The Wonder That Was India: Politics, Culture, and Philosophy in Premodern South Asia

4 credits · Undergraduate

This course takes a panoramic view of the long sweep of Indian history up to the mid eighteenth century. Beginning with the earliest signs of settled civilization, we will examine the growth of empires and urban societies in the subcontinent, and will supplement our understanding of political history with close attention to literary and aesthetic artifacts that reveal the richness and diversity of these cultures. Areas of focus will include links to the Hellenic world and the development of science, religion, and philosophy in the Indo-Greek world, the Delhi Sultanate in North India and the dynasties of the South, the development of new religious traditions and hybrid political formations, and the arrival of Vasco da Gama and Babur.