The question of identity lies at the heart of much contemporary debate in and beyond south Asia. We will interrogate what we mean by 'identity' - if it is a thing to be possessed, an essence in the character of a community or something more complex, fluid and changing, or whether it exists at all.Classes are organised around a number of themes: Changing environments; Urbanisation; Caste; Religious Reform; Gender; Nationalism; Decolonisation; and Postcolonial states.

Topics to be covered within the thematic clusters include: technological change, the making of peasant societies; colonial knowledge and colonial law, Hindu and Muslim religious change, Communism, Untouchability, Partition and its experience, democracy and military authoritarianism, ethno-linguistic and religious movements. We will look at intellectual, cultural, social, economic and political change over the period of two hundred years with a view to understanding the historical processes that underpin some of the main debates around identity in south Asia and among south Asians.

Period
01-07-2013 - 19-07-2013 (3 weeks)

Target group
Undergraduates

Course aim
-



Credits
0.0 ECTS credits-

Course fee
GBP 1250: Tuition fees for 3-week programme.-

Course leader
Shabnum Tejani

Scholarships
-

SOAS, University of London Enterprise
Address: Thornhaugh Street London
Postal code: WC1H 0XG
City: London
Country: United Kingdom
Website: http://www.soas.ac.uk/summerschool/ug/
E-mail: summerschool@soas.ac.uk
Phone: +44 0207 898 4205