THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

University Homepage
DRPS Homepage
DRPS Search
DRPS Contact
DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of History, Classics and Archaeology : History

Undergraduate Course: Post-Colonial South Asia (HIST10040)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of History, Classics and Archaeology CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryAn introduction to the political, social, cultural and economic history of South Asia since 1947.
Course description The course surveys the political, social, cultural and economic history of South Asia since 1947, paying proportionate attention to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and the internal and external policies of each nation. Emphasis will be given to the conflicts between modernity and tradition, as well as the concepts of regional, religious and class identities which have formed the building blocks of modern nationalism in South Asia. Students will examine the struggle to affirm that conception of nationhood, together with the secessionist and centrifugal forces, including politico-religious and revolutionary movements, which have threatened, and even succeeded, in pulling in these nations apart. Attention will also be paid to problems of securing balanced and equitable economic growth since the end of the colonial period, and the origins of the conflicts between the nations of the subcontinent, which have most recently acquired a thermo-nuclear dimension. Importantly, apart from the high politics of political conflict, the course will survey the history of the evolution of society at a local level, including the struggle for the rights and freedoms of women and the lower castes.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements A pass or passes in 40 credits of first level historical courses or equivalent and a pass or passes in 40 credits of second level historical courses or equivalent.
Before enrolling students on this course, Personal Tutors are asked to contact the History Honours Admission Administrator to ensure that a place is available (Tel: 50 3780).
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students should have at least 3 History courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. Applicants should note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission.

** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course **
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  0
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 172 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 67 %, Coursework 33 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) The essay will be about 3000 words (one third of overall assessment), to be submitted according to subject area guidelines, and the examination a two-hour paper (two-thirds of overall assessment).

Visiting Student Variant Assessment:
When this course is taught in Semester 1, the Visiting Student assessment will be:
One essay of about 3000 words (one third of overall assessment;
One 'take home' examination essay (two-thirds of overall assessment).
Feedback Students will receive written feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Resit Exam Diet (August)2:00
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate command of the body of knowledge considered in the course; the acquisition of the relevant transferable skills. To provide a grounding for all those who seek to travel or work in Asia, or who otherwise might require a historical understanding of the contemporary Indian subcontinent, and - given Scotland's historic and trading links with Asia - to permit an insight into an important aspect of modern Scottish society and international relations.
  2. Read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship;
  3. Understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material;
  4. Develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
  5. Demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
Reading List
C. Bates Subalterns and Raj: South Asia since 1600 (London: Routledge, 2007)
Sunil Khilnani The Idea of India (London: Penguin, 1997)
Gyan Pandey Remembering Partition
Sumit Ganguly & Neil Devota Understanding Contemporary India (London: Lynne Rienner, 2010)
Anatol Lieven Pakistan: a hard country (New York: Public Affairs, 2011)
Christophe Jaffrelot India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes (London: Hurst, 2003)
Geraldine Forbes Women in Modern India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999)
Thomas Hansen The Saffron wave: democracy and Hindu nationalism in modern India (Princeton University press, 1999)
N. Wickramasinghe Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History of Contested Identity, 2nd edn. (London: Hurst, 2014)
Willem Van Schendel A History of Bangladesh (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009)
Sumit Ganguly Conflict Unending: India-Pakistan Tensions since 1947 (Columbia U.P. 2001)
B.R. Tomlinson The Economy of Modern India: From 1860 to the Twenty-First Century (Cambridge University Press, 2013)
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsPostcol S Asia
Contacts
Course organiserDr Kalathmika Natarajan
Tel:
Email: knataraj@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Claire Brown
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: cbrown20@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Navigation
Help & Information
Home
Introduction
Glossary
Search DPTs and Courses
Regulations
Regulations
Degree Programmes
Introduction
Browse DPTs
Courses
Introduction
Humanities and Social Science
Science and Engineering
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Other Information
Combined Course Timetable
Prospectuses
Important Information