Ruined History: Visual and Material Culture in South Asia

What does art, architecture and material culture reveal about South Asia’s history? This course explores the significance of images, objects, architecture and other forms of material and visual culture to South Asian societies as well as their transformation during the 19th and 20th centuries under pressure from British colonial rule. We will consider how shifts in the meanings of architectural sites (like temples), images and material objects under colonial rule animated political and religious conflict in South Asia between 1880 and 1947. Topics include nationalist cartography; Hindu-Muslim violence around temples and mosques; public performance and anti-colonial activism.