This seminar will focus on problems and dilemmas of contemporary society as they transpire in recent Indian films and TV shows. TV shows will be of special interest to us as a medium that often escapes scholarly attention due to its perceived low content quality and artistic value. However, crime shows, soap operas or sitcoms can serve as valuable sources of information, as they either inadvertently show societal norms, stereotypes, and normative behavior without any restraints, or intentionally openly depict current ideological conflicts and burning social issues.

This reading and discussion course is an overview of Philippine history from the 16th century until the present. Works covered include both classics and the latest scholarship. 

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.