Courses for Spring 2019 | South Asia Studies

	Title	Instructor	Location	Time	Description	Fulfills	Registration Notes
BENG 424-680	INTERMEDIATE BENGALI II	BANERJEE, HAIMANTI	WILLIAMS HALL 23	TR 0500PM-0630PM	This course develops the student's prior knowledge of Bengali. An attempt is made to gear the syllabus to meet the specific needs of students. The focus of the course is to develop the oral and aural skills of the learner as well as improve writing skills and reading strategies. Emphasis is also laid on increasing the sociolinguistic and strategic competence of the learners so that they will be able to function in the target culture. Besides discussions on various aspects of Bengali life, students read some short literary texts in the original Bengali version.		SEE SPECIAL MESSAGE IN DEPARTMENT HEADER
GUJR 403-680	BEGINNING GUJARATI II	DESAI, RAKI	WILLIAMS HALL 320	MW 0500PM-0700PM	During the first year of Gujarati, major emphasis is placed on acquiring phonetics, grammatical patterns, and basic vocabulary. These goals are accomplished through guided drills and conversations accompanied by formal instruction on Gujarati grammar. From the outset, students are also taught the Gujarati writing system, which is used for all materials. By the end of the first year of instruction, student should be able to carry on coherent conversations on selected topics, read simple texts and compose short pieces in Gujarati.		LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE
GUJR 423-680	INTERMEDIATE GUJARATI II	DESAI, RAKI		CANCELED	This course is designed as a continuation of intermediate Gujarati I. Course objectives are to expand the mastery of sentence patterns and augment vocabulary and its usage through intensive grammar and comprehension exercises. A special emphasis will be placed on greater cultural awareness. Upon completion of this course students should be able to interact socially with added confidence and greater expressiveness. Students should also experience a great improvement in their comprehension of spoken and written language. During the second year of Gujarati, students are introduced to progressively more difficult reading selections, along with additional instructions in the formal grammar of the language. To maintain and develop oral and aural command of the language, readings are discussed in Gujarati. To develop their writing abilities, students are also expected to compose short essays on their readings.		SEE SPECIAL MESSAGE IN DEPARTMENT HEADER; LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE
GUJR 442-680	ADVANCED GUJARATI	DESAI, RAKI	WILLIAMS HALL 438	MW 0700PM-0830PM	A follow up semester to Advanced Gujarati I, focused on the comprehensive study in reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension to gain advanced knowledge of Gujarati. Instructor may use poetry and/or prose as tools to engage students while having them create their own written works. Contact instructor for details.
HIND 401-401	BEGINNING HINDI-URDU II	PIEN, JOSHUA	WILLIAMS HALL 633 WILLIAMS HALL 317	TR 0300PM-0430PM F 1100AM-1200PM	This introductory course core proficiency in Hindi-Urdu up to the intermediate level. It is designed for students with little or no prior exposure to Hindi or Urdu. The course covers all four language skills (speaking, lsitening, reading, and writing) and all three models of communication (interpersonal, presentational, interpretive). Students will develop literacy skills in the primary script of their choice (Hindi or Urdu script). All written materials will be provided in both scripts. All meetings are interactive and students acquire the language by using it in realistic contexts. Culture is embedded in the activities and is also introduced through various authentic materials.		LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE
HIND 421-301	INTERMEDIATE HINDI II: Intermediate Hindi Part II	PIEN, JOSHUA	WILLIAMS HALL 215	TR 1030AM-1200PM	In Intermediate Hindi the student continues to develop the four language skills, with an emphasis on real-life situations--through hearing and practicing conversation on everyday topics, reading a variety of authentic texts ranging from advertisements to short stories, watching segments of current films, and carrying out short research projects using Hindi sources. There is a strong emphasis on vocabulary development and on using contextually appropriate styles of spoken and written Hindi.		SEE SPECIAL MESSAGE IN DEPARTMENT HEADER; LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE; THE SECOND TERM OF A TWO-TERM COURSE
HIND 430-001	ADV HINDI LANG & LIT	PIEN, JOSHUA	WILLIAMS HALL 826	TR 0130PM-0300PM	Advanced Hindi aims at systematically developing higher level linguistic functions and cultural nuances. Students learn to describe, narrate and support opinions in informal and formal styles. The objective of the course is to promote a meaningful interaction with written literature and with native speakers in a socially acceptable manner in a variety of simple and complicated situations. A variety of authentic materials are used, such as short stories, plays, newspapers, magazines, videos, television and radio broadcasts, and interviews. Every semester the course materials and foci vary depending on the needs and interests of students in the class.		LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE
HIND 500-001	BEG HIN/URD FOR GRADS	SREENIVASAN, RAMYA		TBA TBA-	Beginning in the fall semester of 2014 Beginning Hindi and Beginning Urdu will be merged into a single course, Beginning Hindi-Urdu. At the beginning level spoken Urdu and Hindi are identical except for a few minor points. The broad outline of the course will thus remain the same as that of the current Beginning Hindi and Urdu courses. Students will learn to communicate with the language in a variety of everyday culturally authentic situations. Additional Urdu and Hindi culture will be integrated through authentic materials such as Bollywood film and music clips, and simple written texts. There will be equal emphasis on both scripts and cultures, and parallel written materials will be provided in both scripts. Students will be expected to develop first-year proficiency in one script of their choice, and will be encouraged to learn both. By merging the two courses students will be exposed to a broader range of linguistic and cultural styles, and students will thus have the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding that more closely resembles that of Hindi and Urdu native speakers. Please direct further inquiries to Josh Pien at jpien@sas.upenn.edu See schedule and classroom for HIND400/401		PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR
HIND 520-001	INTERMEDIATE HIND GRADS	SREENIVASAN, RAMYA		TBA TBA-	In Intermediate Hindi the student continues to develop the four language skills, with an emphasis on real-life situations--through hearing and practicing conversation on everyday topics, reading a variety of authentic texts ranging from advertisements to short stories, watching segments of current films, and carrying out short research projects using Hindi sources. There is a strong emphasis on vocabulary development and on using contextually appropriate styles of spoken and written Hindi.		PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR
HIND 530-001	ADV HINDI FOR GRADS	SREENIVASAN, RAMYA		TBA TBA-	Advanced Hindi aims at systematically developing higher level linguistic functions and cultural nuances. Students learn to describe, narrate and support opinions in informal and formal styles. The objective of the course is to promote a meaningful interaction with written literature and with native speakers in a socially acceptable manner in a variety of simple and complicated situations. A variety of authentic materials are used, such as short stories, plays, newspapers, magazines, videos, television and radio broadcasts, and interviews. Every semester the course materials and foci vary depending on the needs and interests of students in the class.		PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR
MLYM 409-680	BEGINNING MALAYALAM II	KURICHI, JAMES		TBA TBA-	This course is designed to develop skills in reading, writing, and speaking. It will focus on the alphabet, basic vocabulary, nouns (cases, gender and number), verbs and their basic tenses, numerals, rules of joining words, adjectives, adverbs, and sentence structure. Guided conversation will be a part of every class. Students will receive considerable training in speaking and writing their own sentences and paragraphs.
MLYM 438-680	ADVANCED MALAYALAM II	KURICHI, JAMES		CANCELED	Reading, writing, comprehension, grammer and speaking at the advnaced level of Malayam are the objectives of this course.
PUNJ 405-680	BEGINNING PUNJABI II	GAHUNIA, AMRIT	WILLIAMS HALL 5	MW 0430PM-0600PM	This course emphasizes speaking and reading skills in Punjabi. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to interact meaningfully and in a socially acceptable manner in a variety of simple situations involving everyday conversational topics. Further, students should be able to read and understand the main idea and most details of simple connected texts. This course will utilize authentic printed, audio, and video materials and will provide opportunities for natural communication both within and outside the classroom.		LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE
PUNJ 425-680	INTERMEDIATE PUNJABI II	GAHUNIA, AMRIT	WILLIAMS HALL 843	TR 0430PM-0600PM	This course is designed as a continuation of Beginning Punjabi, but can also be taken by anyone who can demonstrate a similar level in proficiency of the language. The course objectives are to expand the mastery of sentence patterns and augment vocabulary and its usage through intensive grammar review and comprehension exercises. A special emphasis will also be placed on greater cultural awareness. Upon completion of this course students should be able to interact socially with added confidence and greater expressiveness. Students should also experience a great improvement in their comprehension of the spoken and written language.		SEE SPECIAL MESSAGE IN DEPARTMENT HEADER; LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE; THE SECOND TERM OF A TWO-TERM COURSE
SAST 002-401	THE CITY IN SOUTH ASIA	MITCHELL, LISA	WILLIAMS HALL 421	MW 1100AM-1150AM	This interdisciplinary social science course examines key topics, themes, and analytic methods in the study of South Asia by focusing on significant South Asian cities. With one-fifth of the worlds population,South Asia and its urban centers are playing an increasingly important role in recent global economic transformations, resulting in fundamental changes within both the subcontinent and the larger world. Drawing primarily on ethnographic studies of South Asia in the context of rapid historical change, the course also incorporates research drawn from urban studies, architecture, political science, and history, as well as fiction and film. Topics include globalization and new economic dynamics in South Asia; the formation of a new urban middle class; consumption and consumer culture; urban political formations, democratic institutions, and practices; criminality & the underworld; population growth, changes in the built environment, and demographic shifts; everyday life in South Asia and ethnic, cultural, and linguistic identities, differences, and violence in South Asia's urban environments. This is an introductory level course appropriate for students with no background in South Asia or for those seeking to better understand South Asia's urban environments in the context of recent globalization and rapid historical changes. No prerequisites. Fulfills College sector requirement in Society and foundational approach in Cross-Cultural Analysis.	Society sector (all classes)	SECTION ACTIVITY CO-REQUISITE REQUIRED; CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; SOCIETY SECTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
SAST 004-601	India's Literature: Love, War, Wisdom and Humor	PATEL, DEVEN	COLLEGE HALL 311F	R 0500PM-0800PM	This course introduces students to the extraordinary quality of literary production during the past four millennia of South Asian civilization. We will read texts in translation from all parts of South Asia up to the sixteenth century. We will read selections from hymns, lyric poems, epics, wisdom literature, plays, political works, and religious texts.	Arts & Letters Sector (all classes)	CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; ARTS & LETTERS SECTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
SAST 006-401	HINDU MYTHOLOGY	PATEL, DEVEN	COLLEGE HALL 200	TR 1200PM-0130PM	Premodern India produced some of the world's greatest myths and stories: tales of gods, goddesses, heroes, princesses, kings and lovers that continue to capture the imaginations of millions of readers and hearers. In this course, we will look closely at some of these stories especially as found in Purana-s, great compendia composed in Sanskrit, including the chief stories of the central gods of Hinduism: Visnu, Siva, and the Goddess. We will also consider the relationship between these texts and the earlier myths of the Vedas and the Indian Epics, the diversity of the narrative and mythic materials within and across different texts, and the re-imagining of these stories in the modern world.	Arts & Letters Sector (all classes)	CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; ARTS & LETTERS SECTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
SAST 054-401	RELIGION AND RESISTANCE IN SOUTH ASIA	MOHAMMAD, MAHBOOB	WILLIAMS HALL 25	MW 0200PM-0330PM	In this course, we focus on various medieval and contemporary devotional forms of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam in South Asia. Several definitions try to tie the idea of devotion to classicism and traditionalism with a set of conservative ideas. However, this course introduces the students to a diverse and pluralistic understanding of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam that also has a history of resistance and protest beginning with poets such as Kabir and others from the Bhakti movement, and Sufi devotional contexts in South Asia. We read about the histories of these rebellious poets and their interventions into the traditional practices of devotion. We also discuss about how these medieval trends find their way into contemporary times enriching the discourses of Dalit, Muslim and Feminist movements.
SAST 105-001	BEGINNING TABLA II	BHATTI, AQEEL	WILLIAMS HALL 812	MW 0500PM-0630PM	A continuation of Tabla I, also open to beginning students.		PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR
SAST 107-401	BEGINNING SITAR II	GOKHALE, JAGADEESH	WILLIAMS HALL 812	TR 0430PM-0600PM	This is the second semester of a performance course in the North Indian sitar Students who have not taken the first semester but play any musical instrument are permitted to join. Principles of composition and improvisation will be explored in practice and supplemented by readings and listening. The class gives a group performance at the end of the semester.		CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
SAST 110-401	MEDIA AND SOUTH ASIA	BALAJI, MURALI	COLLEGE HALL 315A	M 0330PM-0630PM	This course examines the historical development of media institutions across the Indian subcontinent, and how media texts have helped to shape post-colonial national/cultural/religious/social identities, nationalism, and geopolitical relations. The course looks at how the post-colonial State in South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka) has interacted with media industries, and the implications of this interaction.		CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
SAST 142-401	INTRO BUDDHISM	MCDANIEL, JUSTIN	CLAUDIA COHEN HALL 402	MW 0500PM-0700PM	This course seeks to introduce students to the diversity of doctrines held and practices performed by Buddhists in Asia. By focusing on how specific beliefs and practices are tied to particular locations and particular times, we will be able to explore in detail the religious institutions, artistic, architectural, and musical traditions, textual production and legal and doctrinal developments of Buddhism over time and within its socio-historical context. Religion is never divorced from its place and its time. Furthermore, by geographically and historically grounding the study of these religions we will be able to examine how their individual ethic, cosmological and soteriological systems effect local history, economics, politics, and material culture. We will concentrate first on the person of the Buddha, his many biographies and how he has been followed and worshipped in a variety of ways from Lhasa, Tibet to Phrae, Thailand. From there we touch on the foundational teachings of the Buddha with an eye to how they have evolved and transformed over time. Finally, we focus on the practice of Buddhist ritual, magic and ethics in monasteries and among aly communities in Asia and even in the West. This section will confront the way Buddhists have thought of issues such as "Just-War," Women's Rights and Abortion. While no one quarter course could provide a detailed presentation of the beliefs and practices of Buddhism, my hope is that we will be able to look closely at certain aspects of these religions by focusing on how they are practiced in places like Nara, Japan or Vietnam, Laos.		SECTION ACTIVITY CO-REQUISITE REQUIRED; CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
SAST 160-401	GODLINESS, MIRACLES, MADNESS IN INDIAN OCEAN PORT CITIES	SEVEA, TERENJIT	MCNEIL BUILDING 395	T 0300PM-0600PM	This undergraduate-level course introduces students to religious worlds within port cities of the modern Indian Ocean that were centered upon peripatetic Muslim, Saiva, Christian and Sikh miracle-workers, missionaries and 'gods'. This course will particularly consider how extant, published sources reveal how religion in 19th and 20th century cosmopolitan port cities and islands: was centered upon holy men and women or spiritual beings, and intricately connected to modern economic, political and technological developments in the India Ocean. This course is divided into three parts. In the first part of this course, students will be introduced, on the one hand, to the scholarship on the port cities or islands of, and religions or religious networks in, the modern Indian Ocean. On the other hand, to anthroplogical, historical and literary works on Muslim saints, Christian missionaries and Saiva gods in the Indian Ocean. In the second and main section of this course, students will be introduced to contemporary academic literature pertaining to the inter-linkages between itinerant miracle-workers, missionaries, 'gods' and devotional cults, and economic, political and technological developments in the Indian Ocean. As well as works that explore European institutions, barracks, plantations, cells and asylums, and steam travel being steeped in customary religion, carnivals, ecstasy, madness and miracle stories. Here, students will be encouraged to consider ways in which a study of religion and religious economies of modern Indian Ocean port cities can be recovered through extracts from a range of anthropological, literary and historical sources. In the third part of this course, students will be encouraged to engage with the question of whether the religion of devotional cults preoccupied with the powers of Muslim, Saiva, Christian, and Sikh miracle-workers, missionaries and 'gods' in cosmopolitan port cities, was a distinct product of circulations within the Indian Ocean.
SAST 161-401	ANTH & THE MODERN WORLD: AFGHANISTAN, IRAN, AND PAKISTAN	SPOONER, BRIAN	CHEMISTRY BUILDING 514	M 0200PM-0500PM	This course relates anthropological models and methods to current problems in the Modern World. The overall objective is to show how the research findings and analytical concepts of anthropology may be used to illuminate and explain events as they have unfolded in the recent news and in the course of the semester. Each edition of the course will focus on a particular country or region that has been in the news.		CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
SAST 166-401	FORGOTTEN ASIANS OF THE AMERICAS	PILLAI, RUPA	DAVID RITTENHOUSE LAB 3W2	MW 0200PM-0330PM	Although Asians have lived in the Americas for centuries, the Asian American community and experience tends to be defined by the post-1965 wave of immigration to the United States. In an effort to correct this narrative this course will explore the histories, experiences, and contributions of some of the forgotten Asians of the Americas. In particular, we will focus on the earlier labor migrations of Chinese and South Asian individuals to the Caribbean and the United States. The experiences of these individuals, who built railroads, cut sugarcane, and replaced African slave labor, complicate our understandings of race today. By examining the legal and social debates surrounding their labor in the 19th century and exploring how their experiences are forgotten and their descendants are rendered invisible today, we will complicate what is Asian America and consider how this history shapes immigration policies today.
SAST 180-401	ASIAN AMERICAN FOOD	KHAN, FARIHA	MCNEIL BUILDING 285	TR 1200PM-0130PM	You are what you eat. Asian American Food explores the history, politics, and ethnic identity of food through a cultural lens. Growing food, eating, and sharing meals serve as intimate expressions of self and community. By examining the production and consumption of food, the course investigates the ways that Asian Americans navigate traditions, gender norms, religious dietary laws, food habits, and employment as they create lives in the United States. The course overviews the history of Asian American foodways, but has a particular focus on Philadelphia's Asian American communities.		CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN US; CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE US
SAST 189-401	ISLAM AND THE WEST	SEVEA, TERENJIT	FISHER-BENNETT HALL 17	TR 1030AM-1200PM	How did Muslims and modern South Asia interact with the West? What Islamic idioms, orientations and movements emerged in the nineteenth and twentienth centuries? Was South Asia a prominent global center of Islam? What kinds of Islamic educational institutions developed in modern South Asia? How did Muslims appropriate technologies? What materials were printed by Muslims? Were Muslims part of the British army? What was jihad in modernity? How did Muslim 'modernists' and 'traditionalists' respond to the challenges of colonialism and modernity? What was the nature of Sufism in modern South Asia? What was the nature of politicalIslam in South Asia? How did some Muslims demand a Muslim State? What was the Partition? How has Muslim history been remembered in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan? This is an introductory course, and aims to introduce students to a facet of the long history of Islam, Muslims, and the West.
SAST 200-401	INTRO TO ART IN S. ASIA			CANCELED	This course is a survey of sculpture, painting and architecture in the Indian sub-continent from 2300 B.C., touching on the present. It attempts to explore the role of tradition in the broader history of art in India, but not to see India as 'traditional' or unchanging. The Indian sub-continent is the source for multi-cultural civilizations that have lasted and evolved for several thousand years. Its art is as rich and complex as that of Europe, and as diverse. This course attempts to introduce the full range of artistic production in India in relation to the multiple strands that have made the cultural fabric of the sub-continent so rich and long lasting.	Arts & Letters Sector (all classes)	ARTS & LETTERS SECTOR
SAST 215-401	ASIAN AM GENDERSEXUALITY: ASIAN AMERICAN GENDER AND SEXUALITY	PILLAI, RUPA	CASTER BUILDING A19	TR 1030AM-1200PM	This course explores the intersection of gender, sexuality, and race in Asian America. Through interdisciplinary and cultural texts, students will consider how Asian American gender and sexualities are constructed in relation to racism while learning theories on and methods to study gender, sex, and race. We will discuss masculinities, femininities, race-conscious feminisms, LGBTQ+ identities, interracial and intraracial relationships, and kinship structures.
SAST 220-401	Creating New Worlds: The Modern Indian Novel	GOULDING, GREGORY	MCNEIL BUILDING 285	MW 0200PM-0330PM	Lonely bureaucrats and love-struck students, Bollywood stars and wayward revolutionaries: this course introduces students to the worlds of the Indian novel. From the moment of its emergence in the 19th century, the novel in India grappled with issues of class and caste, colonialism and its aftermath, gender, and the family. Although the novel has a historical origin in early modern Europe, it developed as a unique form in colonial and post-colonial India, influenced by local literary and folk genres. How did the novel in India--and in its successor states after 1947--transform and shift in order to depict its world? How are novels shaped by the many languages in which they are written, including English? And how do we, as readers, engage with the Indian novel in its diversity? This course surveys works major and minor from the past 200 years of novel-writing in India--with surveys both into predecessors of the Indian novel and parallel forms such as the short story. Readings will include works in translation from languages such as Hindi, Bangla, Urdu, Telugu, and Malayalam, as well as works written originally in English. Students will leave this course with an understanding of the Indian novel, along with the social conditions underlaying it, especially those relating to caste and gender.
SAST 255-401	MEDIA AND RELIGION	ROBB, MEGAN	MCNEIL BUILDING 309	MW 0200PM-0330PM	Religion and communications media have been inextricable for millenia. This course will look at the ways that religion intersects with media-- exploring how the media is the message. The class begins with an overview of the evolution of religion and media in the West and in the Global South. Then we turn to four different contemporary contexts- American, British, Indian, and Pakistani-- to understand how news media has gone about the business of turning religion into news. The class will familiarize students with a variety of media forms-- including traditional architecture, devotional texts, devotional poetry, music, visual-sensorial worship, modern film, recorded msuic, clothing, and live performance. We will conclude with a look at religion in other formsof contemporary media, with particular attention to new media (TV, radio and the internet). There will be guest speakers and a visit to the Penn Museum. While much of the course will be immersed in the history and the past, we will conclude by considering contemporary contexts, both globalized and local. There is no prerequisite for the course. All students are welcome.		CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
SAST 266-401	MODERN SOUTHEAST ASIA	CARRUTHERS, ANDREW	UNIVERSITY MUSEUM 329	TR 0300PM-0430PM	This freshman-friendly course provides a broad introductory overview of modern Southeast Asia, surveying the region's extraordinary diversity and ongoing social, economic, and political transformations. Centering on the nation-states that have emerged following the second World War, we will assess elements of Southeast Asian geography, history, language and literature, cosmologies, kinship systems, music, art and architecture, agriculture, industrialization and urbanization, politics, and economic change. We will remain particularly attentive to the ways Southeast Asians negotiate and contend with ongoing challenges with modernization, development, and globalization.
SAST 282-601	Gender and Development in South Asia: A Comparative Approach	ROY, RAILI		CANCELED	Gender, Development and Women's Empowerment in South Asia. Gender studies and development studies are both interdisciplinary in orientation, and touch on issues as diverse as work & family life; health & population; labor & international economic change. It is now widely recognized that pervasive pre-existing gender inequalities mean that development processes have differential effects on women and men. Early feminist critiques emphasized the "marginal" position of women in development and advocated their "integration". More recently, critiques have argued that women's "marginality" reflects the systematic gender bias in official statistics and development planning in general, and that women are already affected by and involved in development in locally variable and class specific ways. This course is designed to introduce students to issues of gender and development in South Asia in a Comparative context. Development debates are currently in flux with important implications for the practice and analysis of gender and development; some argue for market-driven, neo-liberal solutions to gender equality, while others believe that equitable gender relations will only come when women (and men) are empowered to understand their predicament and work together to find local solutions to improve their lives. Empowerment and human rights approaches are also popular among development practitioners, particularly those concerned with gender equity. This course uses the context of development in South Asia to critically engage with some of the issues important to development planners, national leaders and women's groups throughout South Asia. COURSE OBJECTIVES To deepen student understanding of the fruitfulness of studying issues affecting the lives of poor people in relation to each other, rather than following conventions that treat issues in isolation; To address the ways in which disciplinary boundaries can frame and limit our understandings of the social world; To equip students with contextual knowledge and practical skills that will be of use for careers in development research and practice; LEARNING OUTCOMES Knowledge of the main theoretical approaches used in gender analysis of development issues and their links to wider social and political change; KEY SOURCES Andrea Cornwall et al (eds): Feminisms in Development: Contradictions, Contestations and Challenges (Zed 2007) Cecile Jackson & Ruth Pearson (eds.): Feminist Visions of Development: Gender Analysis and Policy (Routledge, 1998) Naila Kabeer: Reversed Realities: Gender Hierarchies in Development Thought (Verso, 1994) Caroline Moser: Gender Planning and Development: theory, practice and training (Routledge, 1993) Nalini Visvanathan et al. (eds.): Women, Gender and Development Reader (Zed Books, 1997)
SAST 305-401	SPIEGEL-WILKS SEMINAR: CURATING INDIA'S ART IN THE CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT	MASON, DARIELLE		T 0130PM-0430PM	Spring 2019: Multicultural, multi-religious, and spanning millennia, India s artistic heritage is complicated and contested. This course is not an introduction to Indian art but rather an exploration of some of the conceptual, ethical, aesthetic, and practical issues involved in exhibiting, interpreting, and collecting it by U.S. museums in the 21st century. Students will dive behind the scenes with a working curator to focus on permanent collections . Case studies include two recent projects the new South Asian Galleries at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (opened 2016) and the Seattle Asian Art Museum (expected opening late 2019). Weekly readings will address the politics of display and ownership; religious objects in museums; identity and community; design, technology, and visitor experience. These will be enhanced by discussions with other Philadelphia Museum of Art staff (e.g. specialists in audience and provenance research, conservator, educator interpreter). In March the class will take a two-day trip to New York during annual Asian Art Week to visit dealers, auction houses, and museums. There will be two short writing assignments (a critical analysis of an installation walkthrough and a recommendation for the purchase of a work of art you find in New York). As a final project, students will create and present an original virtual mini-exhibition that could become a part of an actual gallery rotation at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Classes will be held at the PMA; New York trip is required and will span at least one weekday. PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR, CLASS SIZE LIMITED		PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR
SAST 405-680	BEGINNING PASHTU I		WILLIAMS HALL 6	MW 0500PM-0700PM	The first semester is focused on mastering the writing system, basic structures, and simple conversation using texts, writing samples, and numerous structure and dialogue drills.We remain within the present and future tenses only, developing vocabulary with lessons and discussions centered around greetings, family, weather, foods, and directions. Students use authentic online and textbook materials.
SAST 408-680	BEGINNING KANNADA II	SWAMINATHAN, VIJAYALAKSHMI	CLAUDIA COHEN HALL 392	MW 0400PM-0600PM	This is a systematic introduction to the Kannada language and culture for beginners. The course aims at developing listening and comprehension and a real life interactive speaking ability in a variety of everyday topics. The Kannada script is introduced from the beginning and the language is presented in its socio-cultural context for achieving a meaningful and operational control of the language. Students acquire basic rules for structural and socio-cultural appropriateness. Students learn vocabulary related to a variety of topics during the semester. Class activities include watching videos, role-playing, language games and group work. Evaluation is based on class participation, performance in quizzes and tests and completed assignments.
SAST 411-680	BEGINNING MARATHI II	RANADE, MILIND	COLLEGE HALL 318	TR 0600PM-0800PM	Simple sentences in the present tense, narration (spoken as well written) of day to day activities, expressing likes & dislikes, culturally appropriate greetings and addressing, ability to describe events happening in present and present incomplete tense, consolidation of reading and writing skill acquired in the previous semester as well as proper pronunciations of common usage words and phrases. Speaking practices based upon the My Marathi Text book created by University of Mumbai.		LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE; THE SECOND TERM OF A TWO-TERM COURSE
SAST 413-680	INTERMEDIATE MARATHI II	RANADE, MILIND		CANCELED	In the syllabus for the fourth semester Marathi course gaining language inputs regarding Marathi culture and day to day daily life in Maharashtra becomes one important topic. Day to day communication skills necessary to survive in Maharashtra on the street like interaction with a grocery store clerk or a vegetable sales woman in the market, a rikshaw driver, a policeman, a commoner, asking and providing directions on the street and various day to day real life situations are improvised and practiced. Vocabulary, sentence structures and associated grammar is acquired during practice and real life situations based exercises.		SEE SPECIAL MESSAGE IN DEPARTMENT HEADER; LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE; ONE TERM COURSE
SAST 426-680	INTERMEDIATE PASHTU II		WILLIAMS HALL 217	MW 0700PM-0830PM	The second semester of intermediate study and a more in-depth study of the Pashto language. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension are all stressed in this more advanced course which also continues to build on grammer skills.		PRIOR LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE REQUIRED; LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE; THE SECOND TERM OF A TWO-TERM COURSE
SAST 428-680	INTERMEDIATE KANNADA II	SWAMINATHAN, VIJAYALAKSHMI		TBA TBA-	Students continue their study of Intermediate Kannada I, both in language and culture. The course aims at honeing listening and comprehension and a real life interactive speaking ability in a variety of everyday topics. The Kannada script is learned in its socio-cultural context for achieving a meaningful and operational control of the language. Students acquire basic rules for structural and socio-cultural appropriateness. Students learn vocabulary related to a variety of topics during the semester. Class activities include watching videos, role-playing, language games and group work. Evaluation is based on class participation, performance in quizzes and tests and completed assignments.		SEE SPECIAL MESSAGE IN DEPARTMENT HEADER
SAST 449-680	ADVANCED MARATHI	RANADE, MILIND	WILLIAMS HALL 4	TR 0600PM-0730PM	Theater and Films, Literature and poetry, Folk Songs, Dance and Music; this one semester course will explore the rich Marathi culture as well as will work on increasing the spoken, listening, reading and written proficiency of the students. News stories from the Marathi print media as well as glimpses from Marathi Television, News as well as Serials and popular comedy shows become the authentic materials in this course. Students learn the linguistic as well as cultural aspect of the variety of material through discussions, presentations in which students acquire and use the language to describe, narrate, express their opinions, evaluate, critique and appreciate these aspects of Marathi urban and rural culture.
SAST 500-401	INTRO TO ART IN S. ASIA			CANCELED	This course is a survey of sculpture, painting and architecture in the Indian sub-continent from 2300 B.C., touching on the present. It attempts to explore the role of tradition in the broader history of art in India, but not to see India as 'traditional' or unchanging. The Indian sub-continent is the source for multi-cultural civilizations that have lasted and evolved for several thousand years. Its art is as rich and complex as that of Europe, as diverse. This course attempts to introduce the full range of artistic production in India in relation to the multiple strands that have made the cultural fabric of the sub-continent so rich and long lasting.
SAST 549-401	SUFISM			CANCELED	This course is an intensive survey of the rich variety of Islamic intellectual, literary and cultural phenomena subsumed under the term Sufism. Sufi philosophies, liturgical practices, and social organizations have been a major part of the Islamic tradition in all historical periods, and Sufism has also served as a primary muse behind Islamic aesthetic expression in poetry, music, and the visual arts. In this course, we will explore the various significations of Sufism by addressing both the world of ideas and socio-cultural practices. The course is divided into three broad sections: central themes and concepts going back to the earliest individuals who identified themselves as Sufis; Sufi metaphysics and epistemology as exemplified in the work of Ibn al-'Arabi and his school, and literary expressions as exemplified in the epic poem Layla and Majnun by Nizami, The Conference of the Birds by Attar, and in the life and poetry of Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi. In studying this material, we will be concerned equally with establishing common patterns and seeing how being a Sufi has meant different things to various people over the course of history.
SAST 554-401	RELIGION AND RESISTANCE IN SOUTH ASIA	MOHAMMAD, MAHBOOB	WILLIAMS HALL 25	MW 0200PM-0330PM	In this course, we focus on various medieval and contemporary devotional forms of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam in South Asia. Several definitions try to tie the idea of devotion to classicism and traditionalism with a set of conservative ideas. However, this course introduces the students to a diverse and pluralistic understanding of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam that also has a history of resistance and protest beginning with poets such as Kabir and others from the Bhakti movement, and Sufi devotional contexts in South Asia. We read about the histories of these rebellious poets and their interventions into the traditional practices of devotion. We also discuss about how these medieval trends find their way into contemporary times enriching the discourses of Dalit, Muslim and Feminist movements.
SAST 620-301	GODLINESS,MRCLES,MADNESS: GODLINESS, MIRACLES, AND "MADNESS" IN INDIAN OCEAN PORT CITIES	SEVEA, TERENJIT			This graduate-level course introduces students to religious worlds within port cities of the modern Indian Ocean that were centered upon peripatetic Muslim, Saiva, Christian and Sikh miracle-workers, missionaries and 'gods'. This course will particularly consider how extant, published sources reveal how religion in 19th and 20th century cosmopolitan port cities and islands: was centered upon holy men and women or spiritual beings, and intricately connected to modern economic, political and technological developments in the Indian Ocean. This course is divided into three parts. In the first part of this course, students will be introduced, on the one hand, to the scholarship on the port cities or islands of, and religions or religious networks in, the modern Indian Ocean. On the other hand, to anthroplogical, historical and literary works on Muslim saints, Christian missionaries and Saiva gods in the Indian Ocean. In the second and main section of this course, students will be introduced to contemporary academic literature pertaining to the inter-linkages between itinerant miracle-workers, missionaries, 'gods' and devotional cults, and economic, political and technological developments in the Indian Ocean. As well as works that explore European institutions, barracks, plantations, cells and asylums, and steam travel being steeped in customary religion, carnivals, ecstasy, madness and miracle stories. Here, students will be encouraged to consider ways in which a study of religion and religious economies of modern Indian Ocean port cities can be recovered through extracts from a range of anthropological, literary and historical sources. In the third part of this course, students will be encouraged to engage with the question of whether the religion of devotional cults preoccupied with the powers of Muslim, Saiva, Christian, and Sikh miracle-workers, missionaries and 'gods' in cosmopolitan port cities, was a distinct product of circulations within the Indian Ocean.
SAST 620-401	GODLINESS, MIRACLES, MADNESS IN INDIAN OCEAN PORT CITIES	SEVEA, TERENJIT	MCNEIL BUILDING 395	T 0300PM-0600PM	This graduate-level course introduces students to religious worlds within port cities of the modern Indian Ocean that were centered upon peripatetic Muslim, Saiva, Christian and Sikh miracle-workers, missionaries and 'gods'. This course will particularly consider how extant, published sources reveal how religion in 19th and 20th century cosmopolitan port cities and islands: was centered upon holy men and women or spiritual beings, and intricately connected to modern economic, political and technological developments in the Indian Ocean. This course is divided into three parts. In the first part of this course, students will be introduced, on the one hand, to the scholarship on the port cities or islands of, and religions or religious networks in, the modern Indian Ocean. On the other hand, to anthroplogical, historical and literary works on Muslim saints, Christian missionaries and Saiva gods in the Indian Ocean. In the second and main section of this course, students will be introduced to contemporary academic literature pertaining to the inter-linkages between itinerant miracle-workers, missionaries, 'gods' and devotional cults, and economic, political and technological developments in the Indian Ocean. As well as works that explore European institutions, barracks, plantations, cells and asylums, and steam travel being steeped in customary religion, carnivals, ecstasy, madness and miracle stories. Here, students will be encouraged to consider ways in which a study of religion and religious economies of modern Indian Ocean port cities can be recovered through extracts from a range of anthropological, literary and historical sources. In the third part of this course, students will be encouraged to engage with the question of whether the religion of devotional cults preoccupied with the powers of Muslim, Saiva, Christian, and Sikh miracle-workers, missionaries and 'gods' in cosmopolitan port cities, was a distinct product of circulations within the Indian Ocean.		PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR
SAST 628-401	ESSTIAL TXTS MDRN S.ASIA: ESSENTIAL TEXTS FROM MODERN SOUTH ASIA	GOULDING, GREGORY	COLLEGE HALL 318	M 0330PM-0630PM
SAST 631-401	Masterpieces of Sanskrit Culture: Literature, Philosophy, and Science	PATEL, DEVEN	UNIVERSITY MUSEUM 330	R 0130PM-0430PM	This course, wholly conducted in English translation from the Sanskrit, will identify a history of masterpieces from the Sanskrit tradition and carefully read selections or whole works that exemplify the most well-received classical Sanskrit works over the past two millennia. We will focus on the high classics of Sanskrit literature, sutras and commentaries on systematic forms of Indian philosophy, and selections from Sanskrit texts on the social, literary-critical, exact, and medical sciences. Students will be encouraged to engage with these works through the prisms of comparative literary theory, critical translation studies, comparative philosophy, and broader perspectives of social and cultural history.
SAST 633-401	PERSIAN INTELLECT TRAD	ELIAS, JAMAL	VAN PELT LIBRARY 523	W 0200PM-0500PM	What makes Persian culture distinctive within broader Islamic intellectual history, and what constitutes the historical and geographical boundary of the Persianate intellectual and cultural zone? These questions lie at the center of inquiry in this seminar in which participants will read and discuss a broad range of works from the 11th to the 20th centuries. Readings will include works on philosophy and language, Sufi epic poems, religious and cultural geographies, accounts of natural and manufactured wonders, urban and political histories, as well as other kinds of texts. All readings will be in English for the regular meeting of the seminar; students with a reading knowledge of Persian and an interest in participating in an additional meeting to read the assignments in their original language should register for the higher of the two numbers listed for this course.
SAST 701-401	METHODOLOGY SEMINAR: HISTORICAL ANTHROPOLOGY	MITCHELL, LISA	COLLEGE HALL 311A	F 0200PM-0500PM	Topics vary
SKRT 461-301	SANSKRIT 1ST YR PART II	KHANNA, VARUN	WILLIAMS HALL 705	MWF 1100AM-1200PM	During the first semester of beginning Sanskrit, students will be introduced to the script, phonetics, and grammar of the Sanskrit language. By the end of the semester they will be able to begin to read Sanskrit texts and compose Sanskrit sentences in addition to carrying out simple conversation. They will build the requisite skills to read, by the second semester, simple inscriptions and sections from texts like the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, Pancatantra, and Yoga Sutra. Students will also be introduced to many features of Sanskrit culture.
SKRT 471-301	INTERMEDIATE SANSKRIT II	KHANNA, VARUN	FISHER-BENNETT HALL 19	MF 0200PM-0330PM	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.		SEE SPECIAL MESSAGE IN DEPARTMENT HEADER
SKRT 480-301	READINGS IN SANKRIT LIT	KHANNA, VARUN	MCNEIL BUILDING 169 WILLIAMS HALL 217	TR 1030AM-1130AM F 0330PM-0500PM	This course is for advanced students of Sanskrit. Designed as a seminar, the course aims to take students through the primary and secondary sources of Sanskrit literary and phlosophical production. Each semester will focus on a different genre: epic, belles-lettres, lyric poetry, drama, philosophy, shastra, advanced grammar, history, poetics, and epigraphy. We will focus on original sources, secondary scholarship, and theoretical approaches toward the translation and study of Sanskrit texts.
TAML 407-680	BEGINNING TAMIL II	RENGANATHAN, VASU	WILLIAMS HALL 29	MW 0500PM-0700PM	This course is a continuation of the Beginner Tamil TAMIL406. It continues to teach grammar and spoken sill from semester I. Lessons in the class will be based on a set of Tamil learning lessons and videos made available at http://www.southasia.upenn.edu/tamil and the book by the Instructor titled "Tamil Language in Context", information available at http://www.thetamillanguage.com. By the end of the semester, students will have a working knowledge in reading Tamil text with a basic skill to write and speak the language at ACTFL's Beginner High level.		LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE
TAML 427-680	INTERMEDIATE TAMIL II	RENGANATHAN, VASU	WILLIAMS HALL 318	TR 0500PM-0630PM	This course is a continuation of Intermediate Tamil I (TAMIL426) and it continue to develop the skills obtained either from the Beginning Tamil course or from students' prior exposure to Tamil by other means. The emphasis will be on using the language in actual environments both in spoken medium and in written medium. Multimedia materials such as audio and videos as provided in the website http://www.southasia.upenn.edu/tamil or http://www.thetamillanguage.com will be extensively used to provide students an exposure to the Tamil culture and customs as authentic as possible. Besides improving their speech and writing, students will also be introduced gradually to Tamil literature, which has two thousand years of literary history. By the end of this course, students will have ACTFL's intermediate high proficiency level.		SEE SPECIAL MESSAGE IN DEPARTMENT HEADER; LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE; THE SECOND TERM OF A TWO-TERM COURSE
TAML 446-680	ADVANCED TAMIL	RENGANATHAN, VASU	WILLIAMS HALL 318	TR 0630PM-0800PM	This course is a continuation of the Advance Tamil Course I and its primary focus is to concentrate particularly on any one of the genres of the Tamil language namely Sangam, medieval or modern Tamil, which span a vast variety of texts from Aham, Puram, religious poems along with a whole array of Tamil inscriptions. The familiarity from Advanced Tamil I course will be adequately used to master in any aspect of these three genres of the Tamil language. Based on the general interests of the students who are enrolled in this course specific variety of the text to concentrate upon will be selected. In the past, we have read poems from the Sangam genre Purananuru, Ahananuru, Silappatikaram, Manimekalai etc., along with the parallel religious poems from Tirumurai, Nalayira Divyaprabandam and so on. We have also read as part of this course texts from Islam literature, Tamil inscriptions and other related kinds. Text from the instructors book (to be published), "Ilakkiyap payaNangkaL" will be used to give a birds eye view to students about Tamil literature and the transitions that took place from Sangam, medieval and modern period. This course will train students to have a near-native proficiency in Tamil along with a professional skill in any particular variety of the Tamil language.		LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE
TAML 489-301	READINGS CLASSICAL TAMIL	RENGANATHAN, VASU		TBA TBA-			LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE
TELU 410-001	BEGINNING TELEGU II	MOHAMMAD, MAHBOOB	FISHER-BENNETT HALL 140	MTWR 0100PM-0200PM	This course continues tudents to the basic Telugu language skills, with an emphasis on practice for listening comprehension, and speaking Telugu. Combined with exposure to Andhra culture, the classroom and online work in this course will enable interested students to pursue further language study in Telugu at the intermediate level, to carry out field research in Andhra Pradesh, or to prepare them to advanced work in Telugu Studies. An introduction to Telugu like this will also be useful for students who just want to acquire basic Telugu language skills for learning a new language or being able to communicate with Telugu speaking family and friends or to enjoy Telugu music and films.		LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE
TELU 430-001	INTERMDIATE TELUGU II	MOHAMMAD, MAHBOOB		TBA TBA-	This course is designed to expand the students' basic language skills in Telugu in order to allow them to function adequately in a Telugu-speaking environment, to immerse themselves in the rich Andhra culture, and to accomplish a more advanced competency in an interesting foreign language. This course is also aimed at students planning to conduct scholarly research in Telugu history, literature or society, or humanities or social science fieldwork in Telugu speaking areas.		SEE SPECIAL MESSAGE IN DEPARTMENT HEADER; LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE; THE SECOND TERM OF A TWO-TERM COURSE
URDU 402-401	BEGINNING HINDI-URDU II	PIEN, JOSHUA	WILLIAMS HALL 633 WILLIAMS HALL 317	TR 0300PM-0430PM F 1100AM-1200PM	This introductory course core proficiency in Hindi-Urdu up to the intermediate level. It is designed for students with little or no prior exposure to Hindi or Urdu. The course covers all four language skills (speaking, lsitening, reading, and writing) and all three models of communication (interpersonal, presentational, interpretive). Students will develop literacy skills in the primary script of their choice (Hindi or Urdu script). All written materials will be provided in both scripts. All meetings are interactive and students acquire the language by using it in realistic contexts. Culture is embedded in the activities and is also introduced through various authentic materials.		LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE
URDU 422-401	INTERMEDIATE URDU II	MENAI, MUSTAFA	FISHER-BENNETT HALL 17	TR 0130PM-0300PM	This continuing second-year course allows students to continue improving their Urdu proficiency while also gaining a broad foundational understanding of Urdu society and culture throughout South Asia. The course provides students the tools needed to handle a variety of authentic written and spoken Urdu sources including film, music, media reports, folk tales, and simple literature. Students will also continue to increase their speaking and writing proficiency to be able to discuss a broad range of concrete, real-world topics. The course is designed for students with one year of previous Urdu or Hindi study or the equivalent proficiency.		SEE SPECIAL MESSAGE IN DEPARTMENT HEADER; LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE
URDU 431-401	LANGUAGE & LITERATURE: Advanced Urdu-Language and Literature	MENAI, MUSTAFA	FISHER-BENNETT HALL 224	TR 0300PM-0430PM	This course is designed to give in-depth exposure to some of the finest works of classical and modern Urdu prose and poetry along with the historical and socio-political trends they represent. Figures covered range from Ghalib (b.1797) to Faiz, Fehmida Riaz, and post 9/11 Urdu prose and poetry. The course is open to both undergraduates and graduate students, subject to having intermediate level proficiency. The course is repeatable, and hte content changes every semester. Multi-media content such as music, videos, blogs etc. will be actively incorporated. Every effort will be made to accommidate individual interests. Students are encouraged to contact the instructor with any questions, or if they are unsure about eligibility.		CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS; LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE
URDU 462-301	SUFISM AND RESISTANCE: Lit in Translation-Sufism and Resistance	MENAI, MUSTAFA	WILLIAMS HALL 3	TR 1030AM-1200PM	Topics vary by semester in advanced level Urdu.