology's origins, examine its present moments, and speculate on its potential futures. Usually offered every second year.

ECON 176a Health, Hunger, and the Household in Developing Countries
[ djw nw ss ]

Prerequisites: ECON 80a and ECON 184b or permission of the instructor.

Examines aspects of poverty and nutrition that are confronted by households in low-income countries. Examines these issues primarily from a microeconomic perspective, although some macroeconomic angles are explored as well. Usually offered every second year.

ENG 22a South Asian Ways of Watching: Films and Graphic Narratives
[ djw hum ]

How do we watch South Asia and how does South Asia watch itself? This course pairs films with graphic narratives, moving from black-and-white cinema to color-saturated narratives. We’ll explore myth, Partition, caste and care, love and queer desire, displacement and diaspora, ecological crisis, and street-level protest. Expect lively discussion plus creative labs (zines, storyboards, photos/videos/mini-comics) to try visual storytelling yourself. Special one-time offering, spring 2026.

ENVS 131b Global Climate Governance
[ djw oc ss ]

Introduction to the political economy of climate governance and its social justice implications, especially the perspectives and proposals from the global South (Latin America, Africa, and South Asia). This course will map, compare, and systematize different proposals based on the green economy to public ownership and control over common goods proposals like just transition and buen vivir. Students are encouraged to discuss and apply concepts to their own creative proposals for social interventions, developing their practice and skills for climate activism, engagement, and leadership. Usually offered every year.

FA 33b Islamic Art and Architecture
[ ca djw nw ]

Through case studies of cities, sites, and monuments, the course presents an overview of the art and the architecture of the Islamic world beginning from the seventh century up to the present. Some of the themes include, but are not limited to, Islamic material culture, orientalist imaginations, systems of governance and the colonial present, search for the local identity, urban modernity and nationalism, and globalization. Usually offered every second year.

FA 34a History of Asian Art
[ ca nw ]

A selective survey of the art of the three major Asian areas: India, China, and Japan. Usually offered every second year.

FA 171b Buddhist Art
[ ca nw ]

Surveys Buddhist art and architecture in different parts of the world. Primarily, religious buildings, artworks, and monuments from South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia will be examined within their historical, cultural, and social contexts. Usually offered every fourth year.

HIST 131b The Global Gandhi
[ oc ss ]

Explores the life, teachings, and global legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. We will study how Gandhi developed his unorthodox religious beliefs and practices, how he led India's independence movement and inspired global leaders with his principle of nonviolent civil disobedience, and how he faced criticisms and controversies over his views on caste, gender, and sexuality. The course will aim to present a balanced perspective on Gandhi by evaluating his contributions and challenges to the issues of nonviolence, justice, and ecology in the contemporary world. Usually offered every second year.

HS 236a International Health Systems and Development

Provides students with the framework to understand how health systems are organized and to understand what affects their performance. Students also will be able to describe key features of health systems; how health system performance is measured; and how lessons from other countries can be applied to their own countries. The course examines different health system frameworks, how to use these frameworks to ask health system questions, different aspects of health systems, how national health systems differ, and what measures are being implemented in different countries to improve their health system performance and eventually health outcomes. The course will also take a broader look at the relationships between health policy, economic policy and development policy, examining some of the main economic and development theories shaping global policies and also examine the international institutions and political dynamics in health policy making. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 102a Introduction to Global Health
[ ss ]

A primer on major issues in health care in developing nations. Topics include the natural history of disease and levels of prevention; epidemiological transitions; health disparities; and determinants of health including culture, social context, and behavior. Also covers: infectious and chronic disease incidence and prevalence; the role of nutrition, education, reproductive trends, and poverty; demographic transition including aging and urbanization; the structure and financing of health systems; and the globalization of health. Usually offered every year.

IGS 171a The Asian Wave: Global Pop Culture and its Histories
[ djw ss ]

Asia is not only remaking itself but also exporting images and ideas across the world. This course explores how Asian pop culture shapes global modernity, as countries project their values and aspirations to a global audience through increasing connectivity. Usually offered every second year.

IGS 175a Digital Asia: Democracy in the Internet Age
[ djw dl nw oc ss ]

Analyzes the transformative potential of the internet as an agent of development and as a mechanism for disrupting social and political orders in Asia, home to the world's largest democracy and also the world's largest authoritarian regime. Usually offered every second year.

REL 151a Introduction to Buddhism: Mind and Meditation
[ hum nw ]

Explores Buddhist teachings starting from the life of the Buddha and into the present day. Examines practical Buddhist methods for achieving transformation, inner freedom, and joy, and considers how different Buddhist traditions respond to the challenges of today’s world. Usually offered every year.

SOC 126a South Asian Diasporas
[ deis-us ss ]

Examines South Asian diasporas in sociological perspective, in relation to colonialism, globalization, and racialization. Usually offered every third year.