South Asia is the land which gave birth to one of the world’s oldest civilisations – the Indus Valley civilisation, which was expanded all over the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent from the 4th to the 2nd millennium BC. This course aims to broaden students’ horizon on South Asian civilisation, which originated in various regions of the Indian subcontinent and whose influence extended all over South and Southeast Asia in different points of the history. The living heritages of the civilisation could still be found in places such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bali in Indonesia, Siem Reap in Cambodia, etc. Students will gain in-depth understanding on various issues related to South Asian history, culture, and society and enlighten their intellectual horizon.

DELIVERY MODE

• Hybrid (F2F & Online simultaneously)

COURSE OUTLINE

• Ancient South Asian history: Indus civilisation to Aryan invasion, Maurya to Gupta empire
• South Asian history during the medieval time: Delhi Sultanates to the Mughal empire
• Modern South Asia; The European invasion, colonisation and decolonisation
• Vedas, epic poetry (Mahābhārata and Rāmāyana), etc. and their legacy in modern times;
• South Asian society and culture, with consideration of various aspects of material life (cuisine, traditional dressing habits, etc.)

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Analyse the historical roots and cultural integrity of the South Asian civilisation.
2. Distinguish the diversity with unity among different nation states in South Asia.
3. Apply interdisciplinary methods to the study of South Asian civilisation through such subjects as history, literature, culture, etc. their major social, economic, political and cultural manifestations.