• Offered by School of Culture History and Language
  • ANU College ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
  • Course subject Sanskrit
  • Areas of interest Asian Languages
  • Academic career UGRD
  • Course convener
    • Dr McComas Taylor
  • Mode of delivery Online or In Person
  • Co-taught Course
  • Offered in First Semester 2019
    See Future Offerings

Sanskrit, the classical language of India, has long been renowned for its beauty, subtlety and complexity. It is the key to the civilisational treasures of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, and provides direct access to a vast repository of literary, scientific and philosophical wisdom. In this course students are introduced to the foundations of the balance of traditional practice of textual reception—reading and grammar—with language production—speaking, chanting and singing.

Sanskrit is a demanding language. It involves the rigorous study of grammar, a considerable amount of memorisation, and high and sustained level of commitment. Previous language learning experience is a distinct advantage. All prospective students are encouraged to make an appointment with the convener, McComas Taylor, to discuss the course before enrolling.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

  1. Pronounce all 49 sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet, read aloud simple example sentences, and chant the weekly verses accurately and joyously.
  2. Write all 49 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet correctly, including conjunct consonants; write simple sentences accurately and aesthetically.
  3. Use a vocabulary of 120 items.
  4. Recognise and use the grammatical structures to read short texts and to translate basic sentences into and out of Sanskrit. These structures include: singular, dual and plural verb endings, for active and middle forms; the eight nominal cases; pronouns and adjectives; and the gerund.
  5. Conduct simple conversations on such topics as: common greetings; friends and families; food and drink; and times of day.
  6. Demonstrate a general understanding of the history, origins, status, and uses of Sanskrit.

Other Information

This is a co-taught course. The total number of students for both SKRT1002 and SKRT6102 is capped at 36 students for Semester 1 2020. The undergraduate version of the course SKRT1002 is capped at 33 students and postgraduate version of the course SKRT6102 is capped at 3 students.

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Fees - Students enrolling through Open Universities Australia should refer to the fee schedule published on the OUA website

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On successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to engage at an Introductory level of Sanskrit.

Students with native speaker proficiency (may include cognate languages and dialects) must review the placement test site and contact the CAP Student Centre for appropriate enrolment advice. Students with previous “language experience or exposure” are required to take a language placement test to ensure enrolment at the most appropriate level.

 

Relevant past experience includes:

-      Previous study of the language (both formal and informal, for example but not limited to, at school, or, home, or through online activities, etc.)

-      Being exposed to the language in childhood via a family member or friend

-      Travel or living in a country where the language is spoken

-      The language being spoken in your home (even if you do not speak it yourself)

 

Students who are not sure if they need to take a placement test should seek advice from the course or language convenor. Students who intentionally misrepresent their language proficiency level may be investigated under the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 as having failed to comply with assessment directions and having sought unfair advantage. This may results in a penalty such as reduced grades or failure of the course.


Students are not permitted to enrol in a language course below one that they have already successfully completed, except with permission of the language and/or course convenor.

Indicative Assessment

  1. To be confirmed (null) [LO null]

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

 Online students

Each week, students are expected to study as follows: 

 1. 30 minutes on weekly verse: Listen to the paradigm and explanation in the e-text. Practice singing the verse. Upload the audio into Wattle. 

2. 30 minutes on spoken Sanskrit: Listen to the explanation in the e-text. Practice and memorise the forms. Complete the online quiz as required. 

3. 7 hours on grammar and written Sanskrit: Listen to the explanation and read through the grammar notes in the e-text. Complete the written exercises and self-correct your work. Upload your work into Wattle.

4. 90 minutes participating in one online class via Adobe Connect. 

 

On-campus Students

Each week, students are expected to study as follows: 

 1. 30 minutes on weekly verse: Listen to the paradigm and explanation in the e-text. Practice singing the verse. Upload the audio into Wattle. 

2. 30 minutes on spoken Sanskrit: Listen to the explanation in the e-text. Practice and memorise the forms. Complete the online quiz as required. 

3. 7 hours on grammar and written Sanskrit: Listen to the explanation and read through the grammar notes in the e-text. Complete the written exercises and self-correct your work. Upload your work into Wattle.

4. 90 minutes participating in one class on campus.

Inherent Requirements

Not applicable

Requisite and Incompatibility

Incompatible with SKRT6102

Prescribed Texts

Course materials will be provided on wattle. 

Preliminary Reading

The Joy of Sanskrit - https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/joy-sanskrit 

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
1
Unit value:
6 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2019 $3000
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2019 $4560
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

First Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
On-campus
2182 25 Feb 2019 04 Mar 2019 31 Mar 2019 31 May 2019 In Person N/A
ANU Online
3436 25 Feb 2019 04 Mar 2019 31 Mar 2019 31 May 2019 Online N/A
OUA Online
4505 25 Feb 2019 04 Mar 2019 31 Mar 2019 31 May 2019 Online N/A

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