Gandhi - Politics, Principles, and the Person

This course explores the ethical principles, civil and religious philosophies, and political life of Mohandas Gandhi, widely credited with leading India to independence from colonial rule through his politics of nonviolent resistance. The course focuses on key aspects of Gandhi's life and thought including his religious ideas, intellectual influences, responses to colonialism, theory and practice of nonviolence, critiques of caste and inequality, and insistence on Hindu-Muslim brotherhood. We will also examine his enduring impact on global and popular movements in India and internationally. Class material will include Gandhi's own writings, a set of secondary sources, and three Bollywood films.