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courses for Fall 2015

Title Instructor Location Time All taxonomy terms Description Section Description Cross Listings Fulfills Registration Notes Syllabus Syllabus URL Course Syllabus URL
SAST 002-601 THE CITY IN SOUTH ASIA COLLINS, MICHAEL CANCELED 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.
  • ANTH107601
  • URBS122601
 Society sector (all classes)

SOCIETY SECTOR
SAST 003-401 HISTORY, CULTURE, RELIGION IN EARLY INDIA ALI, DAUD WILLIAMS HALL 3 MW 0100PM-0200PM This course surveys the culture, religion and history of India from 2500 BCE to 1200 CE. The course examines the major cultural, religious and social factors that shaped the course of early Indian history. The following themes will be covered: the rise and fall of Harappan civilization, the "Aryan Invasion" and Vedic India, the rise of cities, states and the religions of Buddhism and Jainism, the historical context of the growth of classical Hinduism, including the Mahabharata, Ramayana and the development of the theistic temple cults of Saivism and Vaisnavism, processes of medieval agrarian expansion and cultic incorporation as well as the spread of early Indian cultural ideas in Southeast Asia. In addition to assigned secondary readings students will read select primary sources on the history of religion and culture of early India, including Vedic and Buddhist texts, Puranas and medieval temple inscriptions. Major objectives of the course will be to draw attention to India's early cultural and religious past and to assess contemporary concerns and ideologies in influencing our understanding and representation of that past.
  • HIST086401
  • RELS164401
 History & Tradition Sector (all classes)

SECTION ACTIVITY CO-REQUISITE REQUIRED; CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; HISTORY & TRADITION SECTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
SAST 005-401 PERFORMING ARTS IN SOUTH ASIA SREENIVASAN, RAMYA WILLIAMS HALL 216 TR 0130PM-0300PM This course is a survey of selected traditions of theater, music, and dance in India and surrounding regions. Topics include ritual practices, theater, classical dance, classical music, devotional music, regional genres, and contemporary popular musics. Readings and lectures are supplemented by audio and visual materials and live performances. The aim of the course is to expose students to a variety of performance practices from this part of the world and to situate the performing arts in their social and cultural contexts. The course has no prerequisites.
  • MUSC265401
 Arts & Letters Sector (all classes)

CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; ARTS & LETTERS SECTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
SAST 008-401 INDIA: CULTURE & SOCIETY SREENIVASAN, RAMYA STITELER HALL B26 MW 0200PM-0330PM What makes India INDIA? Religion and Philosophy? Architectural splendor? Kingdoms? Caste? The position of women? This course will introduce students to India by studying a range of social and cultural institutions that have historically assumed to be definitive India. Through primary texts, novels and historical sociological analysis, we will ask how these institutions have been reproduced and transformed, and assess their significance for contemporary Indian society.
  • HIST085401
 Hum & Soc Sci Sector (new curriculum only)

CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCE SECTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
SAST 057-301 PLANNING TO BE OFFSHORE GANGULEE, SRILATA FISHER-BENNETT HALL 16 TR 1200PM-0130PM In this course we will trace the economic development of India from 1947 to the present. Independent India started out as a centrally planned economy in 1949 but in 1991 decided to reduce its public sector and allow, indeed encourage, foreign investors to come in. The Planning Commission of India still exists but has lost much of its power. Many in the U.S. complain of American jobs draining off to India, call centers in India taking care of American customer complaints, American patient histories being documented in India, etc. At the same time, the U.S. government encourages highly trained Indians to be in the U.S. Students are expected to write four one-page response papers and one final paper. Twenty percent of the final grade will be based on class participation, 20 percent on the four response papers and 60 percent on the final paper.

    FRESHMAN SEMINAR; FRESHMAN SEMINAR
    SAST 063-401 EAST/WEST:MDRN WRLD HIST MITCHELL, LISA ANNENBERG SCHOOL 110 MW 1000AM-1100AM Sugar and Spices. Tea and Coffee. Opium and Cocaine. Hop aboard the Indian Ocean dhows, Chinese junks, Dutch schooners, and British and American clipper ships that made possible the rise of global capitalism, new colonial relationships, and the intensified forms of cultural change. How have the desires to possess and consume particular commodities shaped cultures and the course of modern history? This class introduces students to the cultural history of the modern world through an interdisciplinary analysis of connections between East and West, South and North. Following the circulation of commodities and the development of modern capitalism, the course examines the impact of global exchange on interactions and relationships between regions, nations, cultures, and peoples and the influences on cultural practices and meanings. The role of slavery and labor migrations, colonial and imperial relations, and struggles for economic and political independence are also considered. From the role of spices in the formation of European joint stock companies circa 1600 to the contemporary cocaine trade, the course's use of both original primary sources and secondary readings written by historians and anthropologists will enable particular attention to the ways that global trade has impacted social, cultural, and political formations and practices throughout the world.
    • ANTH063401
    • HIST087401
    		 Hum & Soc Sci Sector (new curriculum only)

    SECTION ACTIVITY CO-REQUISITE REQUIRED; CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCE SECTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
    SAST 104-401 BEGINNING TABLA I BHATTI, AQEEL WILLIAMS HALL 812 MW 0500PM-0630PM An introduction to the tabla, the premier drum of north Indian and Pakistani classical music traditions.
    • MUSC060401
    SAST 106-401 BEGINNING SITAR I MINER, ALLYN WILLIAMS HALL 812 TR 0430PM-0600PM This course is an introduction to the repertoire and performance practices of the North Indian sitar. Fundamentals of sitar technique, composition, and improvisation are presented and practiced in class. Class lectures and discussions, audio and video material, and reading and listening assignments on selected topics supplement practice, to provide an overview of the social and historical context and the formal structures of North Indian music in general. There are no prerequisites for the course, but some experience with instrumental or vocal music is suggested. Each student is expected to put in two hours of individual practice per week, and complete reading, audio, and written assignments. The class gives a group performance at the end of the semester.
    • MUSC061401
    SAST 108-401 INTERMEDIATE SITAR I MINER, ALISON CANCELED This is a performance course open to students who have completed both semesters of Beginning Sitar, or to others by permission from the instructor. Students will work with right and left-hand techniques, study three ragas in depth, learn the contours of several other ragas, and work with concepts of tala, composition, and improvisation. Assigned readings and listenings will complement the performed material. A group performance will be given at the end of the semester.
      SAST 124-401 NARRATIVE ACROSS CULTURES LOOMBA, ANIA FISHER-BENNETT HALL 401 MW 0200PM-0330PM 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.
      • COML125401
      • ENGL103401
      • FOLK125401
      • NELC180401
      		 Arts & Letters Sector (all classes)

      CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; ARTS & LETTERS SECTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
      SAST 146-401 ISLAM IN MODERN WORLD ELIAS, JAMAL VAN PELT LIBRARY 425 TR 1030AM-1200PM This course key issues facing Muslims in the modern world with an emphasis on gaining an understanding of how Muslims view themselves and the world in which they live. Beginning with a discussion of the impact of colonialism, we will examine Islamic ideas and trends from the late colonial period until the present. Readings include religious, political and literary writings by important Muslim figures and focus on pressing issues in the Islamic world an beyond: the place of religion in modern national politics; the changing status of women; constructions of sexuality (including masculinity); pressing issues in bioethics; Islam, race and immigration in America; the role of violence; and the manifestations of religion in popular culture.
      • NELC184401
      • RELS146401
      		 Hum & Soc Sci Sector (new curriculum only)

      HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCE SECTOR
      SAST 150-401 Introduction to Indian Philosophy FERRARIO, ALBERTA CLAUDIA COHEN HALL 402 TR 0300PM-0430PM This course will take the student through the major topics of Indian philosophy by first introducing the fundamental concepts and terms that are necessary for a deeper understanding of themes that pervade the philosophical literature of India -- arguments for and against the existence of God, for example, the ontological status of external objects, the means of valid knowledge, standardsof proof, the discourse on the aims of life. The readings will emphasize classical Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophical articulations (from 700 B.C.Eto 16th century CE) but we will also supplement our study of these materials with contemporary or relatively recent philosophical writings in modern India.
      • PHIL050401
      • RELS155401
      		 History & Tradition Sector (all classes)

      CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; HISTORY & TRADITION SECTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
      SAST 200-401 INTRO TO ART IN S. ASIA MEISTER, MICHAEL JAFFE BUILDING B17 TR 1200PM-0130PM 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.
      • ARTH104401
      • SAST500401
      • VLST234401
      		 Arts & Letters Sector (all classes)

      ARTS & LETTERS SECTOR
      SAST 212-402 BOLLYWOOD & BEYOND MUKHERJEE, RAHUL FISHER-BENNETT HALL 406 W 0200PM-0500PM Bombay cinema or the now more popularly known "Bollywood" is a global media industry thoroughly entangled with prevalent lifestyles, emerging gender roles, and censorship practices in India and the world at large. We begin by studying the originsa of Indian cinema in the silent era and then focus on Bollywood films produced since the 1950s. The course interrogates Bollywood's relationship to Indian national history and national identity. We will be exploring the frictions and generative linkages between Bollywood and the Indian regional cinema and Art House cinema. The course offers an opportunity to appreacite the narrative, aesthetic, and political aspects of Bollywood films by asking questions such as: Why are there so many song-and-dance sequences in these films? What roles does melodrama play in Bollywood cinema? What shifting political contexts have shaped the ideological representations in the films? Later in the course, we adopt an intermedial approach to examine how musical reality shows, radio FM channels, mobile phone ringtones, and YouTube parody videos help Bollywood build and reimagine its local, national, and transnational audiences, including the diaspora.
      • CINE202402
      • ENGL292402
      SAST 217-401 C.U. IN INDIA TOPICS: GENDER, DEVELOPMENT, AND EMPOWERMENT IN INDIA ROY, RAILI WILLIAMS HALL 303 T 0300PM-0430PM C.U. in India is a hybrid, domestic/overseas course series which provides students with the opportunity to have an applied learning and cultural experience in India. The 2-CU course requires: 1) 15 classroom hours at Penn in the Fall term 2) A 12-Day trip to India with the instructor during the winter break to visit key sites and conduct original research (sites vary) 3) 15 classroom hours at Penn in the Spring term and 4) A research paper, due at the end of the spring term. Course enrollment is restricted to students admitted to the program. For more information, and the program application, go to http://sites.sas.upenn.edu/cuinindia This is a 2-CU yearlong course DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS MARCH 31st
      • GSWS217401
      • SAST517401

      CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
      SAST 217-402 CU IN INDIA TOPICS: GREAT MONUMENTS OF INDIA SOHONI, PUSHKAR CANCELED C.U. in India is a hybrid, domestic/overseas course series which provides students with the opportunity to have an applied learning and cultural experience in India. The 2-CU course requires: 1) 15 classroom hours at Penn in the Fall term 2) A 12-Day trip to India with the instructor during the winter break to visit key sites and conduct original research (sites vary) 3) 15 classroom hours at Penn in the Spring term and 4) A research paper, due at the end of the spring term. Course enrollment is restricted to students admitted to the program. For more information, and the program application, go to http://sites.sas.upenn.edu/cuinindia This is a 2-CU yearlong course DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS MARCH 31st
      • ARTH317402
      • SAST517402

      CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
      SAST 217-403 CU IN INDIA TOPICS: TEMPLES & SHRINES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA SEVEA, TERENJIT DAVID RITTENHOUSE LAB 2N36 W 0200PM-0330PM C.U. in India is a hybrid, domestic/overseas course series which provides students with the opportunity to have an applied learning and cultural experience in India. The 2-CU course requires: 1) 15 classroom hours at Penn in the Fall term 2) A 12-Day trip to India with the instructor during the winter break to visit key sites and conduct original research (sites vary) 3) 15 classroom hours at Penn in the Spring term and 4) A research paper, due at the end of the spring term. Course enrollment is restricted to students admitted to the program. For more information, and the program application, go to http://sites.sas.upenn.edu/cuinindia This is a 2-CU yearlong course DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS MARCH 31st
      • SAST517403

      CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
      SAST 262-401 MAKING/MEDIEVAL INDIA: The Making of Medieval India ALI, DAUD WILLIAMS HALL 307 M 0330PM-0630PM This course will provide an in-depth understanding of South Asia in what is often called its 'medieval' period--from the rise of the great temple kingdoms until the end of the Delhi Sultanate in the sixteenth century (c. 500 CE - c. 1500 CE). This millenium is arguably one of the most transformative in South Asia's history, a period when many of its most distinctive social and cultural features evolved. The course will provide both an overview of the period as well as an introduction to major interpretations and types of sources (textual, visual, and archaeological). The focus throughout the course will be on the heterogeneous development of states, societies and cultures with special attention to long-term processes of transformation. One set of themes explored will be largely social and economic, focusing on the development of agrarian and peasant societies, aristocracies and intellectuals, as well as the role of mercantile, pastoralist, nomadic and forest-living groups. Another set of themes will explore cultural transformation, including the development, transformation and interaction of religious practices, the emergence of cosmopolitan and regional literary cultures, and the rise of distinctive urban, courtly, and rural world views. Special themes of discussion may include violence and manners, material cultures, religious conflict, devotional religion and gender relations.
      • SAST562401

      CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
      SAST 290-401 SOUTH ASIANS IN THE US KHAN, FARIHA ARTS, RSRCH & CULTR - 3601 LO 110 TR 1200PM-0130PM This course investigates the everyday practices and customs of South Asians in America. Every immigrant group has its own history, customs, beliefs and values, making each unique while simultaneously a part of the "melting pot" or salad bowl" of American society. Yet how do people define themselves and their ethnicities living in a diasporic context? By taking into account the burgeoning South Asian American population as our model, this course will explore the basic themes surrounding the lives that immigrants are living in America, and more specifically the identity which the second generation, born and/or raised in American, is developing. South Asians in the U.S. will be divided thematically covering the topics of ethnicity, marriage, gender, religion, and pop culture. Reading and assignments will discuss a variety of issues and viewpoints that are a part of the fabric of South Asia, but will focus on the interpretation of such expressive culture in the United States.
      • ASAM160401

      CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN US; CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE US
      SAST 350-601 THEMES IN INDIAN PHILOS: YOGA AND TANTRA FERRARIO, ALBERTA WILLIAMS HALL 438 W 0430PM-0730PM Topics vary. When the topic is Yoga philosophy, the following applies. Yoga is a classical school of Indian philosophy that consists of a unique metaphysics epistemology, and ethics. Yoga in the contemporary context usually refers to a system of physical and spiritual exercises that draw from this philosophy. In this course, we will read the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in English translation from the original Sanskrit, with commentary. We will go over all central concepts, technical terms, and historical developments in the philosophy of Yoga. We will also discuss the philosophy of Hatha Yoga in the context of its historical and practical developments. No prior knowledge of Indian philosophy is required for this course.
      • RELS360601
      SAST 405-680 BEGINNING PASHTU I ADEEL, UMME CANCELED
      • PERS111680

      LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE; THE FIRST TERM OF A TWO-TERM COURSE
      SAST 407-680 BEGINNING KANNADA I SWAMINATHAN, VIJAYALAKSHMI WILLIAMS HALL 319 MW 0500PM-0700PM 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.

        LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE; THE FIRST TERM OF A TWO-TERM COURSE
        SAST 410-680 BEGINNING MARATHI I RANADE, MILIND WILLIAMS HALL 317 TR 0600PM-0800PM The first year course in Marathi begins with learning the Devnagari script which is common for other important languages like Hindi and Nepali. With proper emphasis on grammar, vocabulary, and phonetics, the syllabus will see the student becoming able to speak conversational Marathi, read Marathi data from the Internet, and compose simple short essays on selected topics.

          LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE; THE FIRST TERM OF A TWO-TERM COURSE
          SAST 412-680 INTERMEDIATE MARATHI I RANADE, MILIND WILLIAMS HALL 317 TR 0430PM-0600PM

            PRIOR LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE REQUIRED; LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE; THE FIRST TERM OF A TWO-TERM COURSE
            SAST 425-680 INTERMEDIATE PASHTU I ADEEL, UMME FISHER-BENNETT HALL 19 W 1030AM-1230PM
            • PERS113680

            PRIOR LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE REQUIRED; LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE; THE FIRST TERM OF A TWO-TERM COURSE
            SAST 427-680 INTERMEDIATE KANNADA I SWAMINATHAN, VIJAYALAKSHMI TBA TBA-

              PRIOR LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE REQUIRED; LANGUAGE SKILLS COURSE; THE FIRST TERM OF A TWO-TERM COURSE
              SAST 445-680 ADVANCED PASHTO PROSE ADEEL, UMME CANCELED
                SAST 500-401 INTRO TO ART IN S. ASIA MEISTER, MICHAEL JAFFE BUILDING B17 TR 1200PM-0130PM 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.
                • ARTH104401
                • SAST200401
                • VLST234401
                SAST 517-401 C.U. IN INDIA TOPICS: GENDER, DEVELOPMENT, AND EMPOWERMENT IN INDIA ROY, RAILI WILLIAMS HALL 303 T 0300PM-0430PM C.U. in India is a hybrid, domestic/overseas course series which provides students with the opportunity to have an applied learning and cultural experience in India. The 2-CU course requires: 1) 15 classroom hours at Penn in the Fall term 2) A 12-Day trip to India with the instrucotrduring the winter break to visit key sites and conduct original research (sites vary) 3) 15 classroom hours at Penn in the Spring term and 4) A research paper, due at the end of the spring term. Course enrollment is restricted to students admitted to the program. For more information, and the program application, go to http://sites.sas.upenn.edu/cuinindia This is a 2-CU yearlong course
                • GSWS217401
                • SAST217401

                CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
                SAST 517-402 CU IN INDIA TOPICS: GREAT MONUMENTS OF INDIA SOHONI, PUSHKAR CANCELED C.U. in India is a hybrid, domestic/overseas course series which provides students with the opportunity to have an applied learning and cultural experience in India. The 2-CU course requires: 1) 15 classroom hours at Penn in the Fall term 2) A 12-Day trip to India with the instrucotrduring the winter break to visit key sites and conduct original research (sites vary) 3) 15 classroom hours at Penn in the Spring term and 4) A research paper, due at the end of the spring term. Course enrollment is restricted to students admitted to the program. For more information, and the program application, go to http://sites.sas.upenn.edu/cuinindia This is a 2-CU yearlong course
                • ARTH317402
                • SAST217402

                CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
                SAST 517-403 CU IN INDIA TOPICS: TEMPLES & SHRINES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA SEVEA, TERENJIT DAVID RITTENHOUSE LAB 2N36 W 0200PM-0330PM C.U. in India is a hybrid, domestic/overseas course series which provides students with the opportunity to have an applied learning and cultural experience in India. The 2-CU course requires: 1) 15 classroom hours at Penn in the Fall term 2) A 12-Day trip to India with the instrucotrduring the winter break to visit key sites and conduct original research (sites vary) 3) 15 classroom hours at Penn in the Spring term and 4) A research paper, due at the end of the spring term. Course enrollment is restricted to students admitted to the program. For more information, and the program application, go to http://sites.sas.upenn.edu/cuinindia This is a 2-CU yearlong course
                • SAST217403

                CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; PERMISSION NEEDED FROM INSTRUCTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
                SAST 562-401 MAKING/MEDIEVAL INDIA: The Making of Medieval India ALI, DAUD WILLIAMS HALL 307 M 0330PM-0630PM This course will provide an in-depth understanding of South Asia in what is often called its 'medieval' period--from the rise of the great temple kingdoms until the end of the Delhi Sultanate in the sixteenth century (c. 500 CE - c. 1500 CE). This millennium is arguably one of the most transformative in South Asia's history, a period when many of its most distinctive social and cultural features evolved. The course will provide both an overview of the period as well as an introduction to major interpretations and types of sources (textual, visual, and archaeological). The focus throughout the course will be on the heterogeneous development of states, societies and cultures with special attention to long-term processes of transformation. One set of themes explored will be largely social and economic, focusing on the development of agrarian and peasant societies, aristocracies and intellectuals, as well as the role of mercantile, pastoralist, nomadic and forest-living groups. Another set of themes will explore cultural transformation, including the development, transformation and interaction of religious practices, the emergence of cosmopolitan and regional literary cultures, and the rise of distinctive urban, courtly, and rural worldviews. Special themes of discussion may include violence and manners, material cultures, religious conflict, devotional religion and gender relations.
                • SAST262401

                CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
                SAST 620-301 GODLINESS,MRCLES,MADNESS SEVEA, TERENJIT MCNEIL BUILDING 409 R 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 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 and steam travel being steeped in customary religion, carnivals, ecstacy, 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 701-401 METHODOLOGY SEMINAR: Methodology Seminar: Historical Anthropology MITCHELL, LISA VAN PELT LIBRARY 551 T 0200PM-0500PM This graduate seminar traces the rise of interactions between the disciplines and methods of anthropology and history, and engages critically with various methodological experiments that have brought together the archive and the field in new ways. Particular attention will be devoted to new questions that have arisen in postcolonial contexts that can help us re-evaluate, question, and extend assumptions and methods generated in the worlds metropoles. Readings will survey anthropologists discoveries of history (the concept and critiques of ethnohistory, ethnographies of the archive, colonialism and its forms of knowledge the writing of histories of the present), as well as historians discoveries of anthropology (ritual, symbols, the body, Although the course will situate recent South Asian scholarship and other postcolonial intellectual work in relation to this new disciplinary formation (asking in particular why work on South Asia has been especially influential within its development), readings will be drawn from a range of geographical and historical contexts and would be useful for students working in other regions. As a methodology seminar the primary goal of this course will be to provide opportunities for students to evaluate and experiment with new approaches to their own research interests and materials.
                  • ANTH711401
                  SAST 769-401 RACE AND SEXUALITY ACROSS TIME AND SPACE LOOMBA, ANIA FISHER-BENNETT HALL 112 T 1200PM-0300PM Specific topic varies. Dissent is a key word in our world today--from the Arab Spring to the American Fall, we have seen expressions of political disobedience and protest around the world. It is more urgent than ever to consider what dissent might mean, what shapes it has taken historically, what connection might exist between it and literature, and what futures are possible. We will read key critical and theoretical work alongside some powerful, tender and controversial writings and films (largely but not exclusively produced in the postcolonial world), to inquire into the politics and poetics of governance and dissent. Students are invited to make connections with other historical and geographical contexts, and explore the different forms of dissent individual, collective, urban, rural, nationalist, pan-nationalist, religious, marxist, or feminist, to name but a few. We will pay special attention to different performances of dissent at a popular, mass or individual level. We will think about the social and cultural channels attention to different performances of dissent at a popular, mass or See the English Department's website at www.english.upenn.edu for a complete description of the current offerings. Students are invited to make connections with other historical and geographical contexts,as we explore the different forms of dissent- individual,collective, urban, rural, nationalist, pan-nationalist, religious, marxist, or feminist, to name but a few. We will pay special attention to different performances of dissent at a popular, mass, or individual level. We will think about the social and cultural channels through which dissent is expressed, spread or quelled, how it might morph, or become obsolete, or give rise to new forms of disobedience.
                  • COML769401
                  • ENGL769401
                  • GSWS769401
                  • NELC783401