Fall 2018
Language Courses | Core Courses
Language Courses:
HNDI 110/ 510
Elementary Hindi I
Seema Khurana, Swapna Sharma
MTWThF 10.30-11.20, 1.30-2.20
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. Credit only on completion of HNDI 120.
HNDI 130/530
Intermediate Hindi I
Seema Khurana, Swapna Sharma
MTWThF 11.30-12.20, 2.30-3.20
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.
HINDI 132/532
Accelerated Hindi I
Swapna Sharma
TTh 4- 5.15 pm
A fast-paced course designed for students who are able to 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 150/550
Advanced Hindi
Seema Khurana
TTh 4.00-5.15
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
MW 4.00-5.15
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.
Prerequisites: HNDI 150 or instructor permission.
PNJB 110
Elementary Punjabi I
Staff
MW 6.10-8.00
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 I
Staff
TTh 6.10-8.00
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 110/510, LING 115/515
Introductory Sanskrit I
Aleksandar Uskokov
MTWThF 9.25-10.15
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 130/530, LING 138/538
Intermediate Sanskrit I
Aleksandar Uskokov
MTF 10.30-11.20
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 110
Elementary Sinhala I
Staff
TBA
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. Credit only on completion of SNHL 120.
SNHL 130
Intermediate Sinhala I
Staff
TBA
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.
MTBT 110
Elementary Modern Tibetan I
Staff
MTWTh 12.00-12.50
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 I
Staff
MTW 4.10-5.25
The main 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 I
Staff
TTh 4.10-5.25
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.
TBTN 110
Elementary Classical Tibetan I
Staff
MW 4.10-6.00
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. Credit only on completion of TBTN 120.
TBTN 130
Intermediate Classical Tibetan I
Staff
MW 4.10-6.00
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 059/ENGL 025 /LITR 023
Modern South Asian Literature
Priyasha Mukhopadhyay
MW 11.35- 12.50
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 required; see under First-Year Seminar Program.
SAST 060/HSAR 015
Ten Indian Objects
Subhashini Kaligotla
MW 1.00- 2.15
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. 1 Yale College course credit(s)
SAST 266/ ARCH 271 /HSAR 266 /MMES 126
Introduction to Islamic Architecture
Kishwar Rizvi
MW 10.30-11.20
Introduction to the architecture of the Islamic world from the seventh century to the present, encompassing regions of Asia, North Africa, and Europe. A variety of sources and media, from architecture to urbanism and from travelogues to paintings, are used in an attempt to understand the diversity and richness of Islamic architecture. Field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
SAST 267/RLST 125
Introduction to Buddhist Thought and Practice
Eric Greene
TTh 1.00-2.15
Significant aspects of Buddhism as practiced mainly in India and South Asia, including philosophy and ethics, monastic and ascetic life, meditation and ritual practices, and the material culture of Buddhist societies. The Mahayana tradition that emerged in the first century B.C.E.; later forms of esoteric Buddhism known as tantra; the development of modern Buddhism in Asia and its manifestation in the West. Readings from Buddhist texts in translation.
SAST 280 /HIST 342 /RLST 180
Mughal India, 1500-1800
Supriya Gandhi
MW 11.35-12.50
Exploration of religion and the state in Mughal India, focusing on the period between 1500–1800. Topics include sacred sovereignty, orthodoxy, Sufism, vernacular literary and religious cultures, and the early colonial encounter.
SAST 281/EOCN 325
Economics of Developing Countries: Focus on South Asia
Zachary Barnett-Howell
TTh 11.35-12.50
This class addresses the economics of poverty and development with a particular focus on South Asia. Why do some countries appear to belong to radically different economic systems? What historical legacies have contributed to poverty in South Asia? And what work is currently being done to address persistent underdevelopment and poverty in the region?
Prerequisites: ECON 115 or equivalent; ECON 121; ECON 131
SAST 306 /ANTH 322 /EVST 324
Environmental Justice in South Asia
Kalyanakrishnan Sivaramakrishnan
TTh 1.30-3.20
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 323/HIST 313J
British Raj and the Indian Nation (1757-1947)
Rohit De
M 1.30-3.20
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 439/ HIST 373J
Islam in Modern South Asia
Naveena Naqvi
M 1.30-3.20
The partition of British India in 1947 produced the separate Muslim-majority and Hindu-majority states of Pakistan and India. This moment was the culmination of a long historical arc, in which religious identities were transformed and politicized under colonialism. The present course will examine this process, tracing the development of a spectrum of modern Muslim subjectivities from the advent of colonial rule to the present. Some of the questions that we will address are: how did the history of Muslim sovereignty continue to inform colonial and nationalist self-definitions? How did Islamic institutions reform under colonialism and under what circumstances did Islamic revivalists resist colonial rule?
Naveena Naqvi is a historian of early modern and modern South Asia. Her research interests include the Persianate world (ca. 13th-19th centuries), the history of political Islam and the social history of Hindustani music.
SAST 469/ HSAR 414
Visual Storytelling in South Asia
Subhashini Kaligotla
Th 2.30-4.20
This seminar explores the polyglot variety of visual narration in South Asia. We examine the lives of exemplary individuals like the Buddha, the epic story of Rama, and royal biography and autobiography. We consider stories told through stone, in the medium of paint, and in print, film, graphic books, and contemporary media. We experience story telling in sumptuous courtly settings and in temples, monasteries, and other sacred spaces. Weekly readings and discussions analyze the handling of narrative ambiguity and absence, double meaning and punning, the treatment of space and place, representations of sex, desire, and love, and the visual construction of political persona, power, and nation. The course is ultimately interested in how South Asian narratives unsettle and expand the notion of representation. Prerequisite: one introductory course in Art History.
SAST 486
Direct Study
Staff
TBA
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 491
Senior Essay
Staff
TBA
A yearlong research project completed under faculty supervision and resulting in a substantial paper. Credit for SAST 491 only on completion of SAST 492.
SAST 562
Reading in Pali Text
Phyllis Granoff
T 1.30-3.20
In this course we read a selection of ritual texts from India’s three classical religions, Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism. Prerequisite: a knowledge of Sanskrit.
SAST 568/ RLST 595
Reading in Indian Philosophy
Phyllis Granoff
W 1.30-3.20
In this course we read selections from a variety of Sanskrit texts, the samkhyatatvakaumudi, madhyamika karika, brahmasutra bhasya, and pramananayatattvalokalankara.