Have you ever wondered why the homes of Filipino families in the United States display religious statues or celebrate Christmas and Lent in a different way from other Christians? Have you read Filipino poems, stories, songs, and festivals that focus on or mention Babaylan spritual leaders, the Virgin Mary, the Black Nazarene, the infant Jesus or the Muslim faith?

Drawing on a broad cross-section of theoretical and methodological
approaches, this graduate seminar will interrogate key
historiographical debates that have shaped our understanding of the
Mughal experience between 1500 and 1750 AD. Readings will include
works by Stephen Dale (Babur), Dirk Kolff (military labor markets),
Farhat Hasan (sub-imperial rule), Suraj Bhan Bhardwaj (Meos), Sudev
Sheth (bankers), Nandini Chatterjee (law), Sugata Ray (geoaesthetics),
special issue of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society

This course will examine the role of film, visual media and spectatorship practices in the construction and narration of modern South Asia. In particular, this course will interrogate how modern South Asia has been produced and represented in different visual aesthetic forms such as popular film, arthouse cinema, documentaries, the graphic novel and contemporary digital media spaces such as YouTube.

Introduces students to Sanskrit sastra and related commentary. Reading selections are generally taken from either the grammatical (vyakaraada), literary critical (alakarasatra) or the philosophical (darsana) tradition, including such works as Mahabhaya, Tarkasagraha, Kavyadarsa, etc. Reading skills and familiarity with resources - hard copy and web-based - as well as current trends and scholarship in the relevant areas are emphasized. Grammar is reviewed and explained as needed. Students are expected to memorize at least one verse per class.

This course is an introduction to the religions that have their origin on the India subcontinent--Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and tribal religions--as well as those that originated in other regions such as Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. Organizing this material chronologically rather than teaching it by separate religious traditions facilitates comparisons and promotes an understanding not only of the differences among these religions but also some of their commonalities in philosophy, theology, and praxis.

This class is for students who are already familiar with the basics of written Khmer, and can express themselves in informal and some formal spoken Khmer. Students should be able to write basic narratives about their lives and describe various aspects of Khmer culture, and have previous basic knowledge of topics such as Khmer Buddhism, folk tales, news media, history, and at least some exposure to modern Khmer literature.