HIST 328 - Modern India: Colonialism and Nationalism

The course will cover the period from the decline of the Mughal Empire in the eighteenth century through the history of British colonial rule in the nineteenth century, the struggle for Indian independence, the partition of British India in 1947 and the post-colonial challenges faced by the nation-state of India. Course materials include a wide variety of secondary and primary historical texts, podcasts, public scholarship, newspaper articles, fiction, literature and films. Assignments and discussions will highlight connections between historical arguments and contemporary debates in South Asia about democracy, secularism and communalism. Given the diversity of people, languages, histories and states in this region, we cannot hope to exhaustively cover all that there is to know about India. Instead, we will use several important themes and events as an entry point from which to explore the history of Modern India. These include colonial rule, anti-colonial movements, nationalism and the creation of modern India, the post-colonial nation state, religious identity and caste hierarchy. Through readings, lectures and discussions every week, students will take away from this course an understanding of the successes, failures and challenges faced by the people and states of Modern India today from a historical perspective.

Credits: 5
Grade Mode: Letter