India is the largest democracy in the world, with a vivid past, a challenging present, and a promising future. This course surveys the rise of national consciousness in India, beginning with localized expressions of patriotism in the 19th-century and concluding with a look a regional separatisms and Hindu nationalism in the 1980s and 90s. Along the way we examine military rebellion and middle-class terrorism; the evolution of nationalism and professional politics; the question of violence and the contributions of M.K. Gandhi, M.A. Jinnah, Subhas Chandra Bose, and others; the role of women in nationalism and nation-building, and the effects of the nationalist movement on feminist politics; the evolution of Hindu and Muslim nationalist sentiment, and the partition of the subcontinent in 1947; the transformation of a freedom movement into free politics, and the mechanics of Indian democracy and statism; and the rise of separatist and majoritarian political organizations and the rhetoric they have employed. Readings will include memoir, speeches, contemporary fiction, polemic, and historical analysis. We will also view a variety of documentary video and feature film (in video format). The grade will be based on two papers, and a mid-term and final examination. For a more detailed description of the course, see: http://www.wesleyan.edu/~wpinch/vijay.htm
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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