Peoples and Cultures in South Asia

3 units

An introduction to contemporary societies and cultures of the South Asian sub-continent including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Topics include religion and ritual, work, family organization, concepts of person, caste and gender, the cultural impact of colonialism, and political/religious conflict. The course will examine ethnographic and historical writings on these topics for two purposes: to gain basic knowledge about the peoples of the area and to consider the impact of anthropological theory on that knowledge.