Northern Arizona University Department of History
College of Arts and Letters 1st Summer Session 2009
HIS 460 FILM & HISTORY: COLONIALISM/NATIONALISM IN INDIA (Readings in World History)
Instructor: SANJAY JOSHI Office Hours: MTW 10:50- 11:50 am Office: LA 206 Phone: 523-6216
E-mail: Sanjay.Joshi@nau.edu Meetings: MTW 12:00-3:10 pm; LA 321
Course URL http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/filmandhistory.htm
VISTA URL for the course: https://vista.nau.edu/webct/logon/14361511358081
NAU Policy Statements http://www2.nau.edu/academicadmin/plcystmt.html
Classroom Management Statement http://www4.nau.edu/stulife/handbookmanagement.htm
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course uses written and visual texts to better understand representations of two key themes in the history of modern India. Starting with the advent of British colonialism in the Indian subcontinent, this course then studies the various responses to colonialism. Rather than a singular nationalism, we look at the making of a variety of nationalisms in the subcontinent, and pay particular attention to the place of gender and the politics of religious identities in the making these nationalisms. Films are used both to better understand a complex history, and as alternative narratives and/or representations of that history. We will use films to help make a fascinating history come alive in a way not always possible through written texts alone. At the same time, we will also examine how more conventional histories help us better understand and critique cinematic representations. Our aim will be to see how different representations of history help us better understand the complexities of narrating histories, and how to distinguish as well as evaluate these multiple representations.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
We aim to:
1. Get a clear grasp of the basic narrative of events relating to colonialism and nationalisms in South Asia from ca. 1830 to 1947.
2. To understand and analyze various competing interpretations of these events.
3. To understand the ways in which traditional historical narratives differ from cinematic representations of history and to explore how these, together or separately, help us better understand colonialism and nationalisms in South Asia (as well as their legacy for the contemporary world).
COURSE STRUCTURE AND REQUIREMENTS
This is a SEMINAR class. We will not spend more than one class period in discussing historical background of South Asian history. While I do not expect prior knowledge of the history of India, I do expect participants in a 400-level seminar class to be able to read and analyze material about unfamiliar names and events in very short order. I fully expect that this course WILL be run as a seminar where students will take primary responsibility for knowledge production in the classroom. To do that effectively, you must come prepared having read the week’s required readings.
I have tried to keep the reading appropriate for a summer session course, but even so, there is a considerable amount of work to be done for this course, sometimes immediately after a long class. There is also not the same gap between classes as during the regular semesters. Please arrange your schedules accordingly.
While we will screen parts of the required films in class, it will also be necessary for students to complete the viewing of the films in their own time. The films have been transferred to electronic streaming media and are available to you via the VISTA page for the class.
All students MUST come to class having completed reading (or viewing) assignments for that day, and prepared to engage in discussion. Twenty percent (20%) of the total grade for this class comes from participation. If you do not participate, you WILL lose points. See the stipulations under the “Participation” section of “Course Assignments,” below.
READINGS
There is only one required textbook for this course, though there are MANY other REQUIRED readings which are available on electronic reserve via the COURSE WEB PAGE for this class (as well asVISTA). The textbook for this course is Barbara and Thomas Metcalf A Concise History of India. (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition, 2006). This should be available for purchase at the NAU bookstore.
FILMS
We will also be seeing the following films which have been made available as streaming media files accessible via the Vista page for the course.
1. Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King DVD 146
2. Ghare-baire (aka The Home and the World) DVD 1704
3. Gandhi (Attenborough’s version) DVD 1695
4. Jinnah DVD 1290
5. Earth DVD 2231
6. Silent waters DVD 2295
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
1. You are expected to write THREE five-page essays on three important sections of this course – colonial attitudes, gender and early nationalism, and Gandhi and the lead-up to partition. I have put up the specific assignments on the COURSE webpage (NOT the VISTA page) for your convenience and to guide your readings/viewing for this course. These are worth 20 points each, 60 points total.
2. You must submit at least TWO sets of DISCUSSION QUESTIONS on the appropriate dates marked on the syllabus, one of which HAS to be on partition, history, and cinematic representations and is due on the last class meeting. The questions need to be neatly typed, and you MUST BRING ENOUGH COPIES FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE CLASS. I expect to see between four and six questions, all designed to encourage discussion of the major issues brought up by the films and the readings. At least one question should make a connection between the film and readings where appropriate. While you are free to frame your questions in any way you choose, keep in mind that I will be evaluating them on the extent to which they reveal familiarity with and analysis of the appropriate films and readings. You are, of course, free to bring up queries, separately from the discussion questions. Each set of discussion questions will be worth 10 points, 20 points total. Feel free to submit more than two sets of discussion questions and I will take the best two into account. You must, however, submit discussion questions on June 30th, regardless of the number of assignments you have turned in before that date.
3. PARTICIPATION. As this is a seminar, regular attendance and participation are CRITICAL and worth 20 points. Missing more than one class will automatically lead to deductions in participation points (exact number of points docked will be at my discretion). Missing more than three class meetings will result in a failing grade. An important part of your education is to be able to express your ideas verbally as much as in writing. Shyness or inability to speak up in public situations cannot be an excuse for not participating in a seminar. On the other hand, participation does not mean hogging class time! I will evaluate you on the QUALITY and not simply the QUANTITY of your participation. I will be looking for the extent to which your participation reveals a close reading and analytical thinking about the class material. Certainly seminars are not occasions for presenting uninformed opinions even if they relate to the topic under discussion. You will be expected to, and indeed called upon, to relate your interventions to the readings and/or other credible, preferably scholarly, sources of information.
EVALUATION AND GRADES
Grades will be determined using the following criteria:
Three Mini Essays (20 points each) 60 points
Two (or two best) Discussion Questions (10 points each) 20 points
Attendance and Participation 20 points
TOTAL FOR COURSE 100 points
The grading scale for the course will be as follows:
90+ = A; 80 - 89= B; 70-79= C; 60-69= D; below 60= F.
COURSE POLICIES
I expect regular class attendance of course, which is particularly critical for a seminar class. Missing even one class, unless it is for documentable reasons and allowed for by University policy, will have serious learning consequences. I will certainly penalize absences. More than three absences from scheduled class meetings will automatically result in a failing grade. If you miss a class, whatever your reasons for doing so, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to arrange to meet or call a classmate and find out what happened in that class.
PLEASE NOTE: I do not give extensions on paper deadlines or other assignment deadlines, except in cases allowed for by University Policy. I do not offer the option of an incomplete or “IP” at the end of the course, unless warranted by exceptional emergency situations.
Plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated, and will result in failing the course. Please consult the section on “Academic Integrity” in the NAU Policy Statements appended to this syllabus for further details. IT IS THE STUDENTS' RESPONSIBILITY TO FAMILIARIZE HERSELF/HIMSELF WITH THESE MATTERS AS DEFINED BY THE UNIVERSITY.
PROVISIONAL COURSE SCHEDULE
SECTION ONE British Colonialism
JUNE 1st Course Introductions
AND screening of MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (henceforth MWWBK)
JUNE 2nd Preliminary Historical Background
Readings
1. Metcalf and Metcalf, Chapters One through Four
2. Look over Outlines 1 and 2 on the course web page.
Come prepared with questions to initiate and participate in discussions about South Asian history, or to suffer a VERY LONG LECTURE.
JUNE 3rd Discussion: History, Empire, and Cinema
Discussion of MWWBK, Empire and Race in the context of the following readings:
1. Robert A. Rosenstone, “History in Images History in Words: Reflecting on the Possibility of Really Putting History onto Film,” in Visions of the Past: The Challenge of Film to Our Idea of History. Harvard: Harvard University Press, 1998. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/rosenstonefilmhistory.pdf
2. Bernard S. Cohn “Introduction” in Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge: The British in India. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996, pp. 3-15. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/CohnIntroduction.pdf
3. Francis Hutchins, "Concepts of Indian Character." in The Illusion of Permanence: British Imperialism in India. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1967, pp. 53-78. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/Concepts_of_indian_character.pdf
Recommended
4. Edward Said, "Introduction" in Kim. New York: Penguin Books, 1987, pp. 7-46. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/SaidIntroductionKim.pdf
ASSIGNMENT
Discussion Questions on Film, History, Colonialism and its Representations Due.
SECTION TWO Early Nationalist Responses
JUNE 8TH Historical Background
Readings
1. Metcalfs, Chapter Five
2. Sumit Sarkar, “Introduction” and “Chapter Two: c.1870-1917.” From Popular Movements and Middle Class Leadership in late Colonial India: Perspectives and Problems from a History from Below. Calcutta: K.P. Bagchi and Sons, 1983. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/SarkarPopularmovements.pdf
If time permits, start screening Home and the World
JUNE 9TH Selective Screening Home and the World
ASSIGNMENT
FIRST ESSAY on Colonialism, History and Film Due.
JUNE 10TH Gender and Early Nationalism
Discuss Home and the World in the context of the following readings:
1. Nicholas Dirks, “The Home and the World: The Invention of Modernity in Colonial India.” in Robert Rosenstone ed. Revisioning History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995, pp. 44-63. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/Dirkshomeandworld.pdf
2. Sumanta Banerjee “Marginalization of Women’s Popular Culture in Nineteenth Century Bengal” in Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid ed. Recasting Women. Delhi: Kali for Women, 1989. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/Banerjeewomenspopculture.pdf
3. Rosalind O’Hanlon, “Introduction” to A Comparison Between Women and Men: Tarabai Shinde and the Critique of Gender Relations in Colonial India. Delhi: Oxford University Press. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/OhanlonIntroduction.pdf
ASSIGNMENT
Discussion Questions on Gender and Early Nationalism, especially as represented in Ghare Baire.
SECTION THREE Era of Mass Nationalism
JUNE 15TH Gandhi Selective Screening
JUNE 16TH Gandhi’s India
Readings
1. Metcalfs Chapter Six.
2. David Hardiman “Father of the Nation” in Gandhi in His Time and Ours. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/hardimangandhigender.pdf
3. Shahid Amin “Gandhi as Mahatma” in Selected Subaltern Studies. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988, pp. 288-350. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/AminGandhiasMahatma.pdf
JUNE 17TH Gandhi and his Others: Jinnah
Jinnah Selective Screening.
ASSIGNMENT
ESSAY TWO on Gender, Nationalism, and Film Due.
JUNE 22nd Discussion: Gandhi and Jinnah in their historical context.
Reading
David Hardiman “Fighting Religious Hatreds” in Gandhi in His Time and Ours. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003, pp. 156-197. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/Hardimanreligioushatred.pdf
ASSIGNMENT
Discussion Questions on Gandhi and Jinnah due.
SECTION FOUR Partition JUNE 23rd Historical Background to Partition
Readings
1. Metcalfs Chapter Seven.
2. Asim Roy “The High Politics of India’s Partition” Modern Asian Studies 24, 2, 1990. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/asimroyhighpolitics.pdf
3. Urvashi Butalia, "Abducted and Widowed Women: Questions of Sexuality and Citizenship During Partition,"in Meenakshi Thapan, ed., Embodiment: Essays on Gender and Identity. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1997. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/butaliaabductedwomen.pdf
4. Ritu Menon and Kamla Bhasin “Speaking for Themselves: Partition History, Women’s Histories” in Borders and Boundaries: Women and India’s Partition. Delhi: Kali for Women, 1998, pp. 1-64. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/Menon_BhasinHonourablydead.pdf AND http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/MenonBhasinSpeakingforthemselves.pdf
JUNE 24TH Selective Screening of Earth
ASSIGNMENT
ESSAY THREE on Gandhi and Indian Nationalism Due
JUNE 29th Selective Screening of Silent Waters
JUNE 30th END OF TERM DISCUSSION History, Fiction, Film?
ASSIGNMENT
Discussion Questions on Partition, History and Film Due (Mandatory for ALL STUDENTS)