2022-23

TBD

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.