• Total units 48 Units
  • Areas of interest Anthropology, Cultural Studies, History, Asian Studies, Literature
  • Major code INDS-MAJ
Indian and South Asian Studies Major

This major brings alive the social, cultural and political debates that have defined India and its neighbours in the region known as South Asia. Indians constitute the second largest migrant group in Australia, and strategic partnerships and economic ties between Australia and India are growing. An understanding of India and its neighbours is thus a valuable asset for students seeking to understand these connections and to pursue careers in diverse fields, including business, government, the arts, and other sectors. This major examines Indian political institutions and the rise of Indian democracy, ongoing questions of poverty, development and violence, the transformative influences of technology, the role of the diaspora, and the vibrant cultural traditions and innovations from India and its region that have inspired the world. The study of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and other parts of South Asia will give students unique insight into a part of Asia that is emerging as a crucial force in the 21st Century.


The Indian and South Asian Studies major is designed to complement the Hindi and Sanskrit language majors, though knowledge of these languages is not required for courses in the Indian and South Asian Studies major

Learning Outcomes

  1. Understand and evaluate historical and current events and developments that have shaped the South Asian subcontinent and contemporary India.

  2. Identify and critique the contemporary socio-cultural and political systems of India.

  3. Analyse the global significance of events and developments in India and across the region.

  4. Understand the processes and disciplinary approaches through which current knowledge about Indian and South Asian Studies has developed. 

  5. Effectively argue and communicate about issues of regional cooperation and unity in the context of tensions in and among South Asia's diverse traditions.


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Requirements

This major requires the completion of 48 units, which must include: 


12 units from the completion of the following course(s):

ASIA2271 The Making of South Asia (6 units)

ASIA3272 Truth and Falsity in Indian History and Politics (6 units)


A minimum of 6 units and a maximum of 12 units from the following list of introductory courses:

ASIA1025 Asia and the Pacific: Power, diversity and change (6 units)

ASIA1030 Asia and the Pacific in Motion (6 units)

ASIA1999 The Origins of Political Order in Asia (6 units)


A minimum of 18 units from the completion of the following list:

ASIA2116 India's Culture Wars (6 units)

ASIA2270 India Past and Present: The impact of pre-colonial history on India today (6 units)

ASIA2275 The Pleasures and Powers of Stories in South Asia (6 units)

INTR2014 Indian Foreign and Security Policy (6 units)


A maximum of 6 units from the completion of course(s) from the following list:

ANTH2009 Culture and Development (6 units)

ASIA2001 Language in Asia and the Pacific (6 units)

ASIA2065 Asian Politics: From Concepts to Causes (6 units)

ASIA2067 Economies of Emerging Asia (6 units)

ASIA2103 Language in Asia and the Pacific (L) (6 units)

ASIA2112 Special Topics in Asia and Pacific Studies (6 units)

ASIA2120 Colonialism and the Rule of Law (6 units)

ASIA2302 Culture and Modernity in Asia: Anthropological Perspectives (6 units)

ASIA2304 What is Literature? Asian Perspectives (6 units)

ASIA2307 History of Empire in Asia (6 units)

ASIA2311 Gender and Cultural Studies in Asia and the Pacific (6 units)

ASIA3012 Readings in Asian Societies and Histories (6 units)

ASIA3021 Engaging Asia: Australia and the Asian Century (6 units)

ECHI2109 Asian Giants: India, China and Japan; Alternate Paths to Prosperity (P)

PHIL2012 Buddhist Philosophy (6 units)

INTR2010 International Relations in the Asia-Pacific (6 units)

INTR2016 US Foreign and Security Policy in Asia (6 units)

MEAS2000 Iranian History and Culture (6 units)

STST2001 Security Concepts in the Asia-Pacific (6 units)

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