Gender and Sexuality in Early Modern South Asia

Catalog description

This course will serve as an introduction to frameworks for studying gender and sexuality through the lens of early modern South Asian history, literature, and art, covering what are today the countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Taking the fundamental questions of “what is gender?” and “what is sexuality?” as our starting point, we will examine the diversity of social practices and beliefs related to these concepts expressed in early modern South Asian writings and visual art, as well as how this past relates to contemporary debates, in contexts including Hindu mystical traditions, Islamic courtly culture, and early colonial society. The course will emphasize direct engagement with primary sources ranging from memoirs, legal documents and advice manuals to mystical tales, satirical poetry, and paintings. Topics covered include formulations of masculinity and femininity, notions of the home and the family, representations of queer sex and desire, and conceptualizations of the categories of intersex and transgender. Students will complete the course with an understanding of comparative lenses for thinking about gender and sexuality in addition to proficiency in applying and interpreting those lenses in relation to a variety of sources, from literature to technical prose to visual culture. No prior knowledge of South Asian history, languages or literature is required.