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IntroductiontoIndianCivilization

ProfessorLauraBrueckAsianLanguagesandCivilizations

CourseDescription

This course is designed as a broad introduction to the people, history,religion,politics,culture,art,music,andcinemaofIndia–inshort,tothecivilizationofIndia.Indiaisthelargestdemocracyintheworld,anemergingglobaleconomicpower,andhometothesecond largestpopulation intheworld(atmorethanonebillion, Indians account for almost 17% of the world’s population) within itsborders.OutsideitsborderslivesahugeandinfluentialIndiandiasporicpopulation(spread across theU.K., North America, the Caribbean, and Eastern and SouthernAfrica) and the cultural influence of Indian art, music, cinema (Bollywood), andspiritual practice continues to grow ever stronger. India has one of the longestrecordedhistoriesintheworld,andisalsooneofthemostdiversecountriesintheworld,beinghometosubstantialpopulationsofHindus,Muslims,Christians,Sikhs,andJains(amongothers)andmorethan1,600languagesanddialects! This course therefore cannothope toprovidea comprehensive studyof allthings Indian, but rather is organized around several of the most significantthematictopicsthatarguablyformthe“core”ofIndiancivilization:Hinduism,Islam,Partition (also the Independence of both India and Pakistan from Englishcolonization),caste,gender,andclass. Inorganizingthesetopicsthematically,thisis a class thatwillnotnecessarilymovechronologically. Rather,wewill considerthese basic elements of Indian civilization in more comprehensive focus –

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considering each in a range of temporal and historical contexts. Wewill rely onliteratureandfilmasourprimarymodesofentryintothisstudyofcivilization,butalso contextualize these readings with selections from historical, anthropological,andsociologicalstudiesofvariousaspectsofIndiansocietyandculture.MaterialsRKNarayan,TheRamayanaJohnStrattonHawleyandMarkJurgensmeyer,SongsoftheSaintsofIndiaSudhirKakarandKatharinaKakar,TheIndians:PortraitofaPeopleBapsiSidhwa,CrackingIndiaArundhatiRoy,TheGodofSmallThingsBama,Harum­ScarumSaarandOtherStoriesAravindAdiga,TheWhiteTigerScheduleofClassesWeekOneJan.13 welcome!

Jan.15 IntroducingIndia‐MiraKamdar,PlanetIndia:ch.1“LifeonPlanetIndia”(p.1‐23)and“AsGoesIndia,SoGoestheWorld”(p.281‐286)‐SudhirKakarandKatharinaKakar,TheIndians:“Introduction”and“TheHierarchicalMan”(p.1‐24)

CLASSICALHINDUISMWeekTwoJan.20 MAPQUIZ

‐TheRamayana,Chapters1‐4

Jan.22 ‐FinishTheRamayanaWeekThreeJan.27 ‐A.K.Ramanujan,“ThreeHundredRamayanas:FiveExamplesand

ThreeThoughtsonTranslation”(p.22‐49)inManyRamayanas,ed.byPaulaRichman(UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1991)

Jan.29 Watchinclass:RamayanaTVserialepisode(1989)

‐PhilipLutgendorf(1990).“Ramayan:TheVideo.”TheDramaReview34,p.127‐176

WeekFourFeb.3 ‐KakarandKakar:“ReligiousandSpiritualLife”(p.134‐151)

‐HawleyandJuergensmeyer,SongsoftheSaintsofIndia:Introduction–ch.3(p.3‐90)

Feb.5 ‐FinishSongsoftheSaintsofIndia

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ISLAMININDIAWeekFiveFeb.10 ‐AnnemarieSchimmel,EmpireoftheGreatMughals:ch.1“Historical

Introduction”and“AtCourt”(p.21‐81)

Feb.12 ‐AnnemarieSchimmel,EmpireoftheGreatMughals:ch.8“LanguagesandLiterature”(p.239‐262)‐AmirKhusro,Ghalib,etc.(readingsTBA)

Filmscreening:Mughal­e­Azam(K.Asif,1960)WeekSixFeb.17 filmdiscussion

Feb.19 Re‐imaginingAkbar(watchinclass:scenesfromJodhaaAkbar,2008) PARTITIONWeekSevenFeb.24 ‐UrvashiButalia,excerptfromTheOtherSideofSilence(Duke

UniversityPress,2000) ‐Sa’adatHasanManto,“TobaTekSingh” ‐BapsiSidhwa,CrackingIndia(ch.1‐6)

Feb.26 ‐CrackingIndia(ch.7‐19)WeekEightMarch3 ‐finishCrackingIndia

FilmScreening:Earth(DeepaMehta,1998)

March5 filmdiscussionCASTEWeekNineMarch10 ‐ArundhatiRoy,TheGodofSmallThings(ch.1‐4)

March12 ‐TheGodofSmallThings(c.5‐11)WeekTenMarch17 ‐FinishTheGodofSmallThings

March19 ‐KakarandKakar:“TheInnerExperienceofCaste”(p.25‐40)‐Bama,HarumScarumSaar(entire)

SPRINGBREAK!

POLITICSANDPERFORMANCEOFGENDERWeekElevenMarch31 ‐KakarandKakar:“IndianWomen:TraditionalandModern”

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(p.41‐70) ‐GitaHariharan,“TheRemainsoftheFeast”

FilmScreening:MonsoonWedding

April2 filmdiscussionWeekTwelveApril7 ‐KakarandKakar:“Sexuality”(p.71‐106) ‐TheKamaSutraofVatsyayana(trans.WendyDonigerwithSudhir

Kakar):“IntroductionTheText”(p.xi‐xxxix)andotherexcerptsTBA

April9 ‐CarlaPetievich,WhenMenSpeakasWomen:VocalMasqueradeinIndo­MuslimPoetry:“Introduction”(p.1‐32)and“RekhtiPoems”(p.271‐354)

WeekThirteenApril14 ‐“‘GoSuckYourHusband’sSugarcane!’HijrasandtheUseofSexual

Insult”byKiraHallinLiviaandHall(eds.)QueerlyPhrased:Language,Gender,andSexuality(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,1997)p.430‐460.

FilmScreening:Fire

April16 film discussion - Ratna Kapur, “Too Hot to Handle: The Cultural Politics of Fire.” Feminist Review 64 (Spring 2000) p. 53-64.

CONDUNDRUMSOFCLASSINCONTEMPORARYINDIAWeekFourteenApril21 ‐EdwardLuce,“GlobalandMedieval:India’sSchizophrenicEconomy”

inInSpiteoftheGods(p.23‐62)‐AravindAdiga,TheWhiteTiger

April23 ‐TheWhiteTigerWeekFifteenApril28 ‐FinishTheWhiteTiger

FilmScreening:SlumdogMillionaire

April30 filmdiscussion,wrap­up ‐KakarandKakar:“TheIndianMind”(p.180‐203)FINALEXAM