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How to gain a passport to success and global citizenship

Students and Faculty from several of the University’s schools and regional studies departments discuss the reasons to study and engage with the histories, languages and cultures of the world. These studies support the deepening of students’ intellectual and personal development while simultaneously enhancing their cosmopolitanism. Students deem these as pre-requisites for success in their studies, careers and lives beyond Penn.

  • Undergraduate

    South Asia Studies is an interdisciplinary field that deals with the past and contemporary life of one-fifth of the world’s population.

    Graduate

    The PhD and MA Graduate program gives students a broad understanding of the study of South Asia, deep knowledge of particular fields of interest, and training in South Asian languages as the basis for original research to prepare for academia or other professional careers.

    Faculty

    The South Asia Studies Department is a close-knit community of interdisciplinary scholars that combines expertise in the languages, literatures, histories, and cultures of South Asia.

What is South Asia Studies?

The study of South Asia at Penn has a tradition stretching back over a hundred years. The department has trained generations of leaders in the field and remains one of the most distinguished places to study South Asia in the United States. Today the South Asia Studies Department is a close-knit community of interdisciplinary scholars that combines expertise in the languages, literatures, histories, and cultures of South Asia. The Department prides itself in its ability to meet a variety of training and learning needs.

Events

We Teach More Languages Than Any Other Department in the Country

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Meet Our Students

Baishakh Chakrabarti

I am currently working on gambling and speculative practices in South Asia. My particular regions of focus are Burma, Calcutta and Bombay and the period I am studying is roughly between the 1860's to the close of the third decade of the 20th century. Due to their close association with commodity speculation and gambling, the business and gaming practices of Marwari community is of particular interest to me.