The course is structured around the history of the Indian subcontinent and will ask challenging questions about the concepts of empire and nation-states as two forms of political community that have structured the way diverse peoples have come to live together. Through different styles of academic and non-academic writing we will think about how imperial rulers and national leaders in the past forged concepts and policies in an attempt to create harmony between the diverse people that lived under their rule. Together we will analyze different historical sources to identify the ethical protocols that motivated Mughal emperors to craft the ideologies of their dispensations. You will encounter the rhetorical strategies utilized by British colonizers to justify their rule over an alien people, and study the writings of Indian nationalist leaders to see how they responded to the challenge of envisioning a political community in which a plural people could live together in peace. How were the nationalists different from the imperialists and colonists who preceded them in their attempts to define modes of belonging to a common political community? What role did women and the question of women's rights play in the imagination of an independent Indian nation? We will encounter different genres of writing—chronicles, speeches, short stories, novels, newspaper articles, as well as film—to get to the heart of these themes and questions. Students will be encouraged to use the process of writing analytical essays to develop original ideas about the history of empires and nations with the Indian subcontinent as the backdrop. There will be writing exercises of varying lengths every week, and the experience will prepare students for a variety of different academic contexts.
Course Requirements:
Two main essays during the term, with weekly graded and ungraded writing assignments
Intended Audience:
This is an introductory writing course intended for first-year students looking to hone their skills of composing academic essays, and fulfill the FYWR.
Class Format:
Seminar and discussion