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SchoolofHistoricalStudies

CurriculumandCourses2019-21*

Previous Final

*Eachcreditwillbeevaluatedfor100marks

*DiscussionandMeetingwithFacultyaspertimefixedwithFaculty

Semester–II(BridgeCourses):16credits

§ 3corecourses(3creditseach)I. ContemplativeTraditions:IndiaandChinaII. PerformanceStudies:MnemoculturesIIIII. Socio-CulturalHistoryofAsiaII

§ 2electivecourses(3creditseach)I. CulturalHistoryofBuddhistIndiaII. HistoryofIndia’sDeccanRegionIII. Korea’sLinkageswithEastAsia

§ 1seminarcourse(1credit)

Semester–IV(SpecializedCourses):16credits

§ 1corecourse(3creditseach)I. CulturalAnthropology

§ 1electivecourse(3creditseach)I. AsianInterconnectionsontheSilkRouteII. DigitalHumanitiesIIIII. HistoryofIndianAestheticsIV. LanguageII(Sanskrit/Pali/Korean)

§ 1seminarcourse(1credit)§ Dissertation(9credits)

Semester–I(FoundationCourses):16credits

§ 4corecourses(3creditseach)I. BirthofCivilizationinEastAsiaII. CulturalHistoryofPre-BuddhistIndiaIII. Socio-CulturalHistoryofAsiaIIV. SouthAsianHistory

§ 1electivecourse(3creditseach)I. PerformanceStudies:MnemoculturesI

§ 1seminarcourse(1credit)

Semester–III(AdvancedCourses):16credits

§ 2corecourses(3creditseach)I. MaritimeInterconnectionsintheIndianOcean:MakingCulturePortable

II. TraditionsofHistoriography

§ 3electivecourses(3creditseach)I. DigitalHumanitiesIII. HistoryofSufiandBhaktiTraditionsIII. NalandaThroughtheAgesIV. SupervisedReadingV. LanguageI(Sanskrit/Pali/Korean)

§ 1seminarcourse(1credit)

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SchoolofHistoricalStudiesCourses2019-21*

CoreCourses• BirthofCivilizationinEastAsia• ContemplativeTraditions:IndiaandChina• CulturalAnthropology• CulturalHistoryofPre-BuddhistIndia• MaritimeInterconnectionsintheIndianOcean:MakingCulturePortable• PerformanceStudies:MnemoculturesI&II• Socio-CulturalHistoryofAsiaI&II• SouthAsianHistory• TraditionsofHistoriography

ElectiveCourses–CafeteriaModel(BouquetofCourses)†• AsianInterconnectionsontheSilkRoute• BuddhismandSocietyinAsia• CulturalHistoryofBuddhistIndia• HistoryofIndianAesthetics• HistoryofIndia’sDeccanRegion• HistoryofMedicine:IndiaandChina• HistoryofSufiandBhaktiTraditions• Korea’sLinkageswithEastAsiainModernTimes• MythsandSymbolsofIndianArt• NalandaThroughtheAges• StudyingReligion• SupervisedReading• DigitalHumanitiesI&II

SHSCourseGoals• DevelopknowledgeofAsia’shistory,society,economy,culture&connectivity• Examinelesser-exploredthemesinhistory,movingbeyonddisciplinaryboundaries• Understandcoreissuesincriticallyinterpretinghistoricaltexts&sources• Supportstudentsthroughtheprocessofwriting&researchalignedwiththe

principlesofacademichonesty

SHSCourseOutcomes• IdentifyandexplainAsia’sdistinctivehistoricaltrajectories• Applyinterdisciplinaryinsightstoreinterprethistoryortheirowndisciplines• Compareandcriticallyevaluateexistingworks/approaches• Createcoherent,creative&well-foundedargumentswhileidentifyingthekey

elementsofhistoricalthinkingandpractice*Coursestobeauditedperiodically

†UnderCafeteriaModel–Interdisciplinarycoursesopentostudentsfromotherschools

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I. DescriptionofCourses

§ BirthofCivilizationinEastAsiaThis course will provide a foundational knowledge of traditional cultural, social andinstitutional patterns in East Asia, focusing on the formation and development of theimperial bureaucratic state, andmajor cultural forms thatdefined theChinese civilizationandbirthofKoreanandJapanesecivilizationsasaresultoftheprocessofabsorptionoftheideasandinstitutionsofChineseandIndianprovenance.Topics include: shamanism in East Asian history.; historical, textual, and doctrinalfoundations of Confucianism and its influence across East Asia; Buddhism as a tool ofdiplomacy,politicallegitimationandtradeinAsiaandtheformationofpan-AsianBuddhistnetwork;influenceofDaoismontheChinesemind;andtheriseofNeo-Confucianismastheideological foundation of states in East Asia. The students doing this course will gain aninsightful understanding of the Chinese antecedents of ideology thatwere introduced toKorea and Japan and examine theways in which Shamanism, Confucianism, Daoism andNeo-Confucianismwere interwoven into the fabric of China’s Imperial bureaucratic stateandsubsequentlyadaptedbyKoreaandJapantosuittheirsocialandculturalrequirementsaswellaspoliticalimperatives.A list of weekly reading material will be provided in the first class. In doing in-classpreparation and writing term-papers and final essay the students need to demonstrateinitiativeandingenuityinresearch,andalsoattemptboth“criticalanalysisofmaterialandinnovative interpretation of evidence”. This will be possible only if they undertakeindependent research and carefully go through a wide range of relevant original andsecondarysources.

§ ContemplativeTraditions:IndiaandChina

This3creditscorecoursefocusesoncontemplativetraditionsinIndiaandChina,specificallytheVedantic, Yogic, Jain,Buddhist, Confucian, ZenandTaoist traditions. It elaborates thegeneral idea of contemplation (emphasizing meditation as its key dimension), itsemergence, and representation across traditions. The course is organized around threerelated themes, i.e., themind-body connection, the nature of contemplative experience,anditsgoals.Thecourseencouragescomparativereflections.Atthesametime,ithighlightstheneed to integrate spirituality and contemplative traditionswithin academicdiscourse,particularly combining interdisciplinary approaches tounderstandandexplain the shiftingmeaningsaswellasthevalueofcontemplation.Thiscourseaimstointroducestudentstoideasandpracticesconstitutiveofcontemplativetraditionsaswellasprovidethemwith interpretivetoolsforexploringthesetraditions.Attheendofsuccessfullycompletingthecourse,studentswillbeableto:

• Identifythedefiningelementsofcontemplativetraditionsandsuchexperience• Understandthediversemeaningsoftruth,wisdomandconsciousness• Exploretheextenttowhichcontemplativetraditionsevolvedinaculturalcontinuum• Createsimple,coherentargumentsaboutthethemesstudied

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§ CulturalAnthropologyThis course introduces certain keydebates in the fieldwhich isdedicated to the studyofcultural differences. In the broadest terms, cultural anthropologists study “culture”—definedastheprocessoforderingsociallifeandmakingitmeaningfulinarangeofsettings.Thecoursebeginswithanunderstandingoftheconceptofculture—asasetofmeanings,values, and practices— and put it into useful perspective. Subsequently, itwould engagewithaclusteroftopicsthatarecentraltothefield,includingtheconceptionofHuman,thequestion of experience and praxis. Contextualising the question of cultural differencefurther, itwillalsocriticallyengagewiththetwomodelsof forgingandtheorizingculturaldifference from South Asian context. Finally, the course would introduce two significantchallenges the field has to grapple with, the digital and the anthropocene: modes ofcommunication play a significant role in shaping and articulation of culture and culturaldifference in relation to the modes of being. The onset of the digital in this contextintensifiesthedialecticalnatureofculture.Thetermdigitalaccountsforallthatwhichcanbe ultimately reduced to binary code but which produces a further proliferation ofparticularity and difference. On the other, the emergence of the term anthropocene todescribeourcurrentstageofnaturalhistoryassumescentralityofhumanagency,seesitasthe prime source of action that shapes the physical world. How to respond to thesechallenges?Readings forthecoursewill includeselectionsfromMaryDouglas,PierreBourdieu,VictorTurner, Clifford Geertz, Bruno Latour, TalalAsad, Raymond Williams, AK Ramanujan, SNBalagangadhara,AmitavGhosh,DanielMiller,HeatherAHorstamongothers.

§ CulturalHistoryofPre-BuddhistIndiaThiscourse iswovenwiththethreadsofpre-Buddhist literarysourcesandaimstoenablethe students to locate the culturalmarkers of early India. The coursewill dealwith suchmajor themes and topics as early cultural establishments (Palaeolithic, Mesolithic,Neolithic), characteristics of Indus Valley Civilization, and the Vedic literature stretchingfromthefourVedasuptotheUpanisads.Byturningthefocusawayfrompoliticalhistory,whichdefinesthehistorysyllabusofmostoftheIndianuniversitiesthiscourseconcentratesonculturalhistorytoremedyamajorimbalanceinunderstandingofIndia’spast.§ MaritimeInterconnectionsintheIndianOcean:MakingCulturePortableThis3creditscorecoursefocusesontheevolutionofIndianOceanasaninterculturalspacefrom prehistory up to the 15th century. Extending east to west and covering 20% of theworld’s oceanic space, the vast IndianOcean is a uniquely enclosed space surroundedbyhugecontinentallandmasses;theIndianpeninsulaliesatitscore.TheIndianOceanisoneofthemostnavigatedoceanspacesinhumanhistory.ThecourseisorganizedtolookatthehistoryofinterconnectionsintheOceananddiscoverespeciallythespreadofcultureacrosssocietiestheyconnected.Commerceplayedapivotalroleinthenetworks’emergenceanddiffusion.Thiscourse,therefore,challengesustovisualizewaterasadynamicalconnector(ofcontinentsandcultures),andtorethinkspaceintermsofgeographiesofrelationships.

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ThiscourseaimstodiscoverhowtheuniqueIndianOceanicspaceinfluencedthenatureofconnectivity,andwiththatunderstanding,explainhowindividualsembeddedinlong-lastingnetworksofespeciallycommerceandmotionmadeculture,evencivilizations,portable.Attheendofsuccessfullycompletingthecourse,studentswillbeableto:

• Identifytheelementsofculturaltransmission• Describetheoverlapsofhistoryandgeography• Explainthematerialbasesofculture• Createcoherentargumentsaboutthethemesstudied

§ PerformanceStudies:MnemoculturesIThis course explores fundamental issues in performance studies. An understanding ofperformanceasanobjectandalens,asmodalityandmethod,iscentraltothescholarshipacross Humanities and Social Sciences. The course focuses on the basic methodologicaltrendsthataresignificanttoreflectuponmimesisandalterity.Thecourseisstructuredinthreeparts.Inthefirstpart,thelearnerswouldacquireabasicunderstandingofperformanceandperformativity,andthefieldofperformancestudies.Thesecond part attempts to address the polemic:whether the field of study is imperialist innature?Therehavebeenscholarswhoarguethatthefieldofperformancestudies“mustbeseen embedded in its historical affiliations not only with particular disciplines such asliterature or history, but also particular institutional histories and the place of academicinstitutionswithinculture”(JacksonProfessingPerformance2004).Howtorespondtothefieldfromnon-Euro-Americanlocations?Finalpartofthecourseattemptsawayoutoftheepistemological impasse, by trying to revisit certain foundational texts in an attempt toforge newer questions; these enable one to view performance as a means of creativeexpression,asamodeofcriticalinquiry,andasanavenueforpublicengagement.Readings for the course will include selections from Plato, Bharata, Richard Schechner,Diana Taylor, Samuel Weber, Clifford Geertz, JL Austin, NgũgĩWaThiong'o, Fritz Staal, DVenkatRaoandothers.§ PerformanceStudies:MnemoculturesIIThe course focuses on two domains, theatre and theory, that significantly constitute thefundamental grids of performance studies. Both of them, derived from the Greek termsthéātron and theoría respectively, share a common etymological source θέᾱ (théā). ThisGreeksourcedesignates a privilegedplaceaccordedto theacts of seeing/judging.Ifthéātron indicatedstagingofperformanceforadjudication infrontofspectators,theoriaforegrounded knowledge as mastery over object. Thus both théātron and theoría derivetheirauthorityfromaspecificepistemethatdisplacedtheregisterofacousticswithoptics,andprivileged the senseof sight/seeing (Levine1997,Cavarero2005, Luc-Nancy2007). Itculminates in the formofaunitary“projectofa lifepredicatedon reason”designatedasEurope(Gasche2009).In contrast to thisnarrativeof théātron/theoría thatemerged fromEuropeanexperience,performancetraditions fromAsiaofferaradicallydifferentculturalexperience.This is thechallengeonehastograpplewithinthefieldofperformancestudiesandthestudiesoforal

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cultures.Heterogeneouscultural formationsbringforthdivergentcultural forms.Focusonthe discrete bodily articulations are central here. Contrary to the Aristotelian line oftheorizationoftheatrewhichrendersitasanenactmentofnarrativeidentity—whichlatersetsthecentralityofmeaninginWesternthought—theseperformancetraditionsdonot privilege either narrative or meaning: multiple instances indicateperform-abilitywithoutnarrativecontent.The course intends to grapple with such cultural difference while engaging withperformancetraditions/oralcultures.CriticalexplorationofcontrastingcomponentsoftheEuropean and Indian accounts will be undertaken in search of possible ways ofengaging with the performance traditions and oral cultures from South Asia. Readingsinclude selections from Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Nātyasāstra, Dattilam, Sangíta-Ratnākara and Brihaddeshi, and writings of Jean-PierreVernant,MarcelDetienne andMukund Lath, in addition to the contemporary scholarship on performance studies andorality.

§ Socio-CulturalHistoryofAsiaI

This3creditscorecoursecomprises the firstpartofoursurveyofAsia’shistory fromthedeepprehistoricoriginsuptothe15thcentury.Theprimaryfocusisonsocietyandculture,especially the evolution of networks of interactions, with some reference to politicalorganization.Evidently, thiscoursesweepsoverahugespace-time.Thecoursechallengesustolookbeyondpoliticalhistoriesandisolatedactorstowardsthinkingaboutnetworksofinteraction,theiremergenceandroleinproducingdeepsocialandculturalchange.Thatis,focus on local actors in actual material contexts, acting upon their conditions, thereby,influencing theproduction andexchangeof ideas, goods, information, values, beliefs andbehaviors.ThisapproachcanshedgreaterlightontherelationshipbetweenAsia’sstrikingsocio-culturaldynamismandtherobustnessofitslinkednetworks.Atthesametime,ithasimplications for the realizationof aharmonized, integratedAsia in thewider21st centuryglobalcontext.ThecourseisorganizedinacombinationofchronologyandthemesinordertogetasenseoftheprocessasmuchasepisodesthatproducedadeepimpactonsocietiesinAsiaandconnectedthem.The course aims to develop a preliminary knowledge of broad trends in Asian social andculturalhistory,anddiscoverhowitsunderlyinginterconnectednessanddynamismplayedout.Attheendofsuccessfullycompletingthecourse,studentswillbeableto:

• IdentifytheprincipaltrajectoriesinAsia’shistory• Explainsociety,cultureandtheirinterrelationship• Makesimpleconnectionsacrossspace-time• Composesimple,coherentargumentsaboutthethemesstudied

§ Socio-CulturalHistoryofAsiaIIThis3creditscorecoursecomprisesthesecondpartofoursurveyofAsia’shistorybetweenthe15th-21st centuriesCE.Theprimary focus in thiscourse isonsocietyandculturewithsome reference to political organization. The course aims to develop a preliminaryknowledgeofbroadtrendsinAsia’shistoryanddiscoveritsunderlyinginterconnectedness

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and dynamism, especially shifts in networks of mobility and exchange both duringcolonizationandinitsaftermath.ThisstudyisalsorelevanttothepresentAsiancontext:asfresh interdependenciesemergeamongAsiansocieties,e.g.,ASEAN,BIMSTECandSAARC,theireffortistoleverageasharedpastbyharnessingtheaccumulatedwealthoftheselong-standing networks that interconnectedAsia. The course endswith insights into emergingmodes of socio-cultural connectivity in 21st centuryAsia and the globalizedworld. At thesametime,wewillremainattentivetothestrugglesthatpreviously-colonizedsocietiesface.The course aims to develop a preliminary knowledge of broad trends in Asian social andculturalhistory,anddiscoverhowitsunderlyinginterconnectednessanddynamismplayedout.Attheendofsuccessfullycompletingthecourse,studentswillbeableto:

• Identify the principal trajectories in Asia’s history& apply new learning to explainpresent-dayAsia

• Explainsociety,cultureandtheirinterrelationship• Makesimpleconnectionsacrossspace-time• Composesimple,coherentargumentsaboutthethemesstudied

§ SouthAsianHistory

South Asia comprises anything but a monolithic and unchanging geo-cultural space.Contributionsfromrecentscholarshiponthisregionpresentbeforeusahistoricalcanvas,whichismarkedlydynamicandreceptivetomultiple influencesacrosspolitical,economic,religiousandculturallandscapes.Thiscourseisframedwiththepreciseintentiontoengagedeeply with these new works and researches, produced over the last decade, whichfamiliarize us with multiple facets of South Asian history focusing on people andcommunities,regionalhistories,butmostimportantlythecomingtogetherofcommunities,peoples and ideas – leading to a rich fabric of social and cultural bonding. Such traitspresenteditselfthroughlanguage,literature,music,poetry,folkcults,artandarchitecture.Someofthekeythemesonwhichthiscoursewillfocuson,emergefrominter-disciplinaryperspectives,asfollows:

• IntroductiontoSouthAsianhistoryandsociety• FoundationoftheStatestructure• Practicesofchronicle-writing• EraofDecentralization• Tradehistory• Languageandvernacularliterature

§ TraditionsofHistoriographyHistoriography refers to thehistoryof historywriting aswell as the theoretical principlesandmethodsunderlyingsuchnarratives.Whileallsocietieshaverecordedthepast,historymakes the additional claim of presenting a true representation (of the past) that issupported by evidence and is, hence, verifiable. That said, history writing has changedsignificantly,bothin itsmethodsof inquiryaswellasthethemes/subjects itengages.Thiscourseprovidesanunderstandingofthecoreissuesinthepracticeofhistoryandhowtheyhave ‘turned’ and shifted over a period of time. In addition, this course highlights Indic

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conceptions of history writing epitomized in theitihāsa Puranic traditions and criticallyexaminestheissueofitihāsa-as-historyaswellasthedebatesgenerated.Aftersuccessfullycompletingthecourse,studentswillbeableto:

• Identifythecoreelements,dominantthemes,andshiftswithinhistorywriting• Criticallyevaluateexistingworks&approaches• Applyinterdisciplinaryinsightstohistory• Composesimple&coherentargumentsaboutthethemesstudied

ModuleI:Thismodulewilldiscussseveralgenresofhistorywritingandhistoriographicalissuestheyraise.Wewillanalysehistoryrepresentedinbiographies,dynastichistories,fablesandauthoritativenarrativesinfluencedbythe‘greattraditions’highlightinghowbias,morality,subjectiveidentity,powerandreligiousaffiliationshapedhistoricalunderstandingandwriting.Wewillalsodiscusshowpoliticalandintellectualcontextsshapedhistorywriting,methodologyandcontent.

ModuleII:Thismodulefocusesonsomeofthemajorhistoriographicalconceptsandthemesthatemergefromoverlapsofhistoryandgeographyandinfluenceconceptualizationsoftheregion.Wewillalsodiscusstheoriginsofsuchtraditionsinantiquityandborrowingsfromtherichtraditionsofknowledgeavailablelocallyaswellasacrossawiderregion.

ModuleIII:Thismodulehighlightssomeofthekeytheoreticalelementsinthewritingofhistory–context,space-time,fact,source,explanation,objectivity,hindsightandphilosophy(ofhistory)–andidentifiesthecritical‘turns’withinthelargerhistoryofhistorywriting.Themoduleconcludeswithadiscussiononfuturepossibilities,especiallyinterdisciplinarity,inordertoenlargethescopeofhistoricalenterprise.Thismoduleaimstointroducethegeneralprinciplesunderlyingthewritingofhistory,highlightingthediversityofhistoricalapproaches,andshareinterpretivetoolstoassessthose.Attheendofthemodule,studentswillbeabletoidentifydominantthemeswithinhistoriography,evaluatekeyapproaches,anddiscussemerginginterdisciplinarypossibilities.

ModuleIV:Thismoduleintendstoexplore‘whatisitihāsaintheIndiancontextandincontrasttoModernHistory’.Everycivilizationdevelopsitsownpatterntocarryforwarditseternalvalues.IndiadevelopedtraditionsofItihāsa-Purāṇa,whichwereessentiallyacomprehensiveplanforhumanlife.ThemoduleprimarilyaimstounderstandandexplainearlyIndianattitudestowardsthepastthroughexploringsomeoftheearlyliteraryevidences.

ModuleV:Thismoduleintroducesvariousdebateswithinthefieldofhistoriographypertainingtothestatusofnarrativeandrepresentation.Historiographicalexercisewitnessestheemergenceofrepresentationasacentralthemeintheinterfacebetweenhistoriographicresearchandthewritingofhistoriography.Historiographicresearchaimstoestablishfactualtruth—eitherstatementsorcausalexplanations.Thewritingofhistoriographydealswithhowfactualtruthscan,orshouldbe,integratedintoonecoherentnarrativewhole.Themoduleaddressesvariouspositionswithinthetraditionsofhistoriographyaroundthiscentralissue.

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§ AsianInterconnectionsontheSilkRouteAsiahasbeenunderstoodasconstitutingmultipleworldsofgeography,historyandsociety.ThiscourseisdesignedtofurtherthatunderstandingofAsiaingeographicalandhistoricalterms.ItexploresAsiansocietiesasinterconnectedformationsstretchingfromWestAsia,throughEurasia,CentralAsia,andSouthAsiatoSoutheastAsiaandEastAsia.TherebyitallowsustorethinkconventionalAreaStudiesscholarshipthathaveforlongcarvedupthebroaderfieldofAsianStudies.Exchange,interchange,flowsandcirculationswithinAsiawillbroadenthescopeofthiscoursebyallowingthestudyofhistoryattheinterfaceoflinguistic,geographical,aestheticandreligiousboundaries.ThiscoursewillfocusonelaboratinginstanceswhereroutesliketheSilkRoad,createconnectionsfortradeandmovement,resultingindynamiccontactzones.StudentswillbeintroducedtoanunderstandingofAsiaacrosstimes,andwillbenefitthroughdiversereadingsaddressingvarioushistoricalnarrativesaroundtheSilkRoadinterconnections.

§ BuddhismandSocietyinAsiaThis course aims to provide a systematic understanding of the political and social role ofBuddhisminvariousAsiancountriesandthesignificanceofBuddhisminforgingacohesivepan-Asian Eastern Civilization. Through discussion of such topics as the rich plethora ofBuddhist symbolism and Buddhist cults and their appropriation by rulers, the changingparadigmofsangha-staterelationsandengagedBuddhisminAsia,thestudentswillgainanincisive understanding of the role of Buddhism in restructuring political formations andtransformingsocietyinAsia.

§ CulturalHistoryofBuddhistIndiaAclosereadingofBuddhisttextsrevealsthatBuddhaandhisteachingsextend,expandandcomplementVedicvision.TheageoftheBuddhawasatransformativephaseinwhichIndiawitnessedvarioussocial,philosophicalandartisticstructures.BasedonBuddha’steachingsvariousliteratureshavebeencomposedknownas‘Buddhistliterature’.Primarilybasedonthe early Buddhist literature (tripiṭakas), this course provides an opportunity to exploregeographical,social,literary,artisticandreligiousdimensionsofIndiaintheageofBuddha.

§ HistoryofIndianAestheticsWith a solid background provided by the Vedas, a continuous and cumulative inquiryregarding the nature of kalā (art), its ontological status, how it is created, what is itspurpose,conceptofrasa,bhāvatheoriesofreception,andotherrelatedissueshavebeenstarted and in due course of time it culminated at a point where one can say that ourtradition has made a cumulative chain of thinkers, in which each has their own uniquecontributionandthusmadeaSaundryaśāstra–adisciplineofAesthetics.

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Thecourseprimarilyaimstoexplorethehistoryandissuesofaesthetics,whichoriginatedanddeveloped in Indian context. In doing so, it encompasses the chronology of thinkers,brief analysis of their texts, underlining their contributions, and thus mapping theintellectualhistoryofIndianaesthetics.Thethrustofthecourseistoprepareafoundationindomainof classical Indian theoriesofaestheticsandgradually conceptualizinganAsianaesthetics.

§ HistoryofIndia’sDeccanRegionTheDeccanconstitutesalargestretchoflandinpeninsularIndiastretchingfromtheBayofBengaltotheArabianSea.Itshistoricaltraditions,spanningcenturies,attesttherichnessofthisregionasaninseparablecomponentofSouthAsia’shistory.YetthisareasouthoftheVindhya mountains has received much less attention from scholars, primarily due to anovertlynorth-Indiacentricfocusinhistoricalstudy.ThecourseisprimarilyaimedatintroducingstudentstotherichhistoryoftheDeccanasanindependent subset of historical enquiry. This will primarily be achieved by taking intoaccounttherichscholarshipoverthelasttwodecadesthathasrevivedacademicinterestinthisregion.Deccanasaregionbeginstobehistoricallyaccountedforfromtheriseofthepowerful dynastic powers of Chalukyas, Pallavas andPandyas from600A.D., followedbytheevenmorepowerfulCholasfurthersouth,threecenturieslater.Movingawayfromtheideaof an isolated region, therefore, the coursewill bring into focus a densenetworkofAsian connections with Deccan as its centre; forged through the idea of the ‘Sanskritcosmopolis’ and powered by the movement of traders, scholars, nobles, administrators,militarycommandersnotonlyfromAsiabutevenasfarasAfrica.Theculturalrichnessoftheregionwillalsobeengagedwiththroughartandarchitecture,the local dialect of Dakhani enriched by the vernacular traditions of Telegu,Marathi andKannad, prose and poetry compositions, and paintings. By taking into account this trans-regional historyof theDeccan, studentswill be encouraged to engagewith the followingthemes,

• MulticulturalmilieuoftheDeccan• Deccan’shistoricaltieswithAsianandAfricanregions• Historical and cultural dimensions that turnedDeccan into a ‘pull factor’ in global

Asianhistory

§ HistoryofMedicine:IndiaandChina

This3creditselectivecourseoffersastudyofmedicineinIndiaandChinafromantiquitytothemoderntimes.Thiscoursewillintroducewaysinwhichthebody,mind,disease,illnessanddisorderaswellashealingwereconceptualizedandpracticed.Theprincipalfocusofthecourse isontheclassicalsystemsofmedicineandhealing in IndiaandChina.Tibet isalsoincludedinourdiscussion.This course aims to explore how health, disease, medicine and healing have beenconceptualizedandpracticedinthesepartsofAsiathroughextanttexts,e.g.,theSushrutaSamhita,oneofthemost importantancientIndiantreatisesonmedicineandsurgerythatwasalsotransmittedtootherpartsofAsia.Atawiderlevel,thiscourseaimstoaddress(and

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historicize) the larger question of whymedicine varies despite humans being biologicallyidentical across societies.At the same time, it aims to initiatediscussiononpublichealthissuesandtheevolvingfieldofMedicalHumanities.Attheendofsuccessfullycompletingthecourse,studentswillbeableto:

• Identifydominanttrendswithintheexistinghistoriesofmedicine• Discuss emergent issues pertinent to the field, e.g., how was health and healing

conceptualized,howwashealthcareorganized,howdopeoplerelatetoillness,andwhatdidtheydotogetcured

• Createsimple,coherentargumentsaboutthethemesstudied

§ HistoryofSufiandBhaktiTraditionsModuleI:ThismodulewillprovideanintroductiontothespiritualtraditionofSufism.Thehistory of this intellectual and institutional tradition will be mapped, beginning from itsoriginsaroundthetenthcentury.AsthespiritualdimensionofIslam,SufismasabranchofIslamic culture carries a significance influence and popularity in the Indian subcontinent.This module, however, does not limit itself to being only a historical survey on Sufism.Ratheritwillfocusonselectthemes,whichwillhelpformulateacoherentunderstandingonthe subject. The coursewill introduce students toSufism throughanunderstandingof itshistoricalbackground,originsanddevelopment.Framingofvariousthemesisdonekeepinginmindalogicalcontinuityinideas.Issuesthosearefundamental,likeSufidoctrines,willbediscussedaswellasotherrelevantthemeslikeapproaches to Sufi traditions, idea of classical Sufism, dimensions of Sufism in the Indiansubcontinent,itsrelationwiththeStateandtheroleofwomen.

Module II: Indian religious tradition primarily conceivesbhakti as a path leading towardsknowledge–bhaktiyoga.Bhaktican’tbeunderstoodonlyasacertainreligiousdevotionalattachment. Rather, it is an integratedwhole of the emotion (bhāva) and the knowledge(jñāna) both. This module endeavours to provide a philosophico-historical framework tostudybhakti, itsevolutionandgrowth.The literatureproducedonbhakti traditions isrichand diverse. Themodulewill alsomap the historical account of variousbhakti traditions(mainlySaivism,Vaisnavism,Śākta,Caitanyamovement,North-eastbhaktimovement,andNāthatradition)withtheiressentialcharacteristicsbasedontheavailableliteraryandothermaterials.

§ Korea’sLinkageswithEastAsiainModernTimesThiscourseofstudyaimstointroduceKorea’slinkagewithhertwoneighbours,ChinaandJapan, in the modern times. Topics in modern history include: Korea’s intellectualengagementwiththeScholarsofQingChinainthelateJoseondynasty(1392-1910);waveof reforms and rebellions in the wake of the opening of Korea to the West and Japan;Japan’scolonialruleandKorea’sfightforfreedom.Thiscoursewillalsoshedsuchimportanttopics from the contemporary history of Korea as the division of Korea in 1945 and theoutbreakoftheKoreanwarin1950inwhichChinawasinvolved.

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§ MythsandSymbolsofIndianArtArtinIndiameanttoconveyitscivilisationalvaluesmanifestedinitsphilosophy,literatureandculture.Everycivilizationhasdevelopeditsownmythsandsymbolstocarryforwarditseternal values. Exploring Indian art one invariably encounters with a rich and versatilerepertoire of symbols such as Purṇa Kumbha, Aśvattha, Kalpavṛkṣa, Samudramanthan,Śeṣaśayīviṣṇu,Mātṛkā,Mithuna,Padma,Dhvaja,Cakra,Yakṣa,Yakṣiṇī,Dharmacakra,Stūpa,Caitya, Śālabhañjikā, Uṣṇīsa, Dohada, and many more. Right interpretation of Indian artseeksawellunderstandingofitssymbols.Thecoursewillintroducestudentsthefollowingkeyconceptualandtheoreticalquestions:

• Whatismyth?• Whatissymbol?• Inter-relationbetweenmythandsymbol• Interpretationofvariousmythsandsymbols• Intellectualandcross-culturalhistoryofvarioussymbols• IconographicalstudyofsomeHindudeities

§ NālandāThroughtheAgesNālandāwas a prominent place in the time of Buddha andMahāvīra, and in subsequentcenturies it got further imbued with the memories of many great thinkers. It finds anelaborate space in the early Buddhist literature (tripiṭaks) and Jain sources. Nālandāemergedasoneofthemajorcentresofhigherlearning/monasticscholasticismintheworldintheearlyGuptaperiod.Foraperiodofmorethan800years,theinstitutionservedasabeacon light of knowledge traditions, exchange of ideas, and art.NālandāMahāvihārareceivedstudentsand teachers fromChina,Korea,Sumatra,Armenia, centralAsia,etc.andwasinthecentreofthemuchcomplexsocio-culturalandreligiousnetwork.This course, woven around above-mentioned themes, will provide an opportunity to thestudentstounderstandthehistoryofNālandāthroughdifferentlensfromart-historicaltoarchaeological,andfromtexttooral.§ StudyingReligionThis3creditselectivecoursefocusesonstudyingreligion,especiallyelaboratingitsresearchmethodology. While research is a systematic inquiry organized (or designed) around aspecificpurposeoroutcome,methodologyisastrategyofinquirythatclarifiestheresearchprocess. Inparticular, themethodologyof studying religion requiresus tobeattentive toour own assumptions, conceptualization and positioning in regard to religion, its widercontext,andmovingbeyondbinaries.Thiscourseaimstoinvestigatehowreligionhasbeenstudiedandbuildresearchstrategies.Attheendofsuccessfullycompletingthecourse,studentswillbeableto:

• Describeandevaluatetrendswithintheexistingstudiesofreligion• Designabasicresearchprocessforstudyingreligionoritsaspects

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• Createsimpleargumentsaboutthethemesstudied§ SupervisedReadingThiscourseaimstohelpstudentsdevelopresearchskillsbroadlyinaspecificfieldofstudythat they plan to explore further. It involves critical reading of prescribed texts in thestudents’proposedareaofresearchandwritingofaresearchpaperofapproximately4000words, under the supervision of a faculty member. This course aims to construct andconsolidatea solid foundation inaparticularareaof research that is compatiblewith theresearchinterestofthestudentandformulateaconcreteresearchquestionthatwouldbeexploredinthefinalsemesterintheformofadissertation.Readinglistforthiscoursewillbedevelopedprimarilybythestudent inconsultationwiththesupervisor.§ DigitalHumanitiesITheintersectionofthecomputationaltechnologiesandthetraditionalhumanitiesdisciplineshasgivenrisetothefieldofDigitalHumanities.Inthelasttwodecades,thefieldhasnotonlygainedincreasedattention,butalsohasexpandedrapidly.Insimpleterms,itcanbesaidthatDigitalHumanitiesdesignatesasetoftheoreticalandpracticalapproachestothetechnologicalengagementwithculturalmaterials.DigitalHumanitiesinvestigateshowtheconditionofdigitalityischangingthewaysweproduceandshareknowledgeinthehumanities.Oneofthekeychallengeshereisthis:thehumanitiesasadisciplinevaluessubtlety,nuance,conflictingideas,andevenparadox.Whenoneisworkingwithdigitaltechnologythatisparadigmaticallyconstitutedbytheprinciplesofcomputing,rangingfromword-processorstodatavisualizationanddigitalmaps,onehastonegotiatewithnewerchallenges.Sohowdoesonepracticehumanitiesandsocialsciencesinthiscontext?Thiscourseisanintroductiontosomeoftheissuesinvolvedhere.Attemptingtointroducethefield,thecourseexaminesthehistory,theoryandpracticeofDigitalHumanities.AfterchartingouttheshiftfromHumanismthroughHumanitiestoDigitalHumanities,thecourseproceedstogiveabriefhistoricaloverviewoftheHumanitiescomputing,whichpavedwayfortheemergenceofthisfieldofstudy.Further,itintroducesthefundamentalelementsthatconstituteDigitalHumanities,i.e.,text,document,object,artefact,image,soundandspace.Itwillalsofamiliarisethestudentswithcertaintheoreticaldebatesregardingtheconstitutionofthefield.Subsequently,thecoursetriestograpplewiththenotionofDigitalHistoryandArchiveinthedigitalage.ReadingsforthecoursewillincludeselectionsfromJohannaDrucker,AnneBurdick,SusanHockey,FredericaFrabetti,TonyWeller,KateTheimer,EricMeyer&Schroeder,NishantShahandothers.

§ DigitalHumanitiesII

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Informationandcommunicationtechnologiesarerapidlytransformingthewaysofbeingintheworld.Theyarealsoalteringthemodesofperception,affectionandaction,thustransformingthefieldsofhumanitiesandsocialscienceresearch.Wearewitnessingthesignificantreconfigurationsofthemodalitiesofcognitionandarticulationduetotheimpactofmnemotechniques(themethodsoftransmittingmemory)andthemnemotechnologies(thetechnologiesthatsystematicallyandschematicallyordermemories).Thus,itisaquestionconnectedwiththeproblemofmemory—asgatheringofthought,ofrememberingandforgetting,inrelationtothetechniquesofhumancultivation.Thecourseintroducesthefieldwhichaddressestheproblemsofanthroposandtechne(thehumanandthetechnology)inrelationtomemory.Howdoculturestrytoaddressthisquestion?Whatarethedominantparadigmsofconfigurationsofmemory?Howdotechnologiesconstitutedifferentmodesofrecollection,articulationandtransmissionofthought?Whatarethebearingsithasontheconceptionofpast?Thecourseattemptstoengagewiththesequestionsinthecontextoftheonsetofthedigital.ReadingsforthecoursewillincludeselectionsfromPlato,Aristotle,Vidyāpati,RichardTerdiman,JanAssmann,MartinHeidegger,AlbertBorgmann,BernardStiegler,WolfgangErnst,MarkBNHansen,RafaelCapurroandothers.

SchoolofHistoricalStudies