South Asian Studies
The 2009-10 membership of this committee has not yet been finalized. Complete membership information for 2009-10 will be posted as soon as it becomes available.
Faculty of the Committee on South Asian Studies
The Committee on South Asian Studies is a multi-disciplinary group of scholars appointed to coordinate teaching and research on South Asia (the nation-states of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives and their neighboring areas) among Harvard’s departments and schools and is concerned with the planned development of South Asian studies in the University as a whole. It works in close collaboration with the Asia Center, especially its South Asia Initiative, to promote the study of South Asia in a comparative and global context. In association with the South Asian Initiative, it sponsors lectures, seminars, conferences, films and exhibitions on South Asia. There are currently two FAS seminar series wholly focused on South Asia: South Asia without Borders, and the South Asia Seminar.
The Committee is working to expand the range of curricular options open to undergraduates. An undergraduate concentration is currently offered in the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies. Graduate degrees with a South Asian focus can be sought in the Departments of History, Religion, Sanskrit and Indian Studies and other departments. A PhD degree can be pursued in the Department of History in South Asian and Indian Ocean history. South Asian religions can be studied towards a PhD degree under the Committee on the Study of Religion. The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations offers a PhD track in Indo-Islamic culture. The South Asian Initiative awards several South Asia-related undergraduate and graduate research and travel grants and fellowships.
At present, Harvard offers more than 100 non-language courses in South Asian Studies in various departments of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Professional Schools on a regular basis, with many offered every year and all offered at least once every three years. Of these, over 60 consist of 100 percent South Asian content. Courses with at least 25 percent South Asian content number nearly 40. More than 30 language courses are offered with at least three-year sequences in Hindi-Urdu and Sanskrit. Reciprocal cross-registration agreements are in place with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and for graduate students at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Core Courses of Interest
[Foreign Cultures 70. Understanding Islam and Contemporary Muslim Societies]
[Historical Study A-16. Modern South Asia in Global History]
Freshman Seminars of Interest
Courses of Interest
[*Anthropology 1020. Archaeology, Politics and Society in South Asia: Seminar]
[Anthropology 1120. Comparative Analysis of Ancient Civilizations]
[Anthropology 1630. Other People’s Beliefs: The Anthropology of Religion]
Anthropology 1690. The Culture Machine: Youth Culture, Networks and Commodities in East Asia
*Anthropology 3100. Old World Archaeology (Europe, Asia, and Africa)
*Anthropology 3111. Asiatic Archaeology and Ethnography
Economics 2390b. Development Economics I: Microeconomic Issues
Economics 2390d. The Economic Growth and Development Workshop
*Government 98gs (formerly *Government 90gs). Globalization and Civil Society
[*History 72a (formerly *History 1425). The Rise of the British Empire, 1757-1857]
[*History 86d (formerly *History 1895). The Indian Ocean in Comparative Perspective]
[*History 86e (formerly *History 1897). Nation, Reason and Religion in South Asia]
[History 2692 (formerly History 2892). Colonial and Post-Colonial Histories of South Asia: Seminar]
[Indian Studies 118. Indian Philosophy: Advanced Introduction]
[Indian Studies 207a. Understanding Indian Ritual]
[Indian Studies 207b. Understanding Indian Ritual]
*Islamic Civilizations 241r. Approaches to Studying Indo-Muslim Culture and South Asian Islam
[Linguistics 122. Introduction to Indo-European]
Linguistics 220ar. Advanced Indo-European
Linguistics 221r. Workshop in Indo-European
Music 190r. Topics in World Music: Proseminar
Music 201b. Current Methods in Ethnomusicology
Music 207r. Ethnomusicology: Seminar
[Nepali 101a. Introductory Nepali]
[Nepali 101b. Introductory Nepali]
Pali 101a. Introductory Pali
Pali 101b. Introductory Pali
Pali 102a. Intermediate Pali
*Pali 102b. Intermediate Pali
Pali 103r. Readings in Pali
Persian A. Elementary Persian
[Religion 1063. South Asian Religious Aesthetics: Seminar]
Religion 1600. Introduction to the Hindu Traditions of India
Religion 1627. Hindu Ethics: Seminar
[Religion 1631. Hindu Traditions of Devotion]
*Religion 1820 (formerly *Religion 1585). Muslim Societies in South Asia: Religion, Culture, and Identity
Sanskrit 101a. Elementary Sanskrit
Sanskrit 101b. Elementary Sanskrit
Sanskrit 102a. Intermediate Sanskrit I
Sanskrit 102b. Intermediate Sanskrit II
[Sanskrit 200ar. Advanced Poetic Sanskrit]
[Sanskrit 200br (formerly Sanskrit 212br). Advanced Literary Sanskrit]
Sanskrit 201ar. Advanced Philosophical Sanskrit
Sanskrit 201br. Advanced Philosophical Sanskrit
Sanskrit 204ar. Introduction to Vedic Sanskrit and Literature
[Sanskrit 214. Ritual Sutras]
*Sanskrit 301. Reading and Research
[Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality 1210ft. Feminist Theory]
Urdu 101. Introductory Urdu-Hindi
Urdu 102. Intermediate Urdu-Hindi
Urdu 103a. Advanced Urdu-Hindi
Urdu 103b. Advanced Urdu-Hindi
[Urdu 104. The Classical Urdu Ghazal and Its Symbolism]
Urdu 105r. Topics in Urdu-Hindi Literature