This course considers the co-option, reinterpretation and dissemination of sacred texts and religious practices in various political and cultural projects in India during the colonial and post-colonial periods. Students are introduced to religious “reform” movements and cross-cultural debates during the colonial period. We also examine how the concept of a secular state in post-Independence India has shaped and continues to shape religious practice and public policy.

This course will introduce students to the rich heritage of devotional literature in pre- and early modern South Asia, often referred to as Bhakti. This course will include examples from medieval India as well as from many languages and regions, an area that encompasses modern-day India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Our focus will be the medieval and early modern periods, and the devotional literature composed in the South Asian languages. The characteristic feature of Bhakti is an intense, passionate relationship with the divine.