Hindu/Muslim: Religion, Politics, and Violence in a Millennium of Indian History

4 credits · Undergraduate

This course is concerned broadly with the with the long history of the relationship between Hinduism and Islam in the Indian subcontinent over the last millennium. Using a variety of readings from the ancient past and the contemporary present, we will relationship between the categories of ‘religion’ and ‘politics’; the practices of violence which lie at their intersection; and their evolving forms in South Asia today. Topics explored include the establishment and historical development of Islamic rule in India; the effects of colonialism; the partition of 1947 and the post-colonial present. No prior study of Indian history is required.