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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2022/2023

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Social and Political Science : Postgrad (School of Social and Political Studies)

Postgraduate Course: South Asia: Culture, Politics & Economy (PGSP11555)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Social and Political Science CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummarySouth Asia today is not only geo-politically significant but has risen to global prominence as an important locale for burgeoning economic growth and development, cultural production and nation building. This course provides a theoretical framework and empirical illustrations to make this complex region both accessible and better understood. The teaching is multi-disciplinary, providing a unique mix of sociological and anthropological approaches to the region.
Course description This course offers an introduction to key issues, concepts and processes in South Asia. The course is team taught and research-led and offers insights into contemporary social dynamics in South Asia. The course involves one hour long lecture which is shared with the UG option of the same name, and there is one post-graduate focused seminar session every week. All students are expected to do the assigned readings in advance and arrive fully prepared to participate.
The course varies year on year but a typical syllabus covers the following themes:
1. Introduction
2. Partition and its legacy
3. Caste
4. Health
5. Politics and Diversity
6. Hindu Nationalism
7. Civil war in Sri Lanka
8. Gender and Family
9. Literature, Language and Politics
10. Development
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  15
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 10, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 176 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Assessment will be by a final essay of 3,500-4,000 words, on a topic to be agreed between the student and the Course Organiser
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Develop a deep and informed understanding of the South Asian region
  2. Articulate their own approach to theories
  3. Think creatively about the social complexities in South Asia and how these relate to local and global developments
  4. Think and articulate from a multi-disciplinary perspective
Reading List
Bharadwaj, A. and Glasner, P. 2009. Local Cells, Global Science: The Proliferation of Stem Cell Technologies in India, Routledge
Cameron, M. M. 1998. On the Edge of the Auspicious: Gender and Caste in Nepal. University of Illinois Press
Copeman, J. 2009. Veins of Devotion: Blood Donation and Religious Experience in North India. Rutgers University Press.
Das, V. 2006. Handbook of Indian Sociology. Oxford University Press
Desai, J. 2003. Beyond Bollywood: The Cultural Politics of South Asian Diasporic Film. Routledge.
Diane P. Mines, D.P and Lamb, L. 2002. Everyday Life in South Asia. Indiana University Press.
Gardner, K. 1995. Global Migrants, Local Lives: Travel and Transformation in Rural Bangladesh. Clarendon Press.
Gorringe, H. 2005. Untouchable Citizens: The Dalit Panthers and Democratisation in Tamilnadu, Sage
Jeffery, P & Jeffery, R. 2006. Confronting Saffron Demography: Religion, Fertility, and Women's Status in India, Three Essays Collective.
Vishwanathan, S. 1997. A Carnival for Science, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Wallerstein, I. 1974, 'The rise and future demise of the World Capitalist System: concepts for comparative analysis' Comparative Studies in Society and History, 16, 4: 387-415
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills - Apply different theories to the interpretation and explanation of social processes or structures;
- Evaluate, critique, and build on the work of scholars of south Asia;
- Discuss and assess empirical evidence and theoretical argument in a clear and reasoned way;
- Judge the value and relevance of empirical evidence and theoretical argument and interpretation;
- Demonstrate understanding of, and ability to use, key concepts and processes in South Asia.
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserMr Jeevan Sharma
Tel: (0131 6)51 1760
Email: Jeevan.Sharma@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Emilia Czatkowska
Tel: (0131 6)51 3244
Email: Emilia.Czatkowska@ed.ac.uk
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