S6c: South Asia

This paper is taught through seminars, in a single integrated series.  We will cover major debates on the features of South Asian society and culture: the changing nature of caste, the “Invention” of Hinduism, Islam and reformist movements, environmentalism, social movements and the so-called ‘tribal’ or adivasi peoples of the subcontinent, the contestations over urban space, sexual morality, tradition and modernity and the effects of migration on South Asians within the sub-continent and abroad.  We also explore selected aspects of contemporary South Asian political economy and cultural change, with an emphasis on the changing roles of caste and religion in Indian politics.

The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies will be running a new beginners’ course in Hindi, to commence on Monday, October 10, 2011. Further information is available here.

Jesus and the giraffe, Kerala, India

Reading lists and syllabus outline for Paper S6c:

• Syllabus Outline – (pdf)
• (Sem) The Anthropology of South Asia – Michaelmas 2011 – (pdf)

Previous years’ reading lists are available here.

Exam Questions

• South Asia exam questions – 1999/2000 – (pdf)
• South Asia exam questions – 2000/01 – (pdf)
• South Asia exam questions – 2001/02 – (pdf)
• South Asia exam questions – 2005/06 – (pdf)
• South Asia exam questions – 2007/08 - (pdf)
• South Asia exam questions – 2008/09 – (pdf)

• 2000 Examiners’ Report on Paper S6 South Asia – (pdf)
• 2001 Examiners’ Report on Paper S6 South Asia – (pdf)
• 2006 Examiners’ Report on Paper S6 South Asia – (pdf)
• 2008 Examiners’ Report on Paper S6 South Asia – (pdf)
• 2009 Examiners’ Report on Paper S6 South Asia – (pdf)

Crowds chanting on both sides of the Indo-Pakistan Wagah Border, Punjab