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Drawing on canonical works produced in the interdisciplinary context of “colonial studies,” this course addresses the history of colonialism since the late 18th century. Class discussions focus on the shifting forms and strategies of colonial domination for the remaking of 19th- and 20th-century worlds, the relationship between colonial and metropolitan politics, the meaning of “colonial modernity,” and anticolonial nationalism. Historical readings draw on examples of British, French, Dutch, and Japanese colonialism in South Asia, Africa, South East Asia, and East Asia.

Introduces students to the basics of Urdu alphabet, grammar, and sentence structure. All four skills are emphasized—writing and reading, as well as speaking and listening. The course is tailored to address students’ interests not only in the language but also in the culture it is rooted in.

The overall goal of this course, as a part of a two-year curriculum, is to prepare the student for a high level of proficiency in Hindi. Through a variety of class, small group, and paired activities, as well as language and computer lab sessions, students are expected to develop reading, speaking, listening, and writing skills. The instructor also takes into consideration individual needs.

Designed to further develop fluency in oral and written communication. In addition to the class, small group activities, and language and computer lab sessions, students are given an individual assignment to work with native speakers from the community and report on their findings. The reading assignments are designed to broaden understanding of content used for oral presentations.

Offers an overview of Indian culture via original texts and is designed to improve students’ advanced level reading as well as their written and oral discourse in Hindi. Emphasis is placed on the development of linguistic skills required for a close reading and in-depth analysis of complex texts. Introduction is learner-centered and students have a choice in the selection of the texts and topics for their presentations. Taught seminar-style, the course combines classroom discussions, oral reports, and occasional background lectures. Before taking this course, students should have completed the two-year sequence of Hindi or have an equivalent background.

An introductory course designed to acquaint students with the great works of Ancient Indian literary tradition. A major part of this tradition was written in Sanskrit. The earliest form of that language was brought to India by the Aryans probably sometime in the middle of the second millennium BC and is called "Vedic" Sanskrit. It is the language of the Vedic hymns, especially those of the Rig Veda. This language developed over the course of time until around the 4th century BC, when it was fixed by the famous Sanskrit grammarian Panini. This form of Sanskrit, in which most of the later literature is written, is commonly referred to as "Classical Sanskrit." Thus, in one form or another, Sanskrit has had an unbroken literary tradition for over 3,000 years. It is this rich and vast literary, religious and philosophical, heritage which will be introduced in this course. In addition students will work with excerpts from the Jain and Buddhist Canons written in Prakrits and examples of Tamil poetry. Selections from the Vedic literature, classical drama, epics, story literature and lyric poetry will be studied in English translation.

By examining representations of the Indian diaspora in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean, we see that a fixed idea of "India" is misleading in the effort to understand its changing manifestations. We investigate the ways in which colonialism reshaped indigenous society, as well as the currents of religious, cultural, and political change that developed in the process, leading to Indian nationalism and its contemporary variations.

This overview begins with the recovery of early writings during the 1960s-1970s and proceeds to the subsequent production of Asian American writing and literary/cultural criticism up to the present. The course focuses on significant factors affecting the formation of Asian American literature and criticism, such as changing demographics of Asian American communities and the influence of ethnic, women’s, and gay/lesbian/bisexual studies. Included in the course is a variety of genres (poetry, plays, fiction and nonfiction, literary/cultural criticism) by writers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The course explores the ways in which the writers treat issues such as racial/ethnic identity; immigration and assimilation; gender; class; sexuality; nationalism; culture and community; history and memory; and art and political engagement.