The Minor
This week’s featured program is the South Asian Studies Minor at Carleton College. From the website:
South Asia, which contains nearly a quarter of the world’s people, refers to the countries comprising the South Asian subcontinent: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and sometimes Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Tibet.
The minor consists of a program of study combining language training, off-campus study, required core courses in various disciplines, and supporting courses, including a designated capstone course. The purpose of the minor is to provide cross-cultural interdisciplinary understanding of a complex civilization that is both ancient and modern, and of great significance in the contemporary world.
Students enrolled in the minor take 18 credits of core courses, 24 credits of supporting courses, and a capstone course.
Two Interesting Courses
ENGL 245: Bollywood Nation
This course will serve as an introduction to Bollywood or popular Hindi cinema from India. We will trace the history of this cinema and analyze its formal components. We will watch and discuss some of the most celebrated and popular films of the last 60 years with particular emphasis on urban thrillers and social dramas.
MUSC 181: Sitar
Beginning through advanced study of sitar in the gayaki ang style of Ustad Vilayat Khan. Previous musical experience is not necessary. Sitars are provided.
Five Possible Complementary Majors at Carleton College
Unique Opportunities within the Minor
Students can take advantage of the Globalization and Local Responses in India study abroad program, offered in the winter term:
India is a place of immense contrasts and diversities, being home to a wide array of languages, cultures, religions, and communities. Amid this diversity, the impact of globalization on the country’s 1.3 billion people is a topic of intense debate. This OCS program will explore the responses of several distinct communities to the pressures and opportunities generated in India’s globalizing economy. With a focus on the intersections of tourism, politics, development, sustainability, and gender relations, we will see how individuals and groups navigate social structures and institutions as they work to make a decent living. Questions that will frame our enquiries include: What is globalization and how does it impact different regions and groups of India? What are the major paradigms of economic and social development currently dominant in India? How do these play out on the local level? What roles do the government and NGOs play in Indian communities today? What are the forces of modernity and tradition in India and how do they affect different strata of society?
Sample Similar Programs
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- Brown University: South Asian Studies Concentration
- The Ohio State University: South Asia Studies Minor
- Washington University in St. Louis: South Asian Languages and Cultures Minor