Time Schedule:
Cabeiri Debergh Robinson
SISSA 316
Seattle Campus
Twentieth-century history and society of Indian subcontinent. Topics include nationalism, rural and urban life, popular culture gender and environmental politics. Offered: jointly with ANTH 316.
Class description
The theme of the course this year is “Political Violence and the Post-Colonial State.” This course will examine theoretical approaches to the analysis of collective, state, and anti-state violence through the study of specific cases of political violence in modern India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. The course will examine the approaches to the study of political violence in South Asia as arising out of both the specific historical, political, and cultural context of South Asia, and as arising out of traditions of scholarship central to South Asian area studies such as subaltern studies, post-colonial perspectives, and transnational studies.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Each class will begin with a 60 min lecture and continue with discussion of the weekly readings and films. The class is limited to 35 students.
Recommended preparation
One introductory course in Asian Studies. Students with backgrounds in other area studies traditions with a substantial coherent literature in the analysis of political violence (ex. Latin American Studies, Africana Studies, European Studies) are especially welcome.
Class assignments and grading
There will be short answer midterm and final exams on lecture and reading materials in which students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of key concepts and an 8-10 page term paper which students will develop in several stages during the course. Short in-class assignments and class discussion, taken together, will be an indication of students’ participation in class work.
The final grade will reflect students’ full participation in this course weighted as follows: class participation 30%; midterm exam 20%; final exam 20%; and term paper 30%.
