Intro to South Asian History
HIST-H238 with Professor Dodson
South Asia (modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka) is home to one of the world’s oldest and most diverse civilizations. In this course students will survey the cultures, religions, and politics of South Asia from the earliest times until the present. Topics include the birth of world religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism; early state building by Hindu polities such as the Cholas; the arrival of Islam and the creation of the Mughal Empire, the world’s most powerful premodern empire; the period of British rule over India; Gandhi and the non-violent struggle for freedom; and India’s leadership as a non-aligned postcolonial state in the later 20th century. Each topic will be addressed through a close reading of a primary historical text. Your grade will be based on several in-class writing assignments and examinations.
- TR 9:45 AM-11:00 AM
- Fulfills CASE S&H