Coming to Terms with India: Anthropology of Colonialism and Nationalism

Catalog description

This course is designed to look into the impact of colonialism, nationalism and the postcolonial identities of the person in India. In addition to the primacy of the anthropological focus, the seminar will also draw from cultural studies and history. Our engagement will be with topics of nationalism, religion, and caste and class formation during colonial and post colonial rule. Additional topics using the anthropological approach will include orientalism and gender; the location of national minorities within the Indian democracy and the future of fundamentalism; post-colonialism and the emerging new person.