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 ‘South Asian Studies’ Major brings alive the unique social, cultural, and political issues and debates that have defined South Asia in both the past and present. A critical, analytical understanding of South Asia and its diaspora, Australia’s fastest growing, is a valuable asset for students in both their studies and future careers in many diverse fields, including the arts, government and international relations, and business and economics, among many others. Students interested in Indian politics and democracy, the transformative influences of technology, development studies, diaspora studies, and the deep study of South Asian history, languages and cultures will find themselves in classrooms taught by the most concentrated collection of South Asian scholarly expertise in the Southern Hemisphere. Students will come away from this major with their own deep understanding and expertise in the South Asian past and present, which is indispensable for Australia’s future in the Asia-Pacific.
The South Asian Studies major is primarily delivered through English-language courses. However, the major has optional room for introductory study in South Asian languages (i.e., Hindi, Sanskrit, and Tibetan). Students wanting a more in-depth knowledge of these languages to complement the South Asian Studies major can enrol in more advanced courses through elective courses or a major/minor in the South Asian languages offered at ANU.
Learning Outcomes
- Critically understand and evaluate historical and contemporary events and ideas that have shaped the South Asian region and its many diverse people.
- Identify and critique South Asian socio-cultural and political systems through a variety of perspectives and disciplinary approaches.
- Analyse the connections between significant South Asian events and historical developments within the region and with our globalised world.
- Critically understand and discuss the processes and disciplinary approaches through which current knowledge about South Asian Studies has developed.
- Effectively argue and communicate about issues of South Asian regional cooperation and unity in the context of tensions in and among South Asia's diverse traditions.
Other Information
Incompatible with INDS-MAJ (Indian and South Asian Studies)
Relevant Degrees
Requirements
The South Asian Studies Major requires the completion of 48 units, which must include:
12 units from the following list of compulsory courses:
ASIA2271 The Making of South Asia
ASIA3272 Truth and Falsity in Indian History and Politics
12 units selected from the following list of advanced courses:
ASIA3012 Readings in Asian Societies and Histories
ASIA3039 Research Project in Asian and Pacific Studies
ASIA3220 Asia-Pacific In-Country Learning (6-12 units)
A minimum 6 units of courses from the following South Asia-focused courses:
ASIA2116 India’s Culture Wars
ASIA2270 India Past and Present
ASIA2275 The Pleasures and Powers of Stories in South Asia
A maximum 18 units from the following Area and Discipline/Language courses containing South Asia-relevant content:
Area and Discipline
ANTH2009 Culture and Development
ARTH2169 Asian Modernisms: Art, Nation and World, c.1860-1970
ASIA1999 The Origins of Political Order in Asia
ASIA2001 Language in Asia and the Pacific
ASIA2067 Asian Economies
ASIA2103 Language in Asia and the Pacific (L)
ASIA2120 Colonialism and the Rule of Law
ASIA2302 Culture and Modernity in Asia: Anthropological Perspectives
ASIA2304 What is Literature? Asian Perspectives
ASIA2307 History of Empire in Asia
ASIA2311 Gender and Cultural Studies in Asia and the Pacific
MEAS1002 Islam: History and Institutions
PHIL2012 Buddhist Philosophy
Language
HIND1100 Hindi 1
HIND1200 Hindi 2
HIND2300 Hindi 3
HIND2400 Hindi 4
SKRT1002 Sanskrit 1
SKRT1003 Sanskrit 2
SKRT2103 Sanskrit 3
SKRT2104 Sanskrit 4
TIBN1002 Tibetan 1
TIBN1003 Tibetan 2
TIBN2004 Tibetan 3
TIBN2005 Tibetan 4
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