Undergraduate Course: South Asia: Culture, Politics and the Economy (SAST10001)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | South Asia today is not only geo-politically significant but has risen to global prominence as an important locale for burgeoning economic growth and development, cultural production and nation building. This course provides a theoretical framework and empirical illustrations to make this complex region both accessible and better understood. The teaching is multi-disciplinary, providing a unique mix of sociological and anthropological approaches to the region. |
| Course description |
This course offers an introduction to key issues, concepts and processes in South Asia. The course is team-taught and research-led and offers insights into contemporary social dynamics in South Asia.
The course involves one-hour long lecture and one seminar session every week. All students are expected to do the assigned readings in advance and arrive fully prepared to participate.
The course varies year on year but a typical syllabus covers the following themes:
1. Introduction
2. Partition and its legacy
3. Caste
4. Health
5. Politics and Diversity
6. Hindu Nationalism
7. Civil war in Sri Lanka
8. Gender and Family
|
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 30 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
25% Short essay and 75% long essay |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe the main theoretical approaches used to understand contemporary South Asia
- Analyse the interplay between regional cultures, social change and their effects on culture, politics and society
- Draw on quantitative and qualitative data for comparative analysis
- Draw on research to report on current issues in South Asian studies
|
Reading List
Bates, C. 2007. Subalterns and Raj. South Asia since 1600. Abingdon: Routledge
Beteille, A. 2015. "Asia; Socio-Cultural Overview of South Asia" in International Encyclopaedia of Social & Behavioural Sciences, Elsevier: 76-80
Chatterjee, P. 1993. The Nation and its Fragments: colonial and postcolonial histories (Princeton: Princeton University Press)
Mishra B. K. 2014. "The Nation-State Problematique in Asia: the South Asian Experience", Perceptions, 19 (1): 71-85
Jodhka, S and Shah, G. 2010. "Comparative Contexts of Discrimination: Caste and Untouchability in South Asia", Economic and Political Weekly 45(48): pp96-106
Gilmartin, D. 2015. "The Historiography of India's Partition: Between Civilization and Modernity", Journal of Asian Studies 74(1)
Jaffrelot, C. 2002. "India and Pakistan: Interpreting the Divergence of Two Political Trajectories", Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 15(2)
Kumarasingham, H. 2016. "Eastminster - Decolonisation and State-Building in British Asia", in H. Kumarasingham (ed.), Constitution-Making in Asia - Decolonisation and State-Building in the Aftermath of the British Empire, London: Routledge.
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Apply different theories to the interpretation and explanation of social processes or structures
Evaluate, critique, and build on the work of scholars of South Asia
Discuss and assess empirical evidence and theoretical argument in a clear and reasoned way
Judge the value and relevance of empirical evidence and theoretical argument and interpretation
Demonstrate understanding of, and ability to use, key concepts and processes in South Asia
|
| Keywords | south asia |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Moyukh Chatterjee
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Karen Leung
Tel:
Email: |
|
|
University Homepage