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3 credit hours M.W. 2:00 -3:15 238 Meredith Dr. Ramesh Dhussa Geography Department for the Study of Culture and Society Office; Howard 124 Telephone: 271- 3974 e-mail-ramesh.dhussa@drake.edu Office Hours: MW 11:00 -12:40 TTH 10:00- 10:50
Course description: This course critically inquires into various aspects of cultural and regional geography of South Asia. This seminar type structure (Vigorous student participation and active interaction) of this course is aimed at gaining an in-depth geographic insight and understanding of the cultural realm of South Asia. While the entire realm of South Asia will be examined, the emphasis of the course is on India. Some of the important topics considered are cultural geography of South Asia, political framework and happenings, historical geography, various aspects of cultural landscapes, the way of life of the people of this realm and their association with the physical environment. Religious diversity, linguistic mosaic, social structure, and caste system will also be included in our discussion.
Goals: This course should enable us to begin to make sense of the major geographical patterns, processes, issues and problems related with religious, ethnic, and linguistic diversity, the modernization process, economic development, population, resources, interrelationships between South Asian nations, and the impact of external forces and linkages.
Required Text: 1. Dutt, Ashok K. and M. Margaret Geib, Atlas of South Asia: A Geographic Analysis by Countries. New Delhi: Oxford and IBH Publications, 1998. 2. Packages and several handouts in the class. 3. Reading materials kept in the reserve section of the Library.
OUTSIDE READING RECOMMENDATION: 1. Norton, James, H.K. India and South Asia (Fifth Edition), Guilford, Connecticut: McGraw Hill-Dushkin Companies, 2001. 2. Akhtar, Rais, Contemporary Approaches to Indian Geography, New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation, 1997. 3. Tirtha, Ranjit. Emerging India: A Geographical Introduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Conpub, 1992. 4. Farmer, B.H., An Introduction to South Asia. 2nd edition. New York: Routledge, 1993. 5. Prithwish Nag and Smita Sen Gupta, Geography of India, New Delhi: Concept Publications. 1992. 6. C.D.Deshpande. India: A Regional Interpretation. New Delhi: Indian Council of Social Science, 1992. 7. Jayamala, Deddee (Ed). Emerging Trends in Indian Geography, Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 1991.
Reading assignments:
Examinations and quizzes:
The exam schedule is as follows Midterm Exam I 5th week, Wednesday, Feb. 20th Midterm Exam II 11th week, Wednesday, April 3rd Final Exam Thursday, May 16th 9:30-11:20 Policy about make-up Make-up is limited to one. Make-up for the examination will be given on the last day of the class i.e. on Wednesday, May 8th. The make-up examination will be of different version. If you miss an examination and intend to make up please provide me immediately a 5x3 card giving the details of why you missed the examination (Only compelling medical or personal emergencies justify a make-up).
Grading: Your grade will be determined as follows: 1. 3 exams - 50 x 3 150 points 2. Class projects and discussions 25 X 4 100 points 3. Map assignment (due by March 11) 20 points 4. Literary geog. of South Asia 40 points 5. Film media interpretation 15 X 2 30 points 6. Homework assignment tests 20 X 5 100 points 7. Class Participation & Attendance 60 points
Grand total 500 Points PLEASE NOTE All the group projects must be accompanied by a statement clearly explaining the proportionate contribution towards the completion of the assignment.by each member of the group. This statement must be signed by all members of the group. If any member has any objection to the statement it must be resolved among the members themselves before the submission of the project. After the project is submitted no explanation will be accepted
50% points will be deducted for the late submission of any assignment or project. A letter grade will be assigned as follows: A - 90% to 100% B - 80% to 89% C - 70% to 79% D - 60% to 69% F - 59% or less
Class Attendance: You are expected to attend regularly and attendance will be taken Problems: If you have any problems during the course of this semester, come in and see me. I encourage you to come early. There is little I can do for you in the 15th week.
RELEVANT WEBSITES FOR SOUTH ASIA http://www.wisc.edu/southasia/ http://asia.cnn.com/ASIA/south/frameset.exclude.html http://www.ddindia.net http://www.samachar.com http://www.desiworld.com http://www.indiainfo.com http://www.jadoo.com http://www.thenewspapertoday.com/index.shtml http://www.desiworld.com/ http://www.jadoo.com/
ADDITIONAL READING RECOMMENDATION:
1. Bhardwaj, S. M. Hindu Places of Pilgrimage in India. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. 2. Johnson, B.L.C. Bangladesh. Totowa, N.J.: Barnes and Noble, 1982. 3. Johnson, B.L.C. Sri Lanka, Land, People, and Economy. London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1981. 4. Karan, P.P. Himalayan Kingdoms: Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal. Princeton, N.J.: Van Nostrand, 1963. 5. Spare, O.H.K., and A.T.A. Learmonth India and Pakistan: A General and Regional Geography. New Delhi, India: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1984. 6. Isenberg, Irwin (ed.) The Nations of Indian Subcontinent. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1974. 7. Schwartzberg, J. A Historical Atlas of South Asia. (Second edition) Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992. 8. Sopher, David E. An Exploration of India: A Geographical Perspective on Society and Culture. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1980. 9. Tirtha, Ranjith. Society and Development in Contemporary India: Geographical Perspectives. Detroit: Harlo Press, 1980. 10. Bandyopadhyay, Pranab. Hindu Faith and Religion. New Delhi: South Asia Books, 1987. 11. Kublin, Hyman. India. (Revised edition) Houghton Mifflin Company, 1973. 12. Lamb, Beatrice Pitney. India: A World in Transition. (Fourth edition) New York: Praeger Publishers, 1976. 13. Naele, Walter C., and John Adams. India. (Second edition) New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1976. 14. Basham, A.L. The Wonder That Was India. Bombay: Orient Longmans Limited, 1963. 15. Noble, Allen G., and Ashok K. Dutt (eds.). India: Cultural Patterns and Processes. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1982. (Only the following four chapters from the above book) a. Gurdev S. Gosal, "The Spatial Variation of Indian Literacy" pp. 29-43. b. Janet P. Gemmill, "The City as Jungle in the Indo-English Novel" pp. 45-67. c. Allen G. Noble and Ramesh Dhussa, "Ethnic Neighborhoods in Indian Cities: The Paras of Dumka and the Bengali Tola of Bhagalpur" pp. 81-103. d. Asok Mitra, "Rural House Types and Village Settlement Patterns" pp. 105-124. e. Ramesh C. Dhussa and Surinder M. Bhardwaj. "Delhi asViewed by Expatriate Writers." The National Geographical Journal of India, Vol. 34, Pt. 1 (March, 1988) pp. 33-40.
USEFUL REFERENCE LIST India, A Reference Manual Pakistan Yearbook Census of India Census of Pakistan Quarterly Economic Review Bibliography of Asian Studies (Annual) Area Handbooks for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka Bibliography of South Asia
PERIODICALS/NEWSPAPERS India Today National Geographical Journal of India Pakistan Geographical Review Journal of Asian Studies Man in India Economic and Political Weekly The Times of India (Newspaper) The Statesman (Newspaper) The Illustrated Weekly of India The India Magazine India News (Govt. Pub.) The Indian Economic Review The Indian Economic and Social History Review The Pakistan Development Review Pakistan Economic and Social Review Pakistan Horizon Journal of Pakistan Historical Society Pakistan Pictorial Pakistan and Gulf Economist NEWSPAPERS ETC. India Abroad (Weekly) Bangladesh News (Occasional) It is strongly recommended that you watch PBS programs especially those are related to South Asia
WEEK 1. JAN 21-25. Introduction: Orienting to South Asia.
2. JAN.28- FEB. 1 South Asia as a Cultural Realm- A justification
3. FEB. 4-8 Political geography of South Asia : Emergence of states
4. FEB. 11-15 Historical geography of South Asia a. Indus Valley Period b. The Hindu Period
Class project and discussions 1 (Views of the U.S., India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan on the terrorist situation in South Asia)
5. FEB.18-22 Historical geography of South Asia The Moslem Era Home work assignment test 1.
FIRST MIDTERM EXAM. Wednesday, February20th
6. FEB.25- MARCH 1 Historical geography of South Asia a. The British Rule or Raj --The Maharajas b. Post Colonial Time --Kashmir Dispute
Home work assignment test 2.
7. MARCH 4-8 Physiographic features of Indian sub-continent (South Asia). A well defined physiographic region) Himalayas to Coastal Plains.
8. MARCH 11-15 Class project and and discussions 2 (Selected topics picked and selected by individual students)
Class project and discussions 3. (Group discussions on various aspects of Islam--"The Five Pillars of Islam")
Home work assignment test 3.
9. MARCH 18-22 SPRING RECESS
10. MARCH 25-29 Physiographic features of Indian sub-continent (South Asia). A well defined physiographic region) Himalayas to Coastal Plains
11. APRIL 1-5 Class project and and discussions 4 (Group discussions on various aspects of Islam--"Islam Today")
Class project and discussions 5. (Patterns of Rural population and urban centers distribution and their correlation with the physical environment of South Asia) Home work assignment test 4. 12. APRIL8-12- Climate of the Indian sub-continent (South Asia). "The Monsoon" Dynamics of the monsoon -The lifeblood of South Asia.
13. APRIL 15-19 Landscape in literature-A humanistic geography dimension Group discussions on readings A group project on a novel
SECOND MIDTERM EXAM. Wednesday, April 14th
14. APRIL 22-26 Religions of South Asia: Distribution and Impact on Political Organization Of space. Emergence of Pakistan.
Film-"Origins of India's Hindu Civilization" followed by group discussions. (Write one page group report)
Home work assignment test 5.
15 APRIL 29- MAY 3 Languages of South Asia. Problems of Communication. Film "Understanding Hindu Civilizations" followed by group discussions. (Write one page group report)
16.MAY 6-10 The social geography of South Asia. The "SCHEDULED" castes and their problems.
OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE (Day free for study-- Friday May 10th )
17. MAY 13-17 Finals week FINAL EXAM Thursday, May 16th, 9:30-11:20 p.m. |