Indian History
Patten University at San Quentin
Course number:
Semester: Summer 2006
Instructors: Catherine Karnitis and Daniel Immerwahr
Course Schedule: Mondays and Fridays, 6:30-8:45 pm
This course will focus on the history of India during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Students will learn, in particular, about British rule in India and the development of Indian nationalism. During the first few weeks of the course, the students will read translations of texts from ancient India in order to gain background on traditional influences on Indian society. Students will also be introduced to Indian political history during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Some of the broader themes explored in this course are religion and politics, the nature and scope of imperialism in India, and the formation of national identity.
Textbooks
Thomas Metcalf and Barbara Metcalf, A Concise History of India (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2002)
Rabindranath Tagore, The Home and the World (Harmondsworth: Penguin Classics, 2005)
Objectives and Learning Outcomes
One general goal of this course is to gain understanding of political and social issues affecting present-day India (and South Asia, more broadly), through studying the history of India. Implicit in this goal is the idea that the when we study the past, we also learn about some aspects of the present. Another aim of this course is to enable students to learn how to read historical texts and to be able to extract key information and concepts. Through the weekly writing assignments and essays, students will be able improve their writing and critical thinking abilities.
Methods of Instruction
Each week, the co-instructors will lecture on the reading materials and related themes. At the end of each class session, there will be time for group discussion.
Requirements
Essays: Over the course of the semester, you will be asked to write two essays, four to five pages in length, on the themes of the course. Requirements and grading criteria for each essay will be included on each essay assignment sheet. If you can type your papers, use 12 point-sized font, one inch margins, and be sure to double space. If you handwrite your essays, write legibly in dark blue or black ink on every other line of your notebook paper. You will be asked to revise the first essay, and your final grade will be the grade assigned to the revision. 70%
Creative Project: As we read Rabindranath Tagore’s The Home and the World and watch Satyajit Ray’s film of that book, you will be asked to think about how you would have adapted Tagore’s novel for a film. Requirements for this assignment will be distributed later in the term. 10%
Critical Responses: Each reading assignment will be accompanied by a brief writing assignment, called a critical response, in which you are expected to express your thoughts about the given reading. This will involve writing five sentences summarizing the reading material. Often we will hand out questions along with the reading to help guide your critical response. You can also use your critical response to identify particular ideas you find interesting, or, maybe more importantly, particular ideas you want to criticize. Students usually use their critical responses as the basis for their essays; however, please keep in mind that a critical response is NOT a formal essay. Rather, it is a place to collect your critical ideas and analyses of the readings as you develop your thoughts on the various issues we discuss in class. Your grade for the critical responses will be based on the effort and quality of thought demonstrated, not on the sentence mechanics or organization. 20%
Students are required to include the following information on all assignments and exams: name, CDC#, housing, date, name of course, name of instructor
Plagiarism/Academic Dishonesty Policy:
Academic dishonesty includes copying someone else’s work, collaborating on work without explicit permission, completing another student’s coursework, and plagiarism. Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s words or ideas as your own; it is considered stealing. In this course, any incident of academic dishonesty will cause students to fail the assignment and possibly the class.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance at both class meetings and after the break (unless you are “Close B”) is required. Each student is allowed one unexcused absence. From that point forward, each absence or early departure that is not excused by one of the instructors will result in a grade drop of 1/3 of a letter grade (i.e., from an “A” to an “A-“, or a “B+” to a “B”).
Students are responsible for catching up on material covered during classes they’ve missed, and for completing all assignments. An explanation of any absence or early departure should be submitted in writing.
Grading
The essays, essay revision, and creative project will receive grades according to the following scale.
Letter Grade / Numerical Score / Grade Points / Achievement LevelA
A- / 93-100
90-92 / 4.0
3.7 / Superior
B+
B
B- / 87-89
83-86
80-82 / 3.3
3.0
2.7 / Above Average
C+
C
C- / 77-79
73-76
70-72 / 2.3
2.0
1.7 / Average
D+
D
D-
F / 67-69
63-66
60-62
0-59 / 1.3
1.0
0.7
0.0 / Below
Average
CR
NC / 70-100
0-70 / N/A
N/A / Passing
Not Passing
The weekly critical responses will be given a grade of plus, check, or minus. A plus grade means that the student has demonstrated a thorough and thoughtful reading of the text. A check grade means that the student has demonstrated an adequate understanding of the text. A minus grade means that the student has submitted the required five sentence summary/critique of the weekly reading.
Schedule
Readings listed for a given class session indicate readings that will be discussed in that session. Your critical response for those readings should be handed in the day that the readings are being discussed.
Week One: Introduction, Sources of Indian Tradition
Monday: Introduction, review of syllabus
Friday: Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, “Modernity and Antiquity: Interpretations of Ancient
India,” in Modern South Asia, pp. 12-22
“Brahmanism” in William Theodore de Bary, Sources of Indian Tradition, pp. 1-34
Week Two: Sources of Indian Tradition continued
Monday: Bhagavad Gita, trans. Franklin Edgerton, 3-91
Friday: “Theravada Buddhism” in William Theodore de Bary, Sources of Indian Tradition, 90-
113
Week Three: The Mughal Empire
Monday: Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, “The Mughal Empire: State, Economy and Society,” in
Modern South Asia, pp. 35-47
Friday: Metcalf and Metcalf, “Mughal Twilight,” in A Concise History of India, 28-54
Week Four: The Rise of the British Empire
Monday: “India Between Empires” and “The Transition to Colonialism,” in Bose and Jalal,
Modern South Asia
Friday: P. J. Marshall, Bengal: The British Bridgehead, 70-92
Week Five: Colonialism, What Is It Good For?
Monday: Edward Said, Orientalism, 1-26
Friday: D. A. Washbrook, “Progress and Problems: South Asian Economic and Social History
c.1720-1860.”
Week Six: How Did The British Do It?
Monday: Reflections (no new reading assigned). First Essay Due
Friday: C. A. Bayly, Knowing the Country, selections
Week Seven: Reform and Revolt
Monday: Thomas Metcalf, The Aftermath of Revolt, 46-91
Friday: Selected readings from Subaltern Studies
Week Eight: Imperialism in Theory and Practice
Monday: Cecil Rhodes, Confessions of Faith, selections
Rudyard Kipling, “White Man’s Burden”
Friday: Rajnarayan Chandavarkar, “Plague Panic and Epidemic Politics.” Revised Essay Due.
Week Nine: Indian Nationalism and the Birth of Congress
Monday: Anil Seal, “Imperialism and Nationalism in India”
Metcalf and Metcalf, Concise History of India, selections
Friday: Dadabhai Naoroji, Poverty and Un-British Rule in India, selections
Week Ten: Swaraj and Swadeshi
Monday: Rabindranath Tagore, The Home and the World
Friday: Rabindranath Tagore, The Home and the World continued
Satyajit Ray’s The Home and the World to be viewed in class.
Week Eleven: Gandhi and Independence
Monday: Gandhi, Hind Swaraj, selections. Creative Project Due.
Friday: Metcalf and Metcalf, Concise History of India, selections
Week Twelve: A Hindu Nation?
Monday: B. R. Ambedkar, The Annihilation of Caste, selections
Friday: Thomas Blom Hanson, The Saffron Wave, selections
Week Thirteen: Conclusions
Monday: Martin Luther King, Jr., “My Trip to the Land of Gandhi” and “Pilgrimage to
Nonviolence.”
Friday: Wrapping up (no readings). Final Essay Due
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