Fall 2024 Middle East UN2044 section 001

Religion and Politics in South Asia

Religion & Politics in S.

Call Number 17027
Day & Time
Location
TR 10:10am-11:25am
616 Martin Luther King Building
Points 3
Grading Mode Standard
Approvals Required None
Instructor Humeira Iqtidar
Type LECTURE
Method of Instruction In-Person
Course Description

This module is designed to provide students with a thorough understanding of conceptual and empirical debates about religion and politics in South Asia. The rise in public manifestations of religions in the last two decades in almost all parts of the world has led to much rethinking and reconsideration of the relationship of religious thought and practice to political structures and dynamics. We will take a theoretically informed and empirically grounded look at the imbrication of religion and politics in the wider South Asia region, including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The course allows an insight into the diversity of religious ideas and practices in the region, historical variations, influence of colonialism and the relationship with globalization. We will engage with scholarship on these themes from the disciplines of history, anthropology and political science.

Prior familiarity with the region is not required.

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

-understand recent debates social sciences regarding conceptualizing and defining religion

-understand the limitations of previous frameworks for assessing the role of religion in political processes across South Asia

-recognize key transformations in different religious traditions across South Asia.

-develop a nuanced and critical approach to analysing religion and politics more generally

Web Site Vergil
Department Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies
Enrollment 11 students (20 max) as of 8:06PM Friday, December 6, 2024
Subject Middle East
Number UN2044
Section 001
Division Interfaculty
Section key 20243MDES2044W001