Time Schedule:
Purnima Dhavan
HSTAS 490
Seattle Campus
Class description
This class will focus on some of the major themes in South Asian environmental history through the Modern period. We will examine how both the British Colonial state and the modern nation states of South Asia sought to catalogue and control the immense natural wealth of South Asia as well as the diverse and complex human interactions with the land. Specifically, we will examine how South Asian tribal, peasant, and ethnic communities have used their relationship with the environment to forge political and social identities in order to mobilize for greater political, social, and economic equity in the colonial and post-colonial period. The changing perceptions of “nature,” “wildness,” and “civilization,” will be another category for inquiry in this class. How do societies construct these categories? What kinds of conceptual and power differentials do such formulations reveal?
Student learning goals
1. Understanding the long-term impact of human societies on the natural world
2. Understanding the interconnectedness of cultural concepts of nature and micro-climates in which they are produced
3. Basic research skills including using databases, periodical collections, special collections, and online research tools
4. Evaluating and contextualizing a variety of historical approaches in South Asian Environmental history
General method of instruction
primarily through discussion of readings--short lectures at the start of each class will be used to set up a context for the readings
Recommended preparation
No pre-requisites--desire to participate in discussion a must
Class assignments and grading
Assignments vary from a map exercise to help students familiarize themselves with S. Asian Geography, to short 3-4 page papers on readings, a longer research paper (8-10 pages).
Map exercise (5%) Two short 3-4 page papers (20% each), Research paper, about 8-10 pages (30%), class participation (25%)
