Bengali courses
Hindi courses
Sanskrit courses
Tamil courses
South Asian Studies courses
Director of undergraduate studies: Sara Shneiderman, Rm. 126, 10 Sachem St., 436-4270, sara.shneiderman@yale.edu
FACULTY ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM OF SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES
Professors Akhil Amar (Law School), Tim Barringer (History of Art), Vasudha Dalmia (Religious Studies), Nihal de Lanerolle (School of Medicine), Michael Dove (Forestry & Environmental Studies, Anthropology), Sara Suleri Goodyear (English), Phyllis Granoff (Religious Studies), Inderpal Grewal (Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies), Kalyanakrishnan Sivaramakrishnan (Anthropology), Shyam Sunder (School of Management), Steven Wilkinson (Political Science)
Associate Professors Karuna Mantena (Political Science), Sarah Weiss (Music)
Assistant Professors Ashwini Deo (Linguistics), Mayur Desai (Public Health), Zareena Grewal (Ethnicity, Race, & Migration), Shital Pravinchandra (English), Andrew Quintman (Religious Studies), Kishwar Rizvi (History of Art), Tamara Sears (History of Art), Sara Shneiderman (Anthropology), Tariq Thachil (Political Science), Mark Turin (Adjunct)
Senior Lecturers Carol Carpenter (Forestry & Environmental Studies, Anthropology), Geetanjali Singh Chanda (Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies), Koichi Shinohara (Religious Studies)
Lecturers Harry Blair (Political Science), Hugh Flick, Jr. (Religious Studies), Elizabeth Hanson (Political Science), Sana Haroon, Juned Shaikh
Senior Lector Seema Khurana
Lectors David Brick, Swapna Sharma, Blake Wentworth
The program in South Asian Studies combines the requirements of a discipline-based first major with significant course work in South Asian studies. South Asian Studies can be taken only as a second major. The major is intended to provide students with a broad understanding of the history, culture, and languages of South Asia, as well as the region's current social, political, and economic conditions. Work in a discipline-based major coupled with a focus on South Asia prepares students for graduate study, employment in nongovernmental organizations, or business and professional careers in which an understanding of the region is essential.
The South Asian Studies major permits students to choose courses from a wide range of disciplines. Individual programs should have a balance between courses in the humanities and those in the social sciences. The proposed course of study must be approved each term by the director of undergraduate studies. Students should also identify an adviser from the South Asian Studies faculty in their area of specialization as early as possible.
Permission to complete two majors must be secured from the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing. Application forms are available from the residential college deans and must be submitted prior to the student's final term.
Requirements of the major In addition to fulfilling the requirements of the primary major, a student choosing South Asian Studies as a second major must complete seven term courses in South Asian Studies numbered 200 or above. At least two of the seven courses must address premodern South Asia, and at least two should be seminars. Students may petition the director of undergraduate studies to include one relevant course from another department or program; approval may require additional course work on South Asian topics. Students must also complete the senior requirement and meet the major's language requirement. A maximum of one course taken Credit/D/Fail may count toward the major.
Language requirement One South Asian language must be studied at the advanced level (courses designated L5). Courses to fulfill this requirement must be taken while the student is enrolled at Yale. Students who matriculate with advanced proficiency in Hindi or Tamil, as demonstrated through testing, are encouraged to study Sanskrit, or to study a second modern language (Bengali, Urdu, Nepali, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi) through the Directed Independent Language Study program. Students may request substitution of another appropriate language (e.g., Persian or Arabic) for the core language requirement, and they are encouraged to pursue intensive language study through courses or work abroad.
Senior requirement The senior requirement may be fulfilled by completion of a seminar that culminates in a senior essay. Alternatively, the requirement may be fulfilled by completion of a one-credit, two-term senior research project in SAST 491, 492. The senior essay should be a substantial paper with a maximum length of 8,000 words for one term and 10,500 words for two terms. The use of primary materials in the languages of the region is encouraged in senior essay projects.
REQUIREMENTS OF THE MAJOR
Prerequisites None
Number of courses 7 term courses (not incl senior req or lang req)
Distribution of courses 7 term courses in South Asian Studies numbered 200 or above, 2 in premodern; 2 sems
Substitution permitted One relevant course in another dept, with DUS permission
Language requirement Study in a South Asian lang through L5 level
Senior requirement Senior essay in sem, or research project in SAST 491, 492
