This course examines the impact of India’s history up to 1757 on Contemporary India. Studies focus on the development of the Indus cultures, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism; Islam in South Asia; and European and British colonialism in India. As well as tracing major historical and political events, you will have the opportunity to study social and cultural developments that accompanied and contributed to the development of South Asia. Along with this we will analyze how changing conceptions of South Asia’s past shape contemporary debates about culture, regional identities, political ideologies, and the idea of India. This course encourages students to develop critical reading skills and abilities to write structured arguments to convey ideas through: class-based peer-to-peer discussions, making presentations and discussing the contents of each-other's presentations, writing literature reviews and structured academic essays.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of key actors, events and locations in South Asian history up until 1757
- Discriminate between early and later manifestations of the religious traditions of India
- Explain developments in South Asian society and culture up to 1757
- Differentiate between interpretations of South Asian historical evidence
- Select appropriate sources to address a research problem and communicate research results in an essay with scholarly referencing and bibliography
Other Information
This is a co-taught course. Any cap on enrolments in one course applies to both courses combined.
Indicative Assessment
- Participation in tutorial discussions (10) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Class Presentation (10 minutes) (10) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Two Critical Discussion of Set Texts (500 words each) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Mid semester Essay (1000 words) (20) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Final Essay (2000 words) (40) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
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
A total of 130 hours made up of 36 hours in-class time (12*3 hours) plus 94 hours independent study (7-8 hours per week)
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
The texts will be given in Wattle. They consist of multiple scholarly readings and additional news media pieces and film clips. There is no set textbook.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you 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). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found 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 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $4080 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2024 | $5280 |
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.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8665 | 21 Jul 2025 | 28 Jul 2025 | 31 Aug 2025 | 24 Oct 2025 | In Person | N/A |
