Fall 2019
New Courses | Language Courses | Core Courses
Language Courses:
HNDI 110 / HNDI 510, Elementary Hindi, Swapna Sharma and Seema Khurana
MTWThF 10:30am-11:20am, 1:30pm-2:20pm
An in-depth introduction to modern Hindi, including the Devanagari script. A combination of graded texts, written assignments, audiovisual material, and computer-based exercises provides cultural insights and increases proficiency in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Hindi. Emphasis on spontaneous self-expression in the language. No prior background in Hindi assumed.
HNDI 130/ HNDI 530, Intermediate Hindi, Swapna Sharma and Seema Khurana
MTWThF 11:35am-12:25pm
The first half of a two-term sequence designed to develop proficiency in the four language skills. Extensive use of cultural documents including feature films, radio broadcasts, and literary and nonliterary texts to increase proficiency in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Hindi. Focus on cultural nuances and Hindi literary traditions. Emphasis on spontaneous self-expression in the language. After HNDI 120 or equivalent.
HNDI 132/ HNDI 532, Accelerated Hindi, Swapna Sharma
TTh 4pm-5:15pm
A fast-paced course designed for students who can understand basic conversational Hindi but who have minimal or no literacy skills. Introduction to the Devanagari script; development of listening and speaking skills; vocabulary enrichment; attention to sociocultural rules that affect language use. Students learn to read simple texts and to converse on a variety of everyday personal and social topics.
HNDI 150/ HNDI 550, Advanced Hindi, Seema Khurana
TTh 4pm-5:15pm
An advanced language course aimed at enabling students to engage in fluent discourse in Hindi and to achieve a comprehensive knowledge of formal grammar. Introduction to a variety of styles and levels of discourse and usage. Emphasis on the written language, with readings on general topics from newspapers, books, and magazines. Prerequisite: HNDI 140 or permission of instructor.
HNDI 160 Modern Hindi Literature, Swapna Sharma
An advanced language course designed to develop overall language skills and to enrich cultural insight through the literature of different genres. Literature is the cultural canvas of a society. Reading modern Hindi literature and translations of vernacular literature from various states in India enhance the understanding of Indian culture and society. Prerequisite: HNDI 150 or instructor permission. MW 4pm-5:15pm.
HNDI 198/ HNDI 598, Advanced Tutorial, Swapna Sharma and Seema Khurana
For students with advanced Hindi language skills who wish to engage in concentrated reading and research on material not otherwise offered by the department. Work must be supervised by an adviser and must terminate in a term paper or the equivalent. Permission to enroll requires submission of a detailed project proposal and its approval by the language studies coordinator. Prerequisite: HNDI 150 or equivalent.
MTBT 110, Elementary Modern Tibetan, Staff
Introduction to the fundamentals of Modern Tibetan in the Lhasa dialect. Development of basic speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills through the application of communicative methods and the use of authentic learning materials. Some attention to central aspects of Tibetan culture. Course taught through distance learning using videoconferencing technology from Columbia University. Enrollment limited; interested students should e-mail minjin.hashbat@yale.edu for more information. Credit only on completion of MTBT 120.
MTBT 130, Intermediate Modern Tibetan, Staff
MW 2:30pm-3:45pm
The focus of this course will be on using the language to communicate. The goal of the course is to further develop proficiency in speaking, listening, writing and reading, while acquiring some knowledge of Tibetan culture that are necessary for language competency. MTBT 120, or equivalent. Course is taught through distance learning using videoconferencing technology from Columbia University. Enrollment limited; interested students should e-mail minjin.hashbat@yale.edu for more information.
MTBT 150, Advanced Modern Tibetan, Staff
Holistic study of modern Tibetan to deepen communicative abilities and develop oral fluency and proficiency. Students improve reading comprehension skills through reading selected modern Tibetan literature. Prerequisite: MTBT 140, or equivalent. Course taught through distance learning using videoconferencing technology from Columbia University. Enrollment limited; interested students should e-mail minjin.hashbat@yale.edu for more information.
PNJB 110, Elementary Punjabi, Staff
Introduction to the Punjabi language in its cultural context. Development of fundamental speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills through the application of communicative methods and the use of authentic learning materials. Course taught through distance learning using videoconferencing technology from Columbia University. Enrollment limited; interested students should e-mail minjin.hashbat@yale.edu for more information. Credit only on completion of PNJB 120.
PNJB 130, Intermediate Punjabi, Staff
The important target of this course is to develop basic Punjabi Language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking). This is approached through the theme-based syllabus, discussion in small groups and paired activities on the cultural background of Punjab or Punjabi culture. As well as, the listening and speaking skills would be developed by using the media such as educational material, Punjabi movies, music and computer lab sessions. The usage of the textbooks would lead us to learn grammatical rules of the Punjabi language. The students are approached individually, since the class typically consists of students in the various backgrounds. Prerequisite: PNJB 120 or equivalent. Course taught through distance learning using videoconferencing technology from Columbia University. Enrollment limited; interested students should e-mail minjin.hashbat@yale.edu for more information.
SKRT 110 / SKRT 510/ LING 115 / LING 515, Introductory Sanskrit I Aleksandar Uskokov
MTWThF 9:25am-10:15am
An introduction to Sanskrit language and grammar. Focus on learning to read and translate basic Sanskrit sentences in Devanagari script. No prior background in Sanskrit assumed.
SKRT 130 / SKRT 530 / LING 138 / LING 538, Intermediate Sanskrit, Aleksandar Uskokov
The first half of a two-term sequence aimed at helping students develop the skills necessary to read texts written in Sanskrit. Readings include selections from the Hitopadesa, Kathasaritsagara, Mahabharata, and Bhagavadgita. After SKRT 120 or equivalent.
SNHL 110a, Elementary Sinhala I Staff
First half of a two-term sequence focusing on all four language skills. Basic grammar, sentence construction, simple reading materials, and use of everyday expressions. Course taught through distance learning using videoconferencing technology from Cornell University. Enrollment limited; interested students should e-mail minjin.hashbat@yale.edu for more information.
SNHL 130a, Intermediate Sinhala I Staff
Further development of speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills in Sinhala. Communicative approach to the exchange of ideas and information, with early emphasis on oral skills and reading comprehension. Prerequisite: SNHL 120 or equivalent. Course taught through distance learning using videoconferencing technology from Columbia University. Enrollment limited; interested students should e-mail minjin.hashbat@yale.edu for more information.
TAML 130a, Intermediate Tamil I Staff
The first half of a two-term sequence designed to develop proficiency in comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing through the use of visual media, newspapers and magazines, modern fiction and poetry, and public communications such as pamphlets, advertisements, and government announcements. Prerequisite: TAML 120 or equivalent. Course taught through distance learning using videoconferencing technology from Columbia University. Enrollment limited; interested students should e-mail minjin.hashbat@yale.edu for more information.
TBTN 110a, Elementary Classical Tibetan I Staff
First half of a two-term introduction to classical Tibetan. The script and its Romanization, pronunciation, normative dictionary order, and basic grammar. Readings from Tibetan literature and philosophy. Course taught through distance learning using videoconferencing technology from Columbia University. Enrollment limited; interested students should e-mail minjin.hashbat@yale.edu for more information.
TBTN 130a, Intermediate Classical Tibetan I Staff
Continuation of TBTN 120. Introduction to more complex grammatical constructions. Further development of reading ability in various genres of Tibetan literature written prior to 1959. Prerequisite: TBTN 120 or equivalent. Course taught through distance learning using videoconferencing technology from Columbia University. Enrollment limited; interested students should e-mail minjin.hashbat@yale.edu for more information.
Core SAS Courses
SAST 057 / RLST 015, Gods and Heroes in Indian Religions, Phyllis Granoff
MW 2:30pm-3:45pm
The basic doctrines and practices of India’s three classical religions, Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism, explored through close reading of texts in translation. Lives of the founders, great monks, nuns, and lay followers of Buddhism and Jainism; myths of the major Hindu gods; heroines and goddesses in the three traditions. Enrollment limited to first-year students. Preregistration required; see under First-Year Seminar Program.
SAST 058 / RLST 018, Yoga in South Asia and Beyond, Supriya Gandhi
MW 11:35am-12:50pm
The history of yoga practice and thought from the earliest textual discussions of yoga until the present day. Topics include the body, cosmology, cross-cultural interactions, colonialism, and orientalism. Enrollment limited to first-year students. Preregistration required; see under First-Year Seminar Program.
SAST 059 / ENGL 025 / LITR 023, Modern South Asian Literature, 1857-2017, Priyasha Mukhopadhyay
MW 9am-10:15am
Exploration of literary texts from South Asia, 1857 to the present. Close reading of literary texts from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, alongside political speeches, autobiographies, and oral narratives. Topics include colonialism, history writing, migration, language, caste, gender and desire, translation, politics and the novel. Enrollment limited to first-year students. Preregistration is required; see under First-Year Seminar Program.
SAST 060 / HSAR 015, Ten Indian Objects, Subhashini Kaligotla
TTh 1pm-2:15pm
A 5000-year-old stone seal, a 20th century comic book, an emperor’s painted portrait, a processional bronze god, a miniature temple, an inscribed pillar, a rock crystal reliquary, a serene Buddha, an animated film, and a towering female figure. Through rigorous explorations of these ten objects from South Asia this seminar teaches close looking, vivid writing, and narrating history through things. It considers both the biographies of the objects and their involvement in the wider social, political, artistic, and cultural histories of the Indian subcontinent. Students engage some of the most exciting scholarship in the field of South Asian art, and observe, draw, and write about things in museums and art collections on a weekly basis. Enrollment limited to first-year students. Preregistration required; see under First-Year Seminar Program.
SAST 245 / PLSC 403 Political Economy of Gender Inequality, Sarah Khan
MW 11:35am-12:50pm
This course focuses on the political and economic underpinnings and implications of gender inequality in comparative context. We draw on evidence from different cases (with a heavy skew towards the South Asia region) to guide our inquiry. The course introduces a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, patterns and predictions emerging from empirical research, and context specific lessons.
SAST 260 / HSAR 143 / RLST 188, Introduction to the History of Art: Buddhist Art and Architecture, 900 to 1600, Mimi Yiengpruksawan
TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm
Buddhist art and architecture of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Tibet from the tenth century to the early modern period. Emphasis on cross-regional engagements including the impact of Islam.
SAST 283 / RLST 356, Introduction to Classical Hindu Thought, Aleksandar Uskokov
MWF 11:35am-12:25pm
This course offers a survey of major topics of doctrine, philosophy and ethics in systematic Hindu thought, focusing on the period before the 16th century CE and the onset of early modernity, and drawing from the literary production in the classical language’s Sanskrit and Tamil. It engages, specifically, themes such as scripture, the foundations of ethics, the moral valence of killing and nonviolence, ritual and renunciation; the Self and the human condition, embodiment, transmigration, karma, and liberation; the varieties of Yoga or spiritual practice; the nature of Divinity; topics in religious epistemology; and the doctrine of devotion. The class combines lectures with discussion. The readings include accessible secondary literature and a selection of primary sources.
SAST 306 / ANTH 322 / EVST 324, Environmental Justice in South Asia, Chandana Anusha
T 9:25am-11:15am
Study of South Asia’s nation building and economic development in the aftermath of war and decolonization in the 20th century. How it generated unprecedented stress on natural environments; increased social disparity; and exposure of the poor and minorities to environmental risks and loss of homes, livelihoods, and cultural resources. Discussion of the rise of environmental justice movements and policies in the region as the world comes to grips with living in the Anthropocene.
SAST 308 / ANTH 318, Peril and Possibility in the South Asian City, Adeem Suhail
TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm
For the first time in human history, at some point in the last decade a majority of humankind became city dwellers. A fifth of these city-dwelling masses inhabit the massive and massifying megacities of the Indian sub-continent. Karachi, Dhaka, and Bombay frequently threaten to be the most populous urban centers on earth, and it may only be faith in the accuracy of government census data that defers this dubious honor. For while these cities are plugged into the global flows of people, ideas, things, and capital; such developments also bring with them anomie, alienation, dispossession, and depredations. Historical social conflicts born of a century of European colonialism and millennia of caste society have in some cases been mitigated, in others intensified in ways both insidious and invidious. Much ink has been spilt on contouring both the perils and possibilities attending the urbanization of the sub-continent. This course explores a ground-up view of the many ways in which the urban denizens of these bustling cities where pasts and futures collide, experience this collision. While this course draws on interdisciplinary scholarly examinations engaging the urban emergent, it focuses on the realm of experience, desire and affect germinating in the city. Students sample ethnography, art, speculative fiction, and film to map out the textures of this complex and mutating fabric. In doing so we chart the emergence and application of new ideas and cultures, practices and constraints, identities and conflicts in the contemporary urban landscapes.
SAST 323 / HIST 313J, British Raj and the Indian Nation (1757-1947), Rohit De
M 1:30pm-3:20pm
Drawing on a wide genre of primary sources, this seminar explores the consolidation of British rule over the Indian subcontinent; the transformations brought about by colonial policies; the subsequent rise of resistance movements; the growth of mass nationalism and partition and independence.
SAST 337 / HIST 387J, Global Islam: Muslims in South Asia and Beyond, Neelam Khoja
W 1:30pm-3:20pm
More than 600 million Muslims live in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh—South Asia—which is approximately one-third of the Global Muslim community. From its origins in Arabia, Islam expanded across the globe and took deep root in diverse societies across Asia and Africa over the past 1,400 years. In this class, we explore the cultural and political dynamics of Islamization and vernacularization as themes of global Islamic history with particular reference to developments in South Asia. While South Asia is one of the main focal points of this course, connections and entanglements with neighboring regions, by land and sea, are explored thematically throughout the course. In particular, we look at the Ottoman and Safavid empires to the west, and the Indian Ocean world, including South East Asia. This vast region was diverse, in terms of language, religion, economic and social class, geography, and political leanings. Over this period, mobility, trade, communication, and exchange increased, resulting in more wealth accumulation and distribution; growth of knowledge production and exchange of ideas and books; better infrastructure, construction of buildings and cities, forts, and ports; and improved technology. Major topics include the spread of Islam, the development of vernacular Muslim cultures and its influence on the arts—including music, the rise of regional sultanates and empires, women, the impact of and reaction to European colonialism, the debate about the decline of Muslim empires, and finally the creation of modern nation-states and Muslims in non-Muslim majority countries.
SAST 345 / PLSC 197 National Security in India in the Twenty-first Century, Sushant Singh
T 1:30pm-3:20pm
This course examines the state and dynamics of national security in India in the past two decades. As an emergent power, India is an important country in Asia, with its economic and geo-political strength noticed globally. A major share of the country’s heft comes from its national security paradigm which has undergone a significant shift in the twenty-first century. This course intends to take a holistic look at the conceptions for the basis of India’s national security, its evolution, the current challenges and its future course by exploring its various dimensions such as China, Pakistan, global powers, Indian Ocean region, Kashmir, nuclear weapons, civil-military relations and defense preparedness.
SAST 362 / RLST 321, Hindus and Muslims in South Asia, Supriya Gandhi
W 2:30pm-4:20pm
Study of engagements between Hindu and Muslim traditions in South Asia from medieval to modern times. Exploration of historical case studies of Hindu-Muslim relations and the formation of religious identities, as well as how memories of the past intersect with modern discourses on religion and politics.
SAST 483 / ECON 483 The Political Economy of Migration, Zachary Barnett-Howell
M 9:25am-11:15am
Immigration flows are a defining political concern throughout the world, and internal migration is reshaping the political and economic landscape of the developing world. This class aims to bring students to the forefront of political and economic research on migration, with a specific focus on the region of South Asia. Studying the political aspects of migration involves engaging with formal models on the incentives of governments to facilitate or stymie internal and international movement. Studying the economic aspects of migration requires learning about the economic theories underlying location choice. Students continue with the studying of the role that infrastructure plays in regulating movement. Prerequisites: A course in econometrics/statistics and intermediate macroeconomics.
SAST 486 Directed Study, Staff
A one-credit, single-term course on topics not covered in regular offerings. To apply for admission, a student should present a course description and syllabus to the director of undergraduate studies, along with written approval from the faculty member who will direct the study.
SAST 562 / RLST 567 Reading in Buddhist Texts, Phyllis Granoff
T 1:30pm-3:20pm
Readings in Sanskrit and Pali texts. Prerequisite: two years of Sanskrit.
SAST 755 / PLSC 762 Advanced Readings in South Asian Politics, Steven Wilkinson
T 1:30-3:20pm
This course is designed to provide graduate students and advanced undergraduates with an intensive introduction to classic works as well as the best recent research on South Asian politics, economy and society, in comparative perspective.
SAST 491 and SAST 492 Senior Essay, Staff
A yearlong research project completed under faculty supervision and resulting in a substantial paper. Credit for SAST 491 only on completion of SAST 492.
New Courses
SAST 058 / RLST 018, Yoga in South Asia and Beyond, Supriya Gandhi
MW 11:35am-12:50pm
The history of yoga practice and thought from the earliest textual discussions of yoga until the present day. Topics include the body, cosmology, cross-cultural interactions, colonialism, and orientalism. Enrollment limited to first-year students. Preregistration required; see under First-Year Seminar Program.
SAST 245 / PLSC 403 Political Economy of Gender Inequality, Sarah Khan
MW 11:35am-12:50pm
This course focuses on the political and economic underpinnings and implications of gender inequality in comparative context. We draw on evidence from different cases (with a heavy skew towards the South Asia region) to guide our inquiry. The course introduces a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, patterns and predictions emerging from empirical research, and context specific lessons.
SAST 260 / HSAR 143 / RLST 188, Introduction to the History of Art: Buddhist Art and Architecture, 900 to 1600, Mimi Yiengpruksawan
TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm
Buddhist art and architecture of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Tibet from the tenth century to the early modern period. Emphasis on cross-regional engagements including the impact of Islam.
SAST 283 / RLST 356, Introduction to Classical Hindu Thought, Aleksandar Uskokov
MWF 11:35am-12:25pm
This course offers a survey of major topics of doctrine, philosophy and ethics in systematic Hindu thought, focusing on the period before the 16th century CE and the onset of early modernity, and drawing from the literary production in the classical language’s Sanskrit and Tamil. It engages, specifically, themes such as scripture, the foundations of ethics, the moral valence of killing and nonviolence, ritual and renunciation; the Self and the human condition, embodiment, transmigration, karma, and liberation; the varieties of Yoga or spiritual practice; the nature of Divinity; topics in religious epistemology; and the doctrine of devotion. The class combines lectures with discussion. The readings include accessible secondary literature and a selection of primary sources.
SAST 308 / ANTH 318, Peril and Possibility in the South Asian City, Adeem Suhail
TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm
For the first time in human history, at some point in the last decade a majority of humankind became city dwellers. A fifth of these city-dwelling masses inhabit the massive and massifying megacities of the Indian sub-continent. Karachi, Dhaka, and Bombay frequently threaten to be the most populous urban centers on earth, and it may only be faith in the accuracy of government census data that defers this dubious honor. For while these cities are plugged into the global flows of people, ideas, things, and capital; such developments also bring with them anomie, alienation, dispossession, and depredations. Historical social conflicts born of a century of European colonialism and millennia of caste society have in some cases been mitigated, in others intensified in ways both insidious and invidious. Much ink has been spilt on contouring both the perils and possibilities attending the urbanization of the sub-continent. This course explores a ground-up view of the many ways in which the urban denizens of these bustling cities where pasts and futures collide, experience this collision. While this course draws on interdisciplinary scholarly examinations engaging the urban emergent, it focuses on the realm of experience, desire and affect germinating in the city. Students sample ethnography, art, speculative fiction, and film to map out the textures of this complex and mutating fabric. In doing so we chart the emergence and application of new ideas and cultures, practices and constraints, identities and conflicts in the contemporary urban landscapes.
SAST 337 / HIST 387J, Global Islam: Muslims in South Asia and Beyond, Neelam Khoja
W 1:30pm-3:20pm
More than 600 million Muslims live in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh—South Asia—which is approximately one-third of the Global Muslim community. From its origins in Arabia, Islam expanded across the globe and took deep root in diverse societies across Asia and Africa over the past 1,400 years. In this class, we explore the cultural and political dynamics of Islamization and vernacularization as themes of global Islamic history with particular reference to developments in South Asia. While South Asia is one of the main focal points of this course, connections and entanglements with neighboring regions, by land and sea, are explored thematically throughout the course. In particular, we look at the Ottoman and Safavid empires to the west, and the Indian Ocean world, including South East Asia. This vast region was diverse, in terms of language, religion, economic and social class, geography, and political leanings. Over this period, mobility, trade, communication, and exchange increased, resulting in more wealth accumulation and distribution; growth of knowledge production and exchange of ideas and books; better infrastructure, construction of buildings and cities, forts, and ports; and improved technology. Major topics include the spread of Islam, the development of vernacular Muslim cultures and its influence on the arts—including music, the rise of regional sultanates and empires, women, the impact of and reaction to European colonialism, the debate about the decline of Muslim empires, and finally the creation of modern nation-states and Muslims in non-Muslim majority countries.
SAST 345 / PLSC 197 National Security in India in the Twenty-first Century, Sushant Singh
T 1:30pm-3:20pm
This course examines the state and dynamics of national security in India in the past two decades. As an emergent power, India is an important country in Asia, with its economic and geo-political strength noticed globally. A major share of the country’s heft comes from its national security paradigm which has undergone a significant shift in the twenty-first century. This course intends to take a holistic look at the conceptions for the basis of India’s national security, its evolution, the current challenges and its future course by exploring its various dimensions such as China, Pakistan, global powers, Indian Ocean region, Kashmir, nuclear weapons, civil-military relations and defense preparedness.
SAST 483 / ECON 483 The Political Economy of Migration, Zachary Barnett-Howell
M 9:25am-11:15am
Immigration flows are a defining political concern throughout the world, and internal migration is reshaping the political and economic landscape of the developing world. This class aims to bring students to the forefront of political and economic research on migration, with a specific focus on the region of South Asia. Studying the political aspects of migration involves engaging with formal models on the incentives of governments to facilitate or stymie internal and international movement. Studying the economic aspects of migration requires learning about the economic theories underlying location choice. Students continue with the studying of the role that infrastructure plays in regulating movement. Prerequisites: A course in econometrics/statistics and intermediate macroeconomics.
SAST 755 / PLSC 762 Advanced Readings in South Asian Politics, Steven Wilkinson
T 1:30-3:20pm
This course is designed to provide graduate students and advanced undergraduates with an intensive introduction to classic works as well as the best recent research on South Asian politics, economy and society, in comparative perspective.