A passage to india: introduction to modern indian culture and society

Seminars: 1 session / week, 3 hours / session

This course is an introduction to modern Indian culture and society through films, documentaries, short stories, novels, poems, and journalistic writing. The principal focus is on the study of major cultural developments and social debates in the last sixty five years of history through the reading of literature and viewing of film clips. The focus will be on the transformations of gender and class issues, representation of nationhood, the idea of regional identities and the place of the city in individual and communal lives. The cultural and historical background will be provided in class lectures. The idea is to explore the "other Indias" that lurk behind our constructed notion of a homogeneous national culture.

Narayan, R., and M. Gorra. The Guide: A Novel. Penguin Classics, 2006. ISBN: 9780143039648.

Bhagat, C. 2 States: The Story of My Marriage. Rupa & Co., 2009. ISBN: 9788129115300.

Choudhury, C. India: A Traveler's Literary Companion. Whereabouts Press, 2010. ISBN: 9781883513245.

The following table gives a breakdown of the grading for the course.

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