During the semester you will write two examinations, a midterm and a final (each worth 20%). You will also write a research paper of ten to fifteen pages in English or Chinese on a topic of your choice related to South Asia (worth 25%). And during one of the final two meetings of the course, you will give a ten minute presentation on your paper topic (10%).
Aside from the examination and presentation days, each meeting will consist of a lecture and then a discussion section. For each discussion section you will need to read a short selection of primary or secondary sources (which I will make available on Moodle every week) and then answer two or three questions with about one to three sentences in English or Chinese (attendance, participation, and the weekly discussion question answers will be worth 20% together).
Tentative Course Schedule:
9/14: Introduction and the Indus River Valley
9/21: The Vedic age (1500 BC – 500 BC)
9/28: The Mauryan Empire (300 BC – AD 300)
10/5: The Gupta Empire (AD 300 – AD 700)
10/12: The Chola Empire (AD 500 – AD 700)
10/19: The Entry of Islam (700 – 1200)
10/26: The Delhi Sultanates (1200 – 1500)
11/2: Vijayanagara (1300 – 1600)
11/9: Midterm Examination
11/16: The Mughal Empire (1500 – 1750)
11/23: The Marathas (1700 – 1800)
11/30: The British East India Company to 1800
12/7: Company’s Rule & the Raj (1800 – 1819)
12/14: Independence and the 20th Century
12/21: Final Presentations
12/28: Final Examination
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