Pune Program : (SOSC 23004-23005-23006) South Asian Civilizations in India I-II-III
One of the College's study abroad programs that meet the general education requirement in civilization studies, the Autumn Quarter program in Pune (Poona) is devoted to the study of South Asian history and culture. It is built upon a three-course civilizations sequence examining the history, culture, and society of the South Asian subcontinent through course work, field studies, and direct experience. During the first seven weeks of the quarter, the program will be based in the city of Pune, where students will complete two courses and participate in expeditions to nearby cultural and historical sites.
Students participating in the Pune Program receive three credits for the civilizations sequence, which meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. Students who have already met the civilization studies requirement may use these SALC credits as electives. Two South Asian civilizations courses are required for students in the major or minor, as described above. The additional civilizations course, SOSC 23006 South Asian Civilizations in India III, can be used toward other SALC requirements. Course titles, units of credit, and grades will be placed on the Chicago transcript.
In addition to the civilizations sequence, students take a fourth course in Hindi during the first seven weeks of the quarter. For students with no prior experience in South Asian languages, this course is designed to facilitate their access to local culture and to provide a basis for further study. Advanced sections will be held for those students with prior course work or experience in Hindi.
Pune is a city of some four million inhabitants, situated on the eastern foothills of the Indian western coastal mountains, or ghats, about 100 miles southeast of Mumbai. Labeled famously by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, as "the Oxford and Cambridge of India," it is a major center for Indian art, religion, and higher education, and an ideal site for cultural immersion.
For further details, consult the Study Abroad website. For more information about this and other study abroad programs, contact Lauren Schneider, Pune Project Coordinator, at lschneider12@uchicago.edu. For information on other study abroad programs in South Asia, contact the SALC undergraduate adviser.