HIST 258: Imperial India
Fall 1997
Note: This is an old version
of the syllabus. For the current syllabus, click here.
Instructor: Professor Pinch
Class Hours: MWF, 1000-1050
Office Hours: Wednesday and Friday 1400-1600,
or by appointment (x2399; wpinch@wesleyan.edu)
This course surveys the history of Mughal and
British India, from about 1500 to 1900. The political frame is agrarian
empire in southern Asia under central Asians (the Mughals) and, later,
western Europeans (the British). The course focuses on political,
social, economic, and cultural change. Themes of particular interest
include caste and class; popular belief and religious orthodoxies; technology
and warfare; the sociology and culture of imperial rule; the structures
and dynamics of Eurasian, Indian Ocean, and Indian commerce; the evolution
of the imperial state; the customs of peasant life and agricultural production;
and gender politics. In addition to two formal texts (Spear and Chaudhuri)
which provide historical frameworks, students will read an absorbing variety
of contemporary primary documents -- including religious and bardic poetry,
travel accounts, traditional political chronicles, and popular fiction.
The thrice-weekly meetings will combine lectures and class discussion,
and will include a blend of video and documentary.
The following texts are required for the course
and are available at Atticus:
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Spear, A History of India, vol. 2
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Chaudhuri, Trade and Civilazation in the Indian
Ocean
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Songs of the Saints of India (ed. and trans.
Hawley and Juergensmeyer)
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Bernier (ed. and trans. Smith), Travels in the
Mughal Empire
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Mahomet (ed. Fisher), The Travels of Dean Mahomet
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Burton (ed. Kennedy), Goa and the Blue Mountains
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Hossain (ed. and trans. Jahan), Sultana’s Dream
Sudents are encouraged to supplement the readings
and lecture discussion with timely perusals of The Historical Atlas
of South Asia, two editions of which are located in the atlas cases
in the reference section of Olin Library. Map plate numbers (which
are linked to detailed prose in the second half of the volume) are indicated
in the schedule of readings and lectures, below, with the abbreviation
“HASA.” This historical atlas is, arguably, the best ever produced,
for any region; students will enhance their understanding of South Asian
history immeasurably by consulting it on a regular basis.
The grade for the course will be based upon student
accomplishment in the following areas (see the schedule of lectures and
readings for respective due dates):
1. Three in-class written examinations during
the course of the semester (10 % each)
2. Two 1000-word essays, based on the readings
(30% each)
3. The successful completion of an ungraded map
exercise, due on 19 September
4. Regular attendance to the lectures and active
participation in the discussion sessions (10%)
There is no final examination for the course.
Students may write a maximum of three essays; the two highest grades will
be used in the calculation of the final grade. Usually Fridays will
be given over to class discussion of the readings and lectures.
The three possible topics are to be based on the
primary source texts for the course (i.e., not Spear or Chaudhuri)
-
Option 1: Critical comment on Songs of the
Saints of India. Some possibilities: 1) examine a metaphor
or motif, choosing one or more poems from each figure; for example, longing
for a lover, weaponry and warfare, flora and fauna, servitude, death.
Or 2) probe the tension between historicity and hagiography exemplified
in the remembered lives (and works) of these poet-saints. How are
they remembered? Due 22 September.
-
Option 2: Compare the accounts of Bernier and
Mahomet, Mahomet and Burton, or Bernier and Burton, or all three together.
Due either 14 November (Bernier-Mahomet) or 24 November (Mahomet-Burton
or Bernier-Mahomet-Burton).
-
Option 3: A discussion of pardah [purdah],
based on Hossain, Sultana's Dream and Selections from the Secluded Ones,
the film Spices (on reserve), and the other primary source texts
for the course (i.e., the Mughal chronicles, Burton, Bernier, Mahomet,
and Songs of the Saints of India). Due 8 December.
Schedule of Lectures and Readings:
5 Sep: Introductions
[note: Songs of the Saints of India
is the reading assignment for next week; students are advised to begin
reading it over the weekend]
PART I: Indian Society and the Mughal
Empire
8 Sep: Indian empires, Indian society
[Keep reading Songs of the Saints of India;
peruse HASA, sections III-V (pp. 13-43)]
10 Sep: Poetry, devotion, and hagiography
[Keep reading Songs of the Saints of India;
also consult HASA, V.5 and VI.A.4]
12 Sep: Discussion: Caste, class, and iconoclasts
[Songs of the Saints of India; have a
look at HASA, X.C (pp. 106-108)]
15 Sep: A Portuguese view of India: Vijayanagar
[“Narrative of Domingos Paes,” 236-290, on reserve
in Olin Library]
-
Much of Paes' account is descriptive of Vijayanagar’s
imperial “mahanavami” festival, known to us as “Navratri” -- or the nine
nights of the goddess. In this context, students are encouraged to
view the exhibit at the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies,
entitled Nine Nights of the Goddess: The Royal Navaratri Festival
at Vijayanagara, featuring photographs and drawings from the archive
of the Vijayanagara Research Project. The Center is at the corner
of Mount Vernon and Washington Terrace; the exhibit begins 16 September
and closes 14 December, 1997.
-
Students are also encouraged to attend a lecture
on 18 September by Professor David Dean Shulman of Hebrew University, Jerusalem,
entitled, “The Masked Goddess in the Mirror.” Shulman’s lecture takes
place at 8 p.m. in the Cinema (Center for the Arts), and is also part of
the annual Navratri celebrations on campus. He will discuss the mythology
of the goddesses Durga and Annapurna at the temple site of Lepakshi in
southern India.
17 Sep: A central Asian view of India: Hindustan
[Baburnama, 6-31, 310-362, on reserve;
also, be sure to enjoy the color plates in the bound edition of this text,
also on reserve. And remember, for interested students, Shulman’s
lecture is tomorrow evening.]
19 Sep: Discussion: War, goods, and culture
[Discussion is based on the reserve readings
for this week; NOTE: map exercises are due today]
22 Sep: The early Indo-Timurids (a.k.a. “Mughals”):
Babur, Humayun, and Akbar
[Spear, 11-39; Gul badam begum, email -- about
15 pp.; and consult HASA, VI.A.1; NOTE: Songs of the Saints
paper due today]
24 Sep: Akbar’s imperial innovations: a cult
of personality?
[Spear, 40-51; Abul Fazl and Badauni selections,
via email or on web -- about 26 pp.; and consult HASA, VI.A.2]
26 Sep: Discussion/Video: The padshah
and the body politic
29 Sep: Courtly life along the Delhi-Agra axis
[Spear, 52-60; Bernier, 200-299; and consult
HASA VI.A.3 and VI.A.5]
1 Oct: Rumors, folklore, and superstition
3 Oct: Discussion on the “fabulous” nature of European
reportage
[based on the Bernier readings for the week]
6 Oct: The great rebellion of Aurangzeb
8 Oct: Regional pressures
[Bernier, 116-199, 350-428]
10 Oct: Examination I
PART II: Trade and Civilization in
the Indian Ocean
13 Oct: Indian Ocean trade before Europe
15 Oct: European Traders in the Indian Ocean
[Chaudhuri, 63-118; consult HASA, VI.B.1 - VI.B.5]
17 Oct: Discussion: Indian wealth and Europe
20 Oct: Structures of trade: Sea, land, ships,
and caravans
22 Oct: Structures of trade: Commodities, capital,
men, and money
24-27 Oct: Fall Break
29 Oct: Discussion and Review: Mughal India
and Europe Reconsidered
31 Oct: Examination II
PART III: Indian Society and the British
Empire
3 Nov: Mughal decentralization: Imperial
decline or maturation?
[Spear, 70-80; start reading Travels of Dean
Mahomet; consult HASA, VII.A.1]
5 Nov: The British in Bengal
[Spear, 81-92; continue reading Travels of
Dean Mahomet]
7 Nov: Discussion: Dean Mahomet in India
[focus on Travels of Dean Mahomet, xiii-xxii,
1-133; HASA, VII.A.2]
10 Nov: Discussion: Dean Mahomet in Ireland
and England
[focus on Travels of Dean Mahomet, 135-181]
12 Nov: Military conquest and land settlement
[Spear, 93-105; HASA, VII.A.3 - VII.A.6]
14 Nov: Technologies of colonial control
[Spear, 106-128; NOTE: Bernier-Mahomet
paper due today]
17 Nov: Race and religion: Hindu, Muslim, and
Christian
19 Nov: The beginnings of colonial anthropology
21 Nov: Discussion: Hill stations and the British
raj
24 Nov: British dominion and the “princely states”
[Spear, 129-144; view Shatranj ke Khilari
[The Chess Players], by the late, great Satyajit Ray, on reserve; NOTE:
Mahomet-Burton or Bernier-Burton-Mahomet paper due today]
26 Nov: Discussion: 1857, Sepoy mutiny or national
revolution?
[Embree (ed.), 1857 in India, on reserve;
HASA, VII.B (pp. 60-62)]
28 Nov: Thanksgiving recess
1 Dec: Aftermath of revolt
[Spear, 145-157; HASA, VII.A (pp. 63-64);
begin reading Hossain, Sultana’s Dream (for Friday’s discussion)]
3 Dec: Towards a national consciousness
[Spear, 158-168; HASA, VII.C.1]
5 Dec: Discussion: men and women
[Hossain, Sultana’s Dream, vii-xii, 1-89;
view the film, Spices, on reserve]
8 Dec: Loose ends [NOTE: Pardah paper
due today]
10 Dec: Examination III