The infant mortality rate in Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan, and is 5, 23, and 48; and that in Kerala, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh is 5, 14, and 37 respectively. Such wide variations in health outcomes across neighboring countries, provinces, even districts, are among the many manifestations of the profound entanglements between health and society. In this course, we will study these entanglements in detail, and learn how health depends not just on what individuals or communities do, but also on decisions made and actions taken far away from them: in the national capital, or in Global North centers like Washington DC, or way back in the past by colonial and post-colonial officials. We will examine the enduring hold of the past on the present by learning why, for example, some people in South Asia still trust the millennia-old procedures of blood-letting and bone-setting, and why some others prefer C-sections so they can schedule the birth of their child as per astrological auspiciousness. We will read, watch, and discuss the works of scholars, activists, journalists, and filmmakers, and dive into the disciplines of history, anthropology, global health, demography, and science and technology studies (STS). By looking at health from perspectives that are often different to how it is conventionally discussed, this course will expand students’ understanding of public health, medicine, and health policy in South Asia as well as the world in general.

The purpose of this course is to present a variety of narrative genres and to discuss and illustrate the modes whereby they can be analyzed. We will be looking at shorter types of narrative: short stories, novellas, and fables, and also some extracts from longer works such as autobiographies. While some works will come from the Anglo-American tradition, a larger number will be selected from European and non-Western cultural traditions and from earlier time-periods. The course will thus offer ample opportunity for the exploration of the translation of cultural values in a comparative perspective.

This course will lead students to consolidate their knowledge of Sanskrit grammar and increase their familiarity with Sanskrit literature of all kinds, including epic, literary, philosophical, and narrative genres of texts. It will also introduce students to the study and reading of inscriptional materials.

This course focuses on the key themes of protest and resistance in contemporary South Asian literarure. Most South Asian countries have been witnessing an endless wave of protests and resistance from various sections of public life for the last three decades. In India, for example, protest literature emerges not only from traditionally marginalized groups (the poor, religious and ethnic minorities, depressed castes and tribal communities), but also from upper-caste groups, whose protest literature expresses concerns over economic oppression, violence and the denial of fundamental rights. Literature is becoming an immediate tool to articualte acts of resistance and anger, as many writers and poets are also taking on new roles as poitical activists. In this class, we will read various contemporary works of short fiction, poetry and memoirs to comprehend shifts in public life toward political and social activism in South Asia. We will also watch two or three documentaries that focus on public protests and resistance. No pre-requisites or South Asian language requirements. All literary works will be read in English translations.

This course aims to provide students with the methodological tools and disciplinary perspectives necessary for the contemporary study of South Asia, while situating that study in the larger history of Area Studies as an interdisciplinary field of study. The course will include both in-depth discussion of the theory and history of Area Studies in the United States and the relation of area-specific study to nineteenth-century fields of philology and orientalism, as well as orientations and case studies in the major fields associated with South Asian Studies. Alongside these thematic concerns, studies will practice skills necessary for further study, including working with sources and archives, field-standard citation practices, and developing familiarity with new methodologies in the digital humanities. Relatedly, this course will deal with the major genres of academic writing associated with South Asian studies, including both departmental milestones such as the proposal and the dissertation, as well as journal articles and grant applications. The course will culminate in a student project which will work with one of these genres to present their own research interests. Completion of this course will prepare students to engage in the diverse conversations that make up contemporary South Asian Studies.