Dhar India Studies Program
Certificate in India Studies
Students on Summer 2023, Fall 2023, or Spring 2024 requirements INSTACRT1
Requirements
The certificate requires at least 24 credit hours, including the requirements listed below.
- Core. One (1) course:
- INST-I 100
- Additional courses taught by core Dhar India Studies faculty (with program approval)
- Culture, Art, Religion. Four (4) courses:
- INST-I 370 Literature of India in Translation: Ancient and Classical
- INST-I 371 Songs of Ecstasy: Loving God in Medieval India
- INST-I 380 Women in South Asian Religious Traditions
- INST-I 414 India: Lost and Found in Translation
- INST-X 490 Individual Readings in India Studies
- ENG-L 383 Studies in British or Commonwealth Culture
- FOLK-F 121 World Arts and Cultures
- REL-B 202 Issues in South and East Asian Religions
- REL-B 210 Introduction to Buddhism
- REL-B 220 Introduction to Hinduism
- REL-B 315 Tantric Buddhism
- REL-B 320 Hindu Goddesses
- REL-B 330 Women in South Asian Religious Traditions
- REL-B 333 Seeing the Buddha: Buddhist Art of India and Tibet
- REL-B 335 Bollywood and Beyond: Religion in South Asian Film
- REL-B 414 Buddhist Philosophy in India
- REL-B 420 Topics in Hindu Religious Traditions
- REL-B 420 Topics in Hindu Religious Traditions
- REL-B 433 Embodying Nirvana
- REL-D 375 Religion and Literature
- REL-R 153 Religions of Asia
INST-I 370 Literature of India in Translation: Ancient and Classical
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Survey of the ancient and classical Sanskrit literature of India in translation, presented in cultural context.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
INST-I 371 Songs of Ecstasy: Loving God in Medieval India
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Explore how some of the poets of medieval India couched their devotion for Krishna in erotic, seemingly transgressive language, and the circumstances that permitted them to do so.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
INST-I 380 Women in South Asian Religious Traditions
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- A historical view of the officially sanctioned roles for women in several religious traditions in South Asia, and women\'s efforts to become agents and participants in the religious expressions of their own lives.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of INST-I 380, REL-B 330, or REL-R 382.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
INST-I 414 India: Lost and Found in Translation
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- An ethnographic approach to international fictional films produced in recent decades that treat both the political/public and domestic/private spheres of Indian life as sites that invite cultural critique and debate over the success of India as a modern and modernizing nation.
INST-X 490 Individual Readings in India Studies
- Credits
- 1–6 credit hours
- Prerequisites
- None
- Notes
- R: Reading knowledge of Sanskrit and Hindi
- Description
- Selected substantive topics investigated from ancient, medieval, and modern texts about the civilization of India.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 6 credit hours in INST-I 496 and INST-X 490.
ENG-L 383 Studies in British or Commonwealth Culture
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study of a coherent period of British or Commonwealth culture (such as medieval, Elizabethan, or Victorian England, or modern Canada), with attention to the relations between literature, the other arts, and the intellectual milieu.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
FOLK-F 121 World Arts and Cultures
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Surveying the customary arts of the world’s peoples offers a means of comprehending the human condition today. This course explores how culture is made manifest, especially in such media as landscapes, architecture, material culture, and expressive performances. A sampling of world arts, it also provides an introduction to folklife studies.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
REL-B 202 Issues in South and East Asian Religions
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Selected issues and movements in South and East Asian religions.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
REL-B 210 Introduction to Buddhism
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduction to the basic beliefs and practices of Buddhism from its beginnings to the present. Special attention to the life and teachings of the founder, significant developments in India, and the diffusion of the tradition to East Asia, Central Asia, and the West.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of REL-B 210 or REL-R 250.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
REL-B 220 Introduction to Hinduism
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Beliefs, rites, and institutions of Hinduism from the Vedic (c. 1200 B.C.) to modern times: religion of the Vedas and the Upanishads, epics and the rise of devotional religion, philosophical systems (Yoga and Vedanta), sectarian theism, monasticism, socioreligious institutions, popular religion (temples and pilgrimages), modern Hindu syncretism.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of REL-B 220 or REL-R 255.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
REL-B 315 Tantric Buddhism
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- This class explores the rise and circulation of tantric practices, ideas, and texts among Indian and Tibetan Buddhists. The class also considers the advantages and limitations of various approaches that modern scholars have taken in their attempts to make sense of these practices, ideas, and texts.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
REL-B 320 Hindu Goddesses
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduction to the goddesses in Hindu traditions, including Lakshmi, Saraswati, Sita, Radha, Parvati, Durga, Kali, Ganga, and Sitala. Focus on the mythology, iconography, cultic practices, embodied forms, and theology associated with these goddesses.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of REL-B 320 or REL-R 348.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
REL-B 330 Women in South Asian Religious Traditions
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Historical view of the officially sanctioned roles for women in several religious traditions in South Asia, and women\'s efforts to become agents and participants in the religious expressions of their own lives.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of INST-I 380, REL-B 330, or REL-R 382.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
REL-B 333 Seeing the Buddha: Buddhist Art of India and Tibet
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- An exploration of Buddhist art and its multiple social and ritual contexts, with particular attention given to works produced in India and Tibet. Designed to provoke reflection on the roles played by images in the religious life of Buddhist communities and in other religions over time.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
REL-B 335 Bollywood and Beyond: Religion in South Asian Film
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- A consideration of the nature and meaning of religion in South Asia using film as the lens to explore the South Asian continuum running from the sacred to the secular.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of REL-B 335 or REL-R 388.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
REL-B 414 Buddhist Philosophy in India
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines ideas, methods, and practices of seminal importance for Buddhist philosophical traditions in and beyond the Indian subcontinent. Explores how certain Buddhist thinkers have asked and attempted to answer questions regarding the self, reality, knowledge, conduct, and liberation.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
REL-B 420 Topics in Hindu Religious Traditions
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Selected topics such as Upanishadic thought, the Bhagavad Gita, Advaita Vedanta, Hindu ethics, monastic traditions, Hindu soteriology.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours in REL-B 420 and REL-R 458.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
REL-B 420 Topics in Hindu Religious Traditions
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Selected topics such as Upanishadic thought, the Bhagavad Gita, Advaita Vedanta, Hindu ethics, monastic traditions, Hindu soteriology.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours in REL-B 420 and REL-R 458.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
REL-B 433 Embodying Nirvana
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Addresses the divergent ways in which Buddhists have understood the figure of the Buddha and the nature of Buddhahood. Draws from a number of primary texts in translation, concentrating principally (although not exclusively) on Indian Buddhist materials.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
REL-D 375 Religion and Literature
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines how literature furthers and also critiques religious agendas. Studies specific genres (e.g., poetry, fiction, epic, diaries) with an eye to the interplay between religious realities and literary expressions in specific cultural contexts (e.g., medieval Hindu devotion or twentieth-century North American counter-culture).
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
REL-R 153 Religions of Asia
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduction to the religious traditions of Asia as integral to culture and society. Examines sacred stories, beliefs, values, and practices from multiple Asian religions in historical and comparative perspectives. Reveals how concepts of how the world works and what it means to be human vary across time and place, influencing domains not conventionally deemed religious in the U.S.
- Spring 2025CASE AHcourseFall 2024CASE AHcourse
- Spring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
- Society, History, Political, and Historical Studies. Two (2) courses:
- INST-I 211 Introduction to South Asian History
- INST-I 362 International Relations of South Asia
- CEUS-R 329 Topics in Central Asian Studies
- CEUS-R 351 Prophets, Poets, and Kings: Iranian Civilization
- CEUS-R 370 Introduction to the History of Tibet
- CEUS-R 371 Tibet and the West
- CJUS-P 407 Terrorism
- GEOG-G 220 Social and Historical Studies Topics in Geography
- GEOG-G 415 Advanced Urban Geography
- GEOG-G 441 Migration and Mobility
- HIST-G 300 Issues in Asian History
- HIST-G 350 Modern South Asia: Eighteenth to Twentieth Century
- HIST-H 238 Introduction to South Asian History and Civilization
- HIST-J 300
- HIST-W 300 Issues in World History
- INTL-I 422 Contested Territories/Conflicted Identities
- INTL-I 423 Postcolonial/Postcommunist Discourses
- INTL-I 425 Gender: International Perspectives
- MSCH-J 448 Global Journalism: Issues and Research
- POLS-Y 300
- POLS-Y 356 South Asian Politics
- POLS-Y 362 International Politics of Selected Regions
INST-I 211 Introduction to South Asian History
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- South Asia today encompasses India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. Introduction to some of the principal historical themes and cultural features of this diverse region from the Neolithic era to the present day.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
INST-I 362 International Relations of South Asia
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Focuses on terrorism, nuclear proliferation, inter-state war and ethnic conflict in South Asia as these issues relate to American foreign and security policy.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
CEUS-R 329 Topics in Central Asian Studies
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Variable title course for topics in Central Asian studies.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
CEUS-R 351 Prophets, Poets, and Kings: Iranian Civilization
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Traces the history of Iranians from ancient times through the Arab conquest to today. Focuses on institutions, religious, secular and ecclesiastic hierarchies, minorities, devotional and communal change, and Iranian influences on Islam. Visual and archaeological aids used. No previous knowledge of subject matter required.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CEUS-R 351 or CEUS-U 311.
- Spring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
CEUS-R 370 Introduction to the History of Tibet
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Survey of Tibet's history from its beginning to present. Studies facets of Tibet's history including the Tibetan empire of the seventh to ninth centuries, the impact of Buddhism, Tibet's relations with neighboring peoples, the rise of the Dalai Lama, and current issues of Tibet.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CEUS-R 370 or CEUS-U 483.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
CEUS-R 371 Tibet and the West
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examines Western perception of Tibet during the past 700 years and compares Tibetan civilization with popular conceptions that prevailed in the West during corresponding periods. Subjects include Tibet as "Shangri-La," reflected in such novels and films as 'Lost Horizon', along with Tibetan perceptions of Westerners and Western civilization.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of CEUS-R 371 or CEUS-U 489.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
CJUS-P 407 Terrorism
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Terrorism is a serious challenge today and its policing demands varied responses. In this course we study how terrorists evolve and carry out their operations. The course will analyze police responses and debate the issues of legal boundaries and systems of checks and balances using case studies.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
GEOG-G 220 Social and Historical Studies Topics in Geography
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Exploration of an intriguing topic from a geographic perspective. Topics vary.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
GEOG-G 415 Advanced Urban Geography
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- An in-depth examination of modern cities, growth dynamics, and sustainability. Explores a range of contemporary socioeconomic topics in an urban setting, including housing markets, segregation, crime, telecommunication, transportation, and regional development. Basic geographic models and spatial statistics are used to explore differences in urban areas.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
GEOG-G 441 Migration and Mobility
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Geographers are turning attention to the processes that drive, regulate and accompany various scales of movement, the politics of mobility, and the experience and effect of mobility. A better understanding of mobility helps them investigate processes like globalization, migration, tourism, homelessness, security and transport, international flows as well as micro-scale bodily movements in more nuanced ways.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
HIST-G 300 Issues in Asian History
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study and analysis of selected historical issues and problems of limited scope. Topics vary but usually cut across fields, regions, and periods.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
HIST-G 350 Modern South Asia: Eighteenth to Twentieth Century
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- In-depth examination of the \"making of modern South Asia\" through this region\'s experience as an imperial territory of Great Britain. The focus of the course is upon social and cultural change, colonial governance, and forms of Indian nationalism.
- Spring 2025CASE GCCcourseFall 2024CASE GCCcourse
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
HIST-H 238 Introduction to South Asian History and Civilization
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Survey course which examines some of the important problems and debates current in South Asian history. Topics covered range from the Neolithic period to the present day, and include the nature of ancient South Asian society, medieval Islamic empires, and British imperialism in the region.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
HIST-W 300 Issues in World History
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study and analysis of selected historical issues and problems of general import. Topics will vary from semester to semester but will usually be broad subjects that cut across fields, regions, and periods.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 9 credit hours.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
INTL-I 422 Contested Territories/Conflicted Identities
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study of nationalism to explore how history, politics and culture conflict and converge in shaping multiple identities.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 12 credit hours.
INTL-I 423 Postcolonial/Postcommunist Discourses
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Study of emergence and use of postcolonial and postcommunist theories to analyze colonial and communist discourses as well as their political and cultural legacies.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 12 credit hours.
INTL-I 425 Gender: International Perspectives
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Examination of gender issues from international and interdisciplinary perspectives.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 12 credit hours.
MSCH-J 448 Global Journalism: Issues and Research
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- At least junior standing; or consent of instructor
- Description
- Structure and function of international communication systems and barrier to flow of information among nations. Emphasis on gathering and disseminating information around the world. Study of the major newspapers of the world, international news agencies, and international broadcasting and satellite networks.
- Repeatability
- Credit given for only one of JOUR-J 448 or MSCH-J 448.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
POLS-Y 356 South Asian Politics
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- Introduction to the legacy of British colonialism in South Asia, to the development and decay of political institutions, to questions of economic growth, to social movements, and to regional conflicts.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
POLS-Y 362 International Politics of Selected Regions
- Credits
- 3
- Prerequisites
- None
- Description
- The region studied will vary with the instructor and the year. Current information may be obtained from the Department of Political Science.
- Repeatability
- May be repeated once for credit, with permission of the departmental undergraduate advisor.
- Spring 2025CASE SHcourseFall 2024CASE SHcourse
- Electives. Additional courses, as needed, to fulfill remaining requirements:
- Additional courses from the Culture, Art, Religion list
- Additional courses from the Society, History, Politics list
- Certificate GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
- Certificate GPA. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the certificate—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
- Certificate Minimum Grade. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the certificate.
- Certificate Upper Division Credit Hours. At least 15 credit hours in the certificate must be completed at the 300–499 level.
- Certificate Residency. At least 9 credit hours in the certificate must be completed in courses taken through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
Certificate Area Courses
-
Unless otherwise noted below, the following courses are considered in the academic program and will count toward academic program requirements as appropriate:
- Any course contained on the course lists for the academic program requirements at the time the course is taken—as well as any other courses that are deemed functionally equivalent—except for those listed only under Addenda Requirements
- Any course directed to a non-Addenda requirement through an approved exception
This program of study cannot be combined with the following:
- Bachelor of Arts in India Studies (INSTBA1)
- Minor in India Studies (INSTMIN)
Exceptions to and substitutions for certificate requirements may be made with the approval of the unit's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.