Feminist and Queer Histories of Modern South Asia

Undergraduate

Beginning from the recognition that gender, sexuality, and the body are contextually specific and historically produced, in this upper-level history seminar, we chart a feminist and queer trajectory of South Asia's history in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Unpacking the roles of femininity, masculinity, family, and reproduction as sites of power in imperial, nationalist, and postcolonial politics, we investigate how our narratives of history deepen when we make the gendered and sexed body central to them. To understand the complex negotiations of various imperial, nationalist, and subaltern historical actors in this period, we consider the perspectives of multi-disciplinary scholars and engage with essential textual and multimedia primary sources. Together, we work to foster ethical engagement with historical subjects and to understand the lasting legacies of colonial and postcolonial engagements with gender and sexuality on the social and political worlds of South Asia today. WR , HU MW 4pm-5:15pm