This course surveys the history of Mughal and British India from about 1500 to 1900. The political frame is the genealogy of agrarian empire in southern Asia and its manifestation in India under the successive rule of central Asians (the Mughals) and Europeans (the British). Themes of particular interest include caste and class; popular belief and religious orthodoxies; technology and social change; the sociology and culture of imperial rule; the structures and dynamics of Eurasian, Indian Ocean, and Indian commerce; the evolution of the imperial state; and peasant life and agricultural production. Students will read an absorbing variety of contemporary primary documents, including religious and bardic poetry, travel accounts, administrative reports, traditional political chronicles, courtly drama, and imperial fiction. The thrice-weekly meetings will combine lectures and class discussion of the readings.
COURSE FORMAT: Discussion Lecture
Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: SBS HIST
Prerequisites: None
Last Updated on MAR-22-1999
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