HIS-30131 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2021/22

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2021/22

If I was to say sex and South Asia what comes to mind? Do you think of the Kama Sutra, an ancient sex manual, do you see a place where four countries have been led by women or do you see South Asian women as victims: of rape, honour killings and forced marriages. Did you know that India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have all been led, at some time in recent history, by women. Both images are accurate to a degree and have deep roots in the colonial past before 1947 and in the recent history of the India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This module will study a series of sites where sexuality has been constructed, defined, changed and debated in the Indian subcontinent. Examples of such sites include the borders of partitioned countries, the corridors of power, the film studio and the institution of marriage. This will help us to understand better the ways in which female identity has been constructed and challenged in independent India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. We will look at these sites through film, case studies, group discussion and debate as, as you can imagine, cover a wide timespan from the colonial to contemporary period.

- To introduce students to key themes relating to the changing position of women in South Asian society, and the different impacts of colonialism, nationalism and post-colonial developments on their status and lived experience;
- To introduce students to transgender and queer histories of South Asian;
- To develop students' analysis of the intellectual influences of postcolonial, subaltern and feminist theory on the history of sexual conflict in South Asia;
- To develop an understanding of the relationship between race, class, caste, religion and gender;
- To develop an understanding of the wider significance of gender and sexuality in South Asian history.

Intended Learning Outcomes

recognise and explain changes in sexual and gender identity in South Asia;: 1,2
evaluate the relationship between race, class, caste, religion and gender;: 1,2
appreciate the insights that non-Western histories offer to challenge conventional approaches to the history of sexuality and gender;: 1,2
relate case studies and examples of historical change to each other and to broader thematic issues of colonial and postcolonial South Asian society;: 1,2
distinguish between and critically evaluate different academic interpretations and explanations for the events being studied, including from other disciplines other than history;: 1,2
develop the capacity for independent thought and communicate such thoughts clearly and effectively through written assessment.: 1,2
engage critically with postcolonial, subaltern and feminist histories of sexual conflict in South Asia;: 1,2

Study hours

12 x two-hour sessions = 24
12 x 1 hour writing and co-creating workshop = 12
50 hours seminar preparation
64 hours research and writing and/or creating assessment submission

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment