FWS: Songs of Love and War: South Asian Lyrics

Catalog description

Why do humans write poems in times of love and war? What is the connection between song, pleasure, and pain? This course focuses on lyric poetry from South Asia in multiple languages and composed from the classical to the contemporary historical periods. Course materials, all in English translation, include the short poems of ancient Tamil and Sanskrit, the devotional poems of medieval poet-saints, the songs of nationalist poets such as Rabindranath Tagore and Subramania Bharati, and testimonial poetry of contemporary conflicts. Texts will be supplemented by contemporary performances in film and popular culture and by secondary sources. Students will develop skills in description, analysis, and arguments through a combination of drafting and scaffolded writing assignments. Written assignments will include expressive writing, peer responses, and argumentative prose.