Pune Program

Autumn 2003
Course Descriptions

Participants in the College's Pune Program are registered for the following three-course civilization sequence:

SOSC 23004		SOUTH ASIAN CIVILIZATION IN INDIA-1
SOSC 23005		SOUTH ASIAN CIVILIZATION IN INDIA-2
SOSC 23006		SOUTH ASIAN CIVILIZATION IN INDIA-3

Each year, depending upon the interests and strengths of the Program faculty, these courses will show some variation in subject matter and emphasis. The following course descriptions apply to the Autumn 2003 courses. (Note that the subtitles are not carried over onto students' transcripts. Note also that the first two courses are taught in reverse order in 2003.)

This course is an introduction to Hindu Theology, Buddhism, and Indian Literature in the context of South Asian Studies. Beginning with brief selections from a number of important early texts, the course will examine some of the most basic and influential concepts in Hindu and Buddhist thought. Classroom meetings are intended to focus on discussion rather than lectures. Because of time constraints, this course will not deal with the many later religious traditions of South Asia, including Islam. The only form of assessment will be a final in-class examination, which will concentrate on factual knowledge.

This course will focus on the relationship between state, society, and culture in contemporary India through the exploration of a number of interrelated themes and issues central to the development of South Asian society from the eighteenth century to the present. The course will familiarize students with many of the important social, economic, political and cultural ideas, institutions, and historical experiences that have contributed to and help constitute South Asian civilization. Through readings, class discussions, and direct participation in the life of contemporary Pune, students will have an opportunity to examine South Asian social and political institutions and their transformations. Topics include the late Mughals and their contemporaries, the British colonial state, Indian Nationalism, and the culture and politics of present day India. In the course of these discussions, each student will identify a problem of special interest and produce an essay of 1500-2500 words from accessible sources.

This course is an introduction to the archaeology and landscape history of South Asia. Through readings, discussion, and field observations, we will explore south Indian place-making as it plays out through a series of inter-related themes: situated history, embodiment, monumentality, social memory, and appropriation. Our focus will be topical and selective rather than chronological and comprehensive. The course can be broken down into three segments. We will begin with a review of long-term and large-scale history of this region in order to provide some historical context and a common frame or reference. In the next section of the course , we will visit a series of contemporary monuments and archaeological sites in order to investigate some of the specific kinds of places that emerge from this historical trajectory. Finally, we will return to Pune to hold a series of seminars exploring the themes of the course in relation to our fieldwork experiences.