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Dhar India Studies Program

Bachelor of Arts in India Studies

Students on Summer 2019, Fall 2019, or Spring 2020 requirements INSTBA1
The Bachelor of Arts in India Studies equips students to understand and become engaged with the cultures and civilizations that have developed on the Indian subcontinent from ancient times to the present. The program offers courses that investigate the culture, literature, arts, philosophy, socio-political and historical dimensions of India. The curriculum allows students to pursue interdisciplinary study and critical analysis of this complex and exciting region. The primary focus of the program is on present-day or modern India, but in order to understand modern India, it is important to have some basic knowledge about the great periods in the history of India that have shaped modern Indian social reality. This approach requires a sophisticated understanding of the country's highly developed arts, music, literature, drama, philosophy, religions, and social and political structures. In addition to providing an overall, comprehensive education about Indian civilizations, the program allows for more specialized work in (a) literary and performance studies, (b) philosophical and religious studies, and (c) social, political, and historical studies. The India Studies Program also offers beginning and intermediate-level courses in several Indian languages. All students in the program are encouraged to take language classes, as well as to consider study abroad in India.

Requirements

The major requires at least 30 credit hours*, including the requirements listed below.
  1. Language. Six (6) credit hours through the fourth-semester level of an Indic language.
    • Bengali
      • INST-B 200 Intermediate Bengali I
      • INST-B 250 Intermediate Bengali II
    • Hindi
      • INST-H 200 Second-Year Hindi I
      • INST-H 250 Second-Year Hindi II
    • Sanskrit
      • INST-S 200 Intermediate Sanskrit I
      • INST-S 250 Intermediate Sanskrit II
    • Urdu
      • INST-U 200 Second-Year Urdu I
      • INST-U 250 Second-Year Urdu II
    • Persian
      • CEUS-T 251 Intermediate Persian I
      • CEUS-T 252 Intermediate Persian II
    • Tibetan
      • CEUS-T 271 Intermediate Tibetan I
      • CEUS-T 272 Intermediate Tibetan II
    • Other Indian languages
      • INST-L 200 Intermediate Indian Languages I
      • INST-L 250 Intermediate Indian Languages II
  2. Core. One (1) course:
    • INST-I 100 Introduction to India
    • Additional courses taught by core Dhar India Studies faculty (with program approval)
  3. Culture, Art, Religion. Six (6) credit hours:
    • 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 433 Embodying Nirvana
    • REL-D 375 Religion and Literature
    • REL-R 153 Religions of Asia
  4. Society, History, Politics. Three (3) credit hours:
    • 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 Seminar In History
    • 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 Topics in Current Politics and Governance
    • POLS-Y 356 South Asian Politics
    • POLS-Y 362 International Politics of Selected Regions
  5. Electives. Additional credit hours, including one (1) course at the 400–499 level.
  6. Major GPA, Hours, and Minimum Grade Requirements.
    1. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed in courses taken through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
    2. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed at the 300–499 level.
    3. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the major.
    4. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the major—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
    5. Exceptions to major requirements may be made with the approval of the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.