Courses

This course is intended to provide elementary training in listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Standard Tibetan to those with no prior knowledge of Tibetan. It will introduce pronunciation, a core vocabulary, and fundamental structures that will enable students to perform basic communication in Tibetan. Students will learn to read short notes, messages, and hotel bills. The Communicative functions include: introducing self and others; describing people, objects, places, and events; telling times, talking on the phone, describing seasons and weather, specifying modes of transportation, and asking about directions. This course will also introduce the Tibetan writing system and help students build up a foundation in writing short notes and messages. 

This sequence follows the textbook Marathi in Context (with its online supplement Marathi Online) in its focus on developing the basic skills-comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing-of Marathi language use. It covers all the fundamentals of Marathi grammar, but only as they are encountered in context, within a wide array of social and conversational "situations."

This five-day-a-week introductory sequence presents a dynamic, fun, and lively introduction to the world’s second most spoken language through intensive conversation, reading, writing, and listening. No prior Hindi knowledge necessary.

Spoken by over thirty-five million people in South Asia, Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and one of the official languages of India. It is written in the Perso-Arabic script, which facilitates learning to read and write several other South Asian languages. This three-quarter sequence covers basic grammar and vocabulary. Our text is C. M. Naim's Introductory Urdu, Volumes I and II. Students learn to read and write the Urdu script, as well as to compose/write in Urdu. By the end of three quarters students have covered all the major grammatical structures of the language. We also emphasize aural and oral skills (i.e., listening, pronunciation, speaking). These courses must be taken in sequence, since the script is introduced in the Autumn quarter. Students should also be aware that they need to contact the instructor ahead of time to discuss scheduling if they are planning to take this course.

The first half (about fifteen weeks) of this sequence is spent mastering the reading and writing of the Devanagari script and studying the grammar of the classical Sanskrit language. The remainder of the sequence is devoted to close analytical reading of simple Sanskrit texts, which are used to reinforce the grammatical study done in the first half of this course. The aim is to bring students to the point where they are comfortably able, with the help of a dictionary, to read simple, narrative Sanskrit. Texts in Sanskrit.

This sequence concentrates on developing skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing Bangla at the novice and intermediate low levels. It is designed both for scholars who want to do research on Bengal and for those who want to gain proficiency in elementary Bangla for communication purposes. Evaluation will be based on classroom performance, attendance, homework assignments, projects, quizzes and final examination.

The grammar of modern Tamil, in its manifestation both in colloquial and formal styles, and a good amount of vocabulary needed for referring to the immediate environment and using in day today transactions will be acquired. The four language skills acquired will be at different levels of proficiency with listening and speaking at the top followed by reading of formal texts and ending with basic writing skills in the formal style. The gradual progression in listening will be from teacher-student to speaker-speaker; in speaking it will be from articulation of sounds and intonation to expressing personal needs and interests, performing practical tasks, narrating experience and expressing emotions; in reading it will be from alphabet and spelling in the two styles to sign boards, controlled texts, factual news stories, interpretive reports and jokes; in writing from conversion of colloquial style into conventional style to personal letters, paraphrasing and translation of sentences. The tools used are classroom conversations, conversational tapes, videos, graded print materials, select materials from the print media including tales, which are complemented by exercises and quizzes.

This intermediate sequence covers reading and writing in classical Tibetan as a tool for advanced research. The lessons include reading and translation of various genres of Tibetan literature including narrative prose, anthology verses, and texts on religious fundamentals. Those interested in modern Tibetan language will be accommodated separately using the text "Fluent Tibetan vol 2-3" with the emphasis on second-level pronunciation, grammar, and syntax integrated into the use of spoken and modern literary forms with the target goal of intermediate level. 

First year Urdu or comparable level of language skills. This sequence is a continuation of URDU 10100-10200-10300. There is increased emphasis on vocabulary building and reading progressively complex texts. Depending on ability levels and interests of the students, readings can include selections from various original sources.

Please contact staff for a placement exam.

This sequence significantly extends both the breadth and the depth of the social and conversational situations introduced in the first year and includes numerous readings, largely from An Intermediate Marathi Reader. It covers all the grammar required for reading most kinds of modern Marathi prose texts.

The intermediate-level Sanskrit sequence will equip students to apply the core grammar concepts that they learned in the introductory course to selected narrative, poetic, dramatic, philosophical, and scholastic texts in Sanskrit. In-class activities and selected assignments that develop skills in writing, speaking, listening, and vocabulary retention will support students' success in reading the text(s) at hand. Students will expand their abilities to apply grammar concepts by bringing increased attention to syntax and morphology. Students will be able to identify major poetic meters. Students will begin to build the skills that they will need to make use of Sanskrit commentarial works. As a whole, the sequence in Intermediate Sanskrit will prepare students to read and analyze Sanskrit texts in a range of literary styles at the advanced level, and to do so with confidence.

This sequence is a continuation of First-Year Bangla and aims at gaining intermediate high proficiency in the language. Students who have prior knowledge of elementary Bengali can join the course. The course concentrates equally on speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. At the end of the course the learner is supposed to have a command of Bengali language and culture that allows him/her to communicate with native speakers with ease. He/she will have sufficient reading abilities to comprehend non-technical modern texts. Evaluation will be based on classroom performance, homework assignments, projects, tests, and final examination.

This intermediate Hindi sequence presupposes knowledge of the basic grammar of Hindi and requires substantial reading and translating of Hindi prose, alongside exposure to advanced Hindi grammar topics. Regular attention is given to conversation and composition. Texts in Hindi.

TBD

This course aims to introduce students to various musical and performance traditions in South Asia and their evolution within regimes of institutional, legal and media censorship. The course aims to understand how media environments and cultures of censorship are in some ways fundamental to shaping performance cultures in South Asia in the twentieth century. How do traditions of musical performance entrenched in the politics of caste, communalism, religion, sexuality and gender interact with regimes of censorship and new media? How do the latter remake and unmake said traditions? Be it the mid-century ban on film music by All India Radio to reflect the aspirations of a newly-emerging nation or the appropriation and urbanization of ‘folk’ musical practices within the recording studios in Nepal by upper-caste, upper-class male performers- censorship and media infrastructures have been integral to the current ontologies of diverse musical genres in South Asia. Through the analysis of a variety of primary and secondary texts on performance and musical aesthetics, media and music ethnographies, reception and production histories as well as critical listening/viewing exercises, this course seeks to complicate mainstream Euro-American narratives that tend to posit media-modernities as global and uniform. We will seek to understand how South Asian musical cultures and sound practices enter into a creative interplay with musical discourses and media-materialities emerging in the West.

Cancelled for Aut 22

The course examines the life, work, and career of Acharya Vinoba Bhave (1895-1982) in colonial and postcolonial India. We read Bhave – who was widely touted as M.K. Gandhi’s ‘spiritual’ successor – as developing a significant response to the cardinal questions and concerns of his time: building a national community free from stratification, exploitation, and communal strife while abiding by the values of non-violence (ahiṃsā) and truth (satya). Drawing upon Gandhi’s ingenious mobilisation of the term, Bhave found his answer in the ideal of sarvodaya (universal upliftment) and laboured, throughout his long and illustrious life, to make it into an instrument of thought and action. This course will offer a multi-dimensional view of Vinoba’s ideas and socio-political initiatives – including, but not limited to the well-known Bhoodan Movement (1951). We think about Bhave as a political thinker and actor while also paying due attention to some of his other, equally significant contributions. These would comprise his writings on education/pedagogy, ecological conservation, and India’s religious philosophies and languages. Bhave’s erudite and experimental wisdom in reinterpreting the revered Bhagavadgītā will receive special attention. We end by raising some questions of relevance. Are Vinoba Bhave’s principles pertinent in the twenty-first century? Can they be reshaped according to our more global needs and made to speak to the many predicaments of a deeply destructive present?

The grammar of modern Tamil, in its manifestation both in colloquial and formal styles, and a good amount of vocabulary needed for referring to the immediate environment and using in day today transactions will be acquired. The four language skills acquired will be at different levels of proficiency with listening and speaking at the top followed by reading of formal texts and ending with basic writing skills in the formal style. The gradual progression in listening will be from teacher-student to speaker-speaker; in speaking it will be from articulation of sounds and intonation to expressing personal needs and interests, performing practical tasks, narrating experience and expressing emotions; in reading it will be from alphabet and spelling in the two styles to sign boards, controlled texts, factual news stories, interpretive reports and jokes; in writing from conversion of colloquial style into conventional style to personal letters, paraphrasing and translation of sentences. The tools used are classroom conversations, conversational tapes, videos, graded print materials, select materials from the print media including tales, which are complemented by exercises and quizzes. The basic pedagogical materials are accessible at https://tamilcourse.uchicago.edu/.

This five-day-a-week sequence presents an introduction to the world’s second most spoken language through reading, writing, listening, memorizing, and speaking. We begin with the Devanagari script, and we then introduce the Urdu script in Winter Quarter.

This course is in continuation to TBTN:10100-01 and a pre-requisite for TBTN:10300, intended to continue elementary training in listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Standard Tibetan. Students at this stage will be able to understand information from sentence-length speech, one utterance at a time, in basic personal and social contexts. This course will also introduce some short reading text and help students participate more effectively in classroom activities. 

This sequence concentrates on developing skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing Bangla at the novice and intermediate low levels. It is designed both for scholars who want to do research on Bengal and for those who want to gain proficiency in elementary Bangla for communication purposes. Evaluation will be based on classroom performance, attendance, homework assignments, projects, quizzes and final examination.

The first half (about fifteen weeks) of this sequence is spent mastering the reading and writing of the Devanagari script and studying the grammar of the classical Sanskrit language. The remainder of the sequence is devoted to close analytical reading of simple Sanskrit texts, which are used to reinforce the grammatical study done in the first half of this course. The aim is to bring students to the point where they are comfortably able, with the help of a dictionary, to read simple, narrative Sanskrit. Texts in Sanskrit

This sequence follows the textbook Marathi in Context (with its online supplement Marathi Online) in its focus on developing the basic skills-comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing-of Marathi language use. It covers all the fundamentals of Marathi grammar, but only as they are encountered in context, within a wide array of social and conversational "situations."

Spoken by over thirty-five million people in South Asia, Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and one of the official languages of India. It is written in the Perso-Arabic script, which facilitates learning to read and write several other South Asian languages. This three-quarter sequence covers basic grammar and vocabulary. Our text is C. M. Naim's Introductory Urdu, Volumes I and II. Students learn to read and write the Urdu script, as well as to compose/write in Urdu. By the end of three quarters students have covered all the major grammatical structures of the language. We also emphasize aural and oral skills (i.e., listening, pronunciation, speaking). These courses must be taken in sequence, since the script is introduced in the Autumn quarter. Students should also be aware that they need to contact the instructor ahead of time to discuss scheduling if they are planning to take this course. Not offered Win 23

TBD

This intermediate Hindi sequence presupposes knowledge of the basic grammar of Hindi and requires substantial reading and translating of Hindi prose, alongside exposure to advanced Hindi grammar topics. Regular attention is given to conversation and composition. Texts in Hindi.

This intermediate sequence covers reading and writing in classical Tibetan as a tool for advanced research. The lessons include reading and translation of various genres of Tibetan literature and translation including narrative prose from – the words of my perfect teacher, Gesar Epic, history of Bon tradition, and Dunhuang manuscripts. Those interested in modern Tibetan language will be accommodated separately with the text “Fluent Tibetan vol 3” with the emphasis on grammar and syntax integrated into the use of spoken and modern literary forms with the target goal of intermediate level. 

First year Urdu or comparable level of language skills. This sequence is a continuation of URDU 10100-10200-10300. There is increased emphasis on vocabulary building and reading progressively complex texts. Depending on ability levels and interests of the students, readings can include selections from various original sources. 

Please contact staff for a placement exam. 

Not offered W23

This sequence is a continuation of First-Year Bangla and aims at gaining intermediate high proficiency in the language. Students who have prior knowledge of elementary Bengali can join the course. The course concentrates equally on speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. At the end of the course the learner is supposed to have a command of Bengali language and culture that allows him/her to communicate with native speakers with ease. He/she will have sufficient reading abilities to comprehend non-technical modern texts. Evaluation will be based on classroom performance, homework assignments, projects, tests, and final examination.

This sequence begins with a rapid review of grammar learned in the introductory course, followed by readings from a variety of Sanskrit texts. The goals are to consolidate grammatical knowledge, expand vocabulary, and gain confidence in reading different styles of Sanskrit independently. The winter quarter will be a reading of the Mahabharata.

This sequence significantly extends both the breadth and the depth of the social and conversational situations introduced in the first year and includes numerous readings, largely from An Intermediate Marathi Reader. It covers all the grammar required for reading most kinds of modern Marathi prose texts.

This course introduces students to the history of the Indian Ocean as a connected space in the centuries preceding widespread colonialism (ca. 1200-1600). In recent years, scholars have highlighted the Indian Ocean as a critical economic region in the 19th and 20th centuries. But before the industrial revolution and the invention of the steam engine, people from a variety of social backgrounds established contact with each other across Indian Ocean spaces. They formed religious communities, introduced new commodities and goods across space, or were forcibly enslaved and brought across the ocean against their will. By focusing on primary sources and first-person accounts—travelogues, letters, memoirs, and histories—we will explore the question of what we can learn about Indian Ocean worlds before globalization through consideration of individual lives. What picture do we get of a world on the brink of major social, political, and technological changes from reading about individuals’ experiences? How can they decenter modern conceptions of space and periodization? In the course, we will pay special attention to the formation of religious networks, religious interactions, and histories of enslavement across the Indian Ocean.

TBD

Time is fundamental to all ideas about the past and our projections to the future, yet our measures and conceptions of it change constantly. We will explore key concepts and themes around the temporal cultures of medieval and modern South Asia and how ideas and everyday experiences of time and history have taken shape in the intellectual exchange between South Asia and the West. What can a bored monk writing in medieval India teach us about our hurried digital life? What was the relationship between past and present in premodern South Asia? What can we learn about colonialism and capitalism studying work schedules of clerks in colonial India? Was medieval South Asia prior a land without history? From medieval to modern and from Mahābhārata to Marx, we will closely read a wide range of texts and other media hailing from both South Asia and the West. Students will analyze secondary and primary sources (in translation): religious works, manuals for time keeping, as well as texts describing personal experiences of time, like novels, diaries, etc. Students will develop critical tools for comparing and interpreting the life-worlds of non-Western regions. Our goal is to think of South Asia as an important site where our current concepts and propositions about time and history were developed. No prior knowledge of South Asian languages or history is necessary. This online class will offer both synchronous and asynchronous components. See the syllabus at https://bit.ly/3gTLHbX

This five-day-a-week sequence presents an introduction to the world's second most spoken language through reading, writing, listening, memorizing, and speaking. We begin with the Devanagari script, and we then introduce the Urdu script in Winter Quarter.

Spoken by over thirty-five million people in South Asia, Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and one of the official languages of India. It is written in the Perso-Arabic script, which facilitates learning to read and write several other South Asian languages. This three-quarter sequence covers basic grammar and vocabulary. Our text is C. M. Naim's Introductory Urdu, Volumes I and II. Students learn to read and write the Urdu script, as well as to compose/write in Urdu. By the end of three quarters students have covered all the major grammatical structures of the language. We also emphasize aural and oral skills (i.e., listening, pronunciation, speaking). These courses must be taken in sequence, since the script is introduced in the Autumn quarter. Students should also be aware that they need to contact the instructor ahead of time to discuss scheduling if they are planning to take this course.

Please contact staff for a placement exam.  Not offered in Spr 23

This sequence concentrates on developing skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing Bangla at the novice and intermediate low levels. It is designed both for scholars who want to do research on Bengal and for those who want to gain proficiency in elementary Bangla for communication purposes. Evaluation will be based on classroom performance, attendance, homework assignments, projects, quizzes and final examination.

This sequence follows the textbook Marathi in Context (with its online supplement Marathi Online) in its focus on developing the basic skills-comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing-of Marathi language use. It covers all the fundamentals of Marathi grammar, but only as they are encountered in context, within a wide array of social and conversational "situations."

The first half (about fifteen weeks) of this sequence is spent mastering the reading and writing of the Devanagari script and studying the grammar of the classical Sanskrit language. The remainder of the sequence is devoted to close analytical reading of simple Sanskrit texts, which are used to reinforce the grammatical study done in the first half of this course. The aim is to bring students to the point where they are comfortably able, with the help of a dictionary, to read simple, narrative Sanskrit. Texts in Sanskrit

The grammar of modern Tamil, in its manifestation both in colloquial and formal styles, and a good amount of vocabulary needed for referring to the immediate environment and using in day today transactions will be acquired. The four language skills acquired will be at different levels of proficiency with listening and speaking at the top followed by reading of formal texts and ending with basic writing skills in the formal style. The gradual progression in listening will be from teacher-student to speaker-speaker; in speaking it will be from articulation of sounds and intonation to expressing personal needs and interests, performing practical tasks, narrating experience and expressing emotions; in reading it will be from alphabet and spelling in the two styles to sign boards, controlled texts, factual news stories, interpretive reports and jokes; in writing from conversion of colloquial style into conventional style to personal letters, paraphrasing and translation of sentences. The tools used are classroom conversations, conversational tapes, videos, graded print materials, select materials from the print media including tales, which are complemented by exercises and quizzes. The basic pedagogical materials are accessible at https://tamilcourse.uchicago.edu/.

This course is in continuation to TBTN:10200 and a pre-requisite for TBTN:20100 intended to continue training in listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Standard Tibetan. Students at this stage will be able to understand information from a series of short sentences. This course will continue to build upon providing more interaction in the class with topics ranging from travel brochures to understanding airport announcements. This course will also use some reading of Modern literary works, and folktales, and help students participate more effectively in the classroom open-ended activities.   

The second quarter analyzes the colonial period (i.e., reform movements, the rise of nationalism, communalism, caste, and other identity movements) up to the independence and partition of India.

This intermediate Hindi sequence presupposes knowledge of the basic grammar of Hindi and requires substantial reading and translating of Hindi prose, alongside exposure to advanced Hindi grammar topics. Regular attention is given to conversation and composition. Texts in Hindi.

This sequence is a continuation of First-Year Bangla and aims at gaining intermediate high proficiency in the language. Students who have prior knowledge of elementary Bengali can join the course. The course concentrates equally on speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. At the end of the course the learner is supposed to have a command of Bengali language and culture that allows him/her to communicate with native speakers with ease. He/she will have sufficient reading abilities to comprehend non-technical modern texts. Evaluation will be based on classroom performance, homework assignments, projects, tests, and final examination.

This sequence significantly extends both the breadth and the depth of the social and conversational situations introduced in the first year and includes numerous readings, largely from An Intermediate Marathi Reader. It covers all the grammar required for reading most kinds of modern Marathi prose texts.

This sequence is a continuation of URDU 10100-10200-10300. There is increased emphasis on vocabulary building and reading progressively more complex texts. Depending on ability levels and interests of the students, readings can include selections from various original sources. Not offered Spr 23

TBD

This intermediate sequence covers reading and writing in classical Tibetan as a tool for advanced research. The lessons include reading and translation of various genres of Tibetan literature and translation including; Buddhist dialectics and scholastics, texts on religious fundamentals, Philosophy and doctrine, The Description of Lankapuram from Ramanaya etc. Those interested in modern Tibetan language will be accommodated separately with the text “Advanced Tibetan by Thuptan Jinpa” with the emphasis on grammar and syntax of spoken and modern literary forms. Students will also read contemporary Tibetan writings along the Tibetophone materials.

This sequence begins with a rapid review of grammar learned in the introductory course, followed by readings from a variety of Sanskrit texts. The goals are to consolidate grammatical knowledge, expand vocabulary, and gain confidence in reading different styles of Sanskrit independently. The winter quarter will be a reading of the Mahabharata.

What is a ‘sense’? How do we attune, coordinate, and interpret our senses and the information that we receive through them? How do we structure and shape the world around us for and through the senses? We will address these questions by diving into the multi-sensory worlds of South Asia—a region that includes the present states of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka—and learning how peoples of the region have theorized and employed the senses to understand and shape their aesthetic, social, and religious worlds. We will taste spices, smell fragrances, listen to music and street sounds, ‘visit’ temples, mosques, and museums, read literary, philosophical, and religious texts, and view works of visual and sculptural art in order to better understand which aspects of sensory experience are indeed ‘universal’ and which are conditioned by history and culture.

The third- and fourth-year sequence is meant to expose students to a range of genres in Tibetan literature, including religious, historical, philosophical, scientific, and literary works. Instruction consists in guided readings, with continuing grammar review, practice in speaking, and application of philological methods.

Readings from An Advanced Marathi Reader and a wide array of other sources depending on student interests, with continuing grammar review and practice in composition and speech.

TBD

Reading selections introduce major Sanskrit genres, including verse and prose narrative, lyric poetry, drama, and the intellectual discourse of religion, philosophy, and the sciences. Analysis of the language and style employed in commentarial texts and practice in reading such texts is also emphasized.

Readings from Hindi literary and journalistic texts and a wide array of other sources depending on student interests, with continuing grammar review and practice in listening comprehension, composition and speech.

TBD

When joining this course the student is expected to demonstrate the ability to narrate in all time frames of the language. The student should be able to provide a simple though articulate discourse on familiar topics and subjects directly related to the his/her interests. He/She will learn to provide a full account of events and to use appropriately complex sentences in Bangla. We will also focus on some aspects of the technical language pertaining to various domains. The student will be invited to discuss orally on written material studied in class and at home, and he/she will have to produce two to three pages long essays on a given topic. Systematic introductions to a variety of registers and literary idioms (19th century Sadhu Bhasha, dialects, etc.) will also be provided. By the end of the spring quarter the student will have the necessary tools to expand significantly his/her abilities in order to reach the superior level.

Meeting times will be arranged after discussing with students.

The first quarter focuses on Islam in South Asia, Hindu-Muslim interaction, Mughal political and literary traditions, and South Asia’s early encounters with Europe.

The third- and fourth-year sequence is meant to expose students to a range of genres in Tibetan literature, including religious, historical, philosophical, scientific, and literary works. Instruction consists in guided readings, with continuing grammar review, practice in speaking, and application of philological methods.

TBD

Readings from Hindi literary and journalistic texts and a wide array of other sources depending on student interests, with continuing grammar review and practice in listening comprehension, composition and speech.

When joining this course the student is expected to demonstrate the ability to narrate in all time frames of the language. The student should be able to provide a simple though articulate discourse on familiar topics and subjects directly related to the his/her interests. He/She will learn to provide a full account of events and to use appropriately complex sentences in Bangla. We will also focus on some aspects of the technical language pertaining to various domains. The student will be invited to discuss orally on written material studied in class and at home, and he/she will have to produce two to three pages long essays on a given topic. Systematic introductions to a variety of registers and literary idioms (19th century Sadhu Bhasha, dialects, etc.) will also be provided. By the end of the spring quarter the student will have the necessary tools to expand significantly his/her abilities in order to reach the superior level.

TBD

Readings from An Advanced Marathi Reader and a wide array of other sources depending on student interests, with continuing grammar review and practice in composition and speech.

Readings from Hindi literary and journalistic texts and a wide array of other sources depending on student interests, with continuing grammar review and practice in listening comprehension, composition and speech.

When joining this course the student is expected to demonstrate the ability to narrate in all time frames of the language. The student should be able to provide a simple though articulate discourse on familiar topics and subjects directly related to the his/her interests. He/She will learn to provide a full account of events and to use appropriately complex sentences in Bangla. We will also focus on some aspects of the technical language pertaining to various domains. The student will be invited to discuss orally on written material studied in class and at home, and he/she will have to produce two to three pages long essays on a given topic. Systematic introductions to a variety of registers and literary idioms (19th century Sadhu Bhasha, dialects, etc.) will also be provided. By the end of the spring quarter the student will have the necessary tools to expand significantly his/her abilities in order to reach the superior level.

TBD

Readings from An Advanced Marathi Reader and a wide array of other sources depending on student interests, with continuing grammar review and practice in composition and speech.

TBD

TBD

The third- and fourth-year sequence is meant to expose students to a range of genres in Tibetan literature, including religious, historical, philosophical, scientific, and literary works. Instruction consists in guided readings, with continuing grammar review, practice in speaking, and application of philological methods.

gehe gehe kalau kāvyaṃ …
In the Kali age, there is a poem in every house …
Vidyāpati (ca. 1370-1460, Mithila), Kīrtilatā

The Indian subcontinent is home to some of the most vibrant literary traditions in world history. The aim of this course is to introduce students to the main trends in the premodern (/pre-nineteenth century) literature of South Asia through a selection of poetic and theoretical texts translated from a variety of languages (Arabic, Bengali, Dakani, Hindi, Maithili, Marathi, Persian, Panjabi, Sanskrit, Urdu, etc.). We will discuss issues of literary historiography, the relations between orality and writing, and the shared aesthetic world of poetry, music, and visual arts. We will review the basic principles of Perso-Arabic and vernacular poetics through a selection of representative theoretical treatises and poems. We will also explore the linguistic ecology of the Subcontinent, the formation of vernacular literary traditions, multilingual literacy, and the role of literature in social interactions and community building in premodern South Asia. Every week the first half of the class will be devoted to the historical context and conceptual background of the texts we will read in the second half. Attention will be given to the original languages in which those texts were composed as well as the modes of performance of the poems and songs we will read together.

This course will introduce students to the language, genres, and history of literature in the region now known as Rajasthan. Students will gain basic philological skills related to the grammar and vocabulary of the literary languages known as diṅgal and piṅgal and the paleography and codicology of written sources in those languages (stone inscriptions and paper manuscripts), as well as receive a general overview of the various literary traditions of the region. We will read excerpts from works representing different genres; this survey will thus be general rather than comprehensive. We will discuss questions such as the following: what constitutes a ‘language’, literary or otherwise, in precolonial South Asia? What distinguishes a ‘region’ as a geographical and cultural entity? What constitutes a literary genre or ‘tradition’?

The central aim of this course will be to closely read and discuss read four recent monographs in the field, with an eye towards thinking through questions of their place in the history of the field and (as is inevitably the case a heterogeneous discipline like area studies) of the connections with other fields or bodies of scholarship. During the even weeks of the quarter we will read these four books in their entirety; in the odd-numbered weeks (except week 1), groups of the students, working in collaboration with the instructor, will generate and present a selection of articles that contextualize the preceding week's monograph both within and without South Asian studies. The course is therefore collaborative and somewhat experimental: the instructor will arrange to meet with the class participants collectively in the beginning of the Fall quarter to get them organized into groups for preparing these selections. These groups will be responsible for leading discussion for their sessions, while a different group will be responsible for presenting and leading discussion for each monograph. Everyone will thus participate in two group presentations, which will be part of the assessment. The remaining part of the grade will be determined by an end-of-quarter essay, based on either of these presentations.

Students attending this course must be able to produce an articulate discourse on subjects related to history and literary criticism. They should also have a good command of Bengali grammar. The course is mainly devoted to the study of selected modern and premodern Bangla texts (narrative literature, devotional and courtly poetry, treatises) in their historical contexts. We propose various readings in the historiography of Bangla literature, philology, traditional performance of Bangla poetry, etc... Besides, material from all periods will be studied according to the student's scholarly interests.

Meeting times will be arranged after discussing with students.

TBD

TBD

The goal of this sequence is to provide students with strong reading expertise in a wide range of Sanskrit texts in literature (poems and plays, verse and prose) and the scientific and philosophical discourses (e.g., grammar, logic, poetic theory, Buddhist thought), and commentarial literature on both.

Readings from Hindi literary and journalistic texts and a wide array of other sources depending on student interests, with continuing grammar review and practice in listening comprehension, composition and speech.

TBD

This course offers an introduction to the theory and practice of book history and print culture studies, a relatively recent and vibrant field of inquiry in South Asian Studies. The course will explore some of the main theoretical approaches, themes, and methodologies of the history of the book in comparative perspective, and discuss the specific conditions and challenges facing scholars of book history in South Asia. Topics include orality and literacy, technologies of scribal and print production, the sociology of texts, authorship and authority, the print “revolution” and knowledge formation under colonial rule, material cultures of the book, the economy of the book trade, popular print, and readership and consumption. We will also engage with texts as material artifacts and look at the changing contexts, techniques, and practices of book production in the transition from manuscript to print. This graduate course is open to advanced undergraduates (instructor consent required).

The third- and fourth-year sequence is meant to expose students to a range of genres in Tibetan literature, including religious, historical, philosophical, scientific, and literary works. Instruction consists in guided readings, with continuing grammar review, practice in speaking, and application of philological methods.

TBD

TBD

TBD

TBD

TBD

Students attending this course must be able to produce an articulate discourse on subjects related to history and literary criticism. They should also have a good command of Bengali grammar. The course is mainly devoted to the study of selected modern and premodern Bangla texts (narrative literature, devotional and courtly poetry, treatises) in their historical contexts. We propose various readings in the historiography of Bangla literature, philology, traditional performance of Bangla poetry, etc... Besides, material from all periods will be studied according to the student's scholarly interests.

TBD

TBD

TBD

TBD

The third- and fourth-year sequence is meant to expose students to a range of genres in Tibetan literature, including religious, historical, philosophical, scientific, and literary works. Instruction consists in guided readings, with continuing grammar review, practice in speaking, and application of philological methods.

TBD

Readings: Advanced Tibetan is for students who have successfully completed third year and fourth year or equivalent with placement test. The sequence is meant to expose students to a range of genres in Tibetan literature, including religious, historical, philosophical, scientific, and literary works. Instruction includes guided readings with continuing grammar review, practice in speaking, and application of philological methods.

TBD

This course is for students who have successfully completed third- and fourth-year Urdu. It is typically tailored to student needs in terms of the selection of texts to be addressed and discussed. Depending on their interest, students may choose to read Urdu texts from any time period, country or genre. Prior consent of instructor is required.

TBD

TBD

Readings: Advanced Tibetan is for students who have successfully completed third year and fourth year or equivalent with placement test. The sequence is meant to expose students to a range of genres in Tibetan literature, including religious, historical, philosophical, scientific, and literary works. Instruction includes guided readings with continuing grammar review, practice in speaking, and application of philological methods.

TBD

This course is for students who have successfully completed third- and fourth-year Urdu. It is typically tailored to student needs in terms of the selection of texts to be addressed and discussed. Depending on their interest, students may choose to read Urdu texts from any time period, country or genre. Prior consent of instructor is required.

TBD

TBD

TBD

An advanced Sanskrit reading course focusing on the development of skills in either classical belles lettres (kāvya) or scholastic, commentarial prose (śāstra). In the former, emphasis is on the ability to re-arrange complex poetic forms into digestible prose word order. In the latter, students learn both the stylistic conventions of scholastic Sanskrit and the technical vocabulary of the relevant intellectual discipline.

TBD

This course is for students who have successfully completed third and fourth year Bangla. It is divided between classes dealing with the current research themes of the instructor, and the study of material directly related to the research interests of the students. The focus is on methodology and the use of Bangla as a research language.

This course is for students who have successfully completed third- and fourth-year Urdu. It is typically tailored to student needs in terms of the selection of texts to be addressed and discussed. Depending on their interest, students may choose to read Urdu texts from any time period, country or genre. Prior consent of instructor is required.

TBD

Readings: Advanced Tibetan is for students who have successfully completed the third year and a fourth-year or equivalent with a placement test. The sequence is meant to expose students to a range of genres in Tibetan literature, including religious, historical, philosophical, scientific, and literary works. Instruction includes guided readings with continuing grammar review, practice in speaking, and application of philological methods.

The course offers an introduction to the literary traditions of Bengal (today’s West Bengal in India, and Bangladesh). We will study the making of Bengal as a region of literary production through a selection of secondary and primary sources in translation. We will look at how literature and literacy have been defined in various contexts up to the colonial period and discuss what constituted the literary identity of Bengal’s various linguistic traditions. We will approach the topics of reading practices and genres from the perspective of both material culture (script and scribal practices, manuscript formats, etc.) and the conceptual categories underlying literary genres and the linguistic economy of Bengal (scholastic and non-scholastic, classical and vernacular languages, individual reading and publicly performed texts, hinduyani and musalmani). Even if Bengali language and literature stand at the center of this course, we will also discuss the literary traditions that predate the formation of Bengali literature and were part of the background of the making of Bengali texts (Sanskrit, Apabhramsha, Arabic, Persian, Maithili, and Awadhi literature). The aim of the course is to introduce students to precolonial Bengali literature in its conceptual, aesthetic, and historical dimensions. The course will address topics of interest for students in comparative literature, religious studies, history, linguistics, medieval studies, book history, musicology or performance studies.

South Asia was a major source of narrative matter for the development of literary prose in the Islamicate world. For instance, literary prose in Arabic, but also in Persian (and Castilian) were fashioned through successive renderings of the Sanskrit Pan͂catantra. Later, in the post-Timurid period, South Asian Persianate literati, and munshis in particular, contributed to elevate the status of Persian prose to that of poetry.

This course offers a survey of a variety of Indo-Persian prose texts such as tales, premodern translations of Indian romances and epics (Mahābhārata, Rāmāyaṇa, Pan͂catantra, Mādhavānala Kāmakandalā, etc …), letters, anecdotes from chronicles, tadhkira literature, autobiographical writings, treatises, and encyclopedic works. The readings are organized thematically and by degree of stylistic elaboration. We will first read plain prose texts that will introduce the students to key elements of the Persianate understanding of Indic culture. In this first section of the course, we will mostly read narrative texts (chronicles, translations of Sanskrit and Hindavi works, and dāstāns). We will then turn to epistolography, biographies, and autobiographical writings. Finally, we will read technical and non-technical texts dealing with various aspects of Indo-Persian courtly culture and aesthetics (philosophy, mysticism, grammar, poetry, or musicology). Each text will be introduced and framed by discussions on relevant secondary literature in English and Persian.