Week 1: Introduction: South Asia in the 18th Century
This lecture will introduce some of the major themes and frameworks in South Asian history. We will also survey South Asia’s ancient and medieval past only to return to colonial times for purposes of building imaginaries of nation and community by Indians.
Week 2: Orientalism, Company Rule, and the Bengal Renaissance
This lecture will look at Orientalism in the first few decades of the 19th century. We will discuss the advent of a social and cultural awakening and a flourishing of intellectual activity in Bengal, commonly known as the Bengal Renaissance.
Week 3: The 1857 Mutiny and the Inauguration of Crown Rule
How did Indians articulate their “difference” while resisting colonial framework and conditions? This lecture answers this question by looking at the Revolt of 1857 or the Sepoy Mutiny, also called the “first war of Indian independence” by Karl Marx.
Week 4: Nationalism, Cosmopolitanism, and Modernity
This lecture looks at the different brands of Indian nationalism at turn of the 20th century and the Partition of Bengal in 1905. We also explore the interconnections between Indian nationalism, cosmopolitanism, and modernity by looking at Gandhi, Nehru, and Subhas Chandra Bose.
Week 5: Science in Early 20th-Century India
How was science institutionalized in colonial India? What the exact nature of Indian science? In this lecture, we will attempt to answer these questions by looking at Indian scientists like Jagdish Chandra Bose, Satyendranath Bose, Meghnad Saha, and Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman.
Week 6: Sites of Modernity and South Asia
By discussing the political events in the route to India’s independence, this lecture will conclude our survey by locating the pervasive origins of South Asian modernity at numerous sites: laws, institutions, women’s experiences, religion and community formation, political movements, industry, and science and technology.
