SOUTH ASIA: RELIGION, POLITICS & HISTORY

SOUTH ASIA: RELIGION, POLITICS & HISTORY
Course Code
DR 3571
Credit Points
30
Course Coordinator
Dr W Tuladhar-Douglas

Pre-requisites

DR 1027 or DR 2535 (or its precursors). Students with relevant experience in other disciplines may join, conditional on agreement from the Course Coordinator. This course is available to students in Programme Year 3 or above.

Notes

This course will not be available in 2011/12.

Overview

An ethnographic and historical examination of the relationship between religious traditions and political and social power in Tibet, Nepal and India. The course will concentrate on three areas:

  • The structure and history of pre-colonial Hindu and Buddhist rule in South Asia, and the nature of religious conflict in this context.

  • An examination of the rise of South Asian religious nationalism within the colonial and post-colonial period, centering on (a) the religious disputes of Partition in the sub-continent, and the subsequent influence of Hindu and Muslim fundamentalism; (b) the Hindu-Buddist conflict in Sri Lanka, and the origins of Buddhist nationalism; and (c) the history of invasion and ethnic conflict within modern Tibet.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (50%); in-course assessment (50%).

Resit: 1 three-hour written examination paper (100%), provided each element of assessment is CAS 6 or above. New coursework can be submitted.