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Semester 1
Credits
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Foundation Course 1
4 -
Foundation Course 2
4 -
An Introduction to History and the Historian’s Craft
4
The course has a two pronged purpose: To dispel the perception that History is a subject merely involving dates, names and events that are meant to be memorized, remembered and reproduced; and thereafter to discuss History as a discipline, the methods of History and the Historian’s craft wherein the importance of facts are not merely stressed in isolation but in context.
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Human Civilizations
4
This course will engage students with the story of Human evolution, origin and development of civilization in a broad archaeological and historical context. We will analyse geographical, political, economic, religious and social structures of ancient civilisation with focused attention on Mesopotamia, India, Egypt, China and Europe. The course is designed to create an understanding of the earliest cities, states, kingdoms and empires that developed in different parts of the world.
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16
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Semester 2
Credits
-
Foundation Course 3
4 -
Foundation Course 4
4
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Entangled Histories
4
The course intends to introduce the students to new trends in history and would attempt to enable them to identify linkages, patterns and shifts across regions and chronological periods. Embracing the Braudelian tradition of history in the longue durée, the course seeks to identify the features of multiple global cultural and economic networks which existed prior to the emergence of colonial and imperialist structures. The course envisages to introduce the students to the methodological framework of connected histories with a focus on flows of materials, people and knowledge along trans-border circulations (albeit asymmetrically) by probing encounters and exchanges based on trade, migration, religion and empire-building.
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The Middle Ages in Europe
4
The one thousand years between the collapse of antiquity and the emergence of modernity was described, until some years ago, as the dark ages. While there may have been some reasons for this description insofar as Western Europe was concerned, the rest of the world during this time had witnessed advances in the various walks of life. And yet, Europe too witnessed changes and such changes of far reaching nature that impacted the course of the world in later years. The feudal society, which took shape in Western Europe since the Eighth Century CE, turned out to be the terrain for the transition to modernity. This, indeed, was the ground on which the Renaissance blossomed and the Catholic Church was challenged and was eventually re-invented. The economy was characterized by men who controlled large manors and lorded over serfs; roads and other communication means had broken down. This was the status of Europe at a time when the East had reached high levels of culture and developed long distance trade in goods. Feudalism, as we understand in History was the socio-economic system that marked Europe in the Middle ages.
This course will delve into the essential features of Feudalism as a mode of production, role played by the Catholic Church in this, causes for the collapse of Feudalism in Western Europe, and what is known in history as Second Feudalism outside Western Europe
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16
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Semester 3
Credits
-
Foundation Course 5
4
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Elective 1-a
4
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Elective 1-b
4
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Rise of Modern West: Social and Economic History of Early Modern Europe
4
The times we live in, indeed, is one where technology dominates our thoughts and science claims the prime of place. The Copernican Revolution altered the way we see planet earth and others around us and Issac Newton’s invention of the law of gravity explains why things fall down as different from what human beings believed as its cause. Charles Darwin is not considered to be banished any longer. All these, however, were not the case even until a few hundred years ago. The transition from Feudalism to Capitalism, as it happened in Western Europe was accompanied by such thinking and led to discoveries as well as inventions that turned the world upside down. Rather, as Christopher Hill presented it, the world began to be seen upside down by the people and that is what the changes in Western Europe induced into civilizations across the world. This course, which is compulsory to those opting for a Major in History will also be offered as an Elective to those in other Liberal Arts Majors and seek to expose them to the historical roots of the contemporary globalized world.
The lectures will delve into the events and the context when the Catholic faith was challenged by Martin Luther as much as the spirit of adventure and the necessity that drove sailors to set out on expeditions in both a chronological framework as much as by locating the events in the larger frame of interactions, parallelisms, and incongruities in the historical and cultural patterns of diverse societies and civilizations. The course aims to develop an understanding of modes and patterns of historical change, and provides a perspective on the complex ways in which the legacy of the past shapes our present.
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Age of Conquistador – European Expansion in Latin America and Africa and the Liberation Movements
4
The focus of this course is on the early expansion of Europe, process of colonization and its consequences on the colonized societies, national liberation movements in Latin America and Africa. The course will also examine the motives for European exploration, the process of conquest and colonialism; understand how colonization led to the practice of slavery; impact of slave trading on societies in Africa and Latin America.
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20
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Semester 4
Credits
-
Foundation Course 6
4
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Elective 2-a
4
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Elective 2-b
4
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History of China and Japan
4
This course will familiarize students with the modern history of two important East Asian nations- China and Japan, changes in the political system, economic structures, and social organisation from the Opium War to the events leading to the World War II. In the case of China, course deals with the attempts by the Qing state to introduce reforms, communist movement, rise of Mao Tse tung, Chinese revolution and its consequences; in regards to Japan the course covers the rise of Meiji state and development of Japanese imperialism.
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The Age of Revolutions and Decolonisation
4
Late 18th century saw revolution as a powerful dynamic to transform society in parts of Europe, USA and Russia, resulting in both progress and conflict. The course will examine the tremendous era of change which had worldwide implications. In this course students will cover American War of Independence, French Revolution, Russian Revolution and examine the factors which caused the outbreak of revolution and rebellion, followed by interwar Europe, important political and ideological development in Europe. The course will also explore the political violence in interwar Europe, rise of Fascism, Nazism and the power dynamics that grew at global level. The course terminates will terminate with a discussion on some of the important 20th century national liberation movements.
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20
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Semester 5
Credits
-
Early India
4
This course will deal with the history of Indian subcontinent from the Paleolithic times to the development of early empires. We will begin this course by discussing the evolution of Stone Age cultures and the emergence of an early state in the Indus Valley using archaeological sources. The course will also probe the early social formations of the Indian Subcontinent from 2900 BCE to the Seventh-eighth centuries CE while also introducing the students to the historiographical debates on ‘Indo- Aryan’ Culture, the emergence of heterodox sects, second urbanization, Iron Technology and its social impact, and the emergence of empire-systems in the Gangetic valley.
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The Early Medieval in Indian History
4
This course will examine the main themes that shaped the history of Indian subcontinent from 700 to 1400 C.E. The focus here will be on the various features of the early medieval society; formation of regional and local states, shaping of regional identities in different regions of the subcontinent. We will identify and describe the institutions which were crucial in bringing the transformation from Ancient to early medieval society and the multiplicity of power in the subcontinent region.
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Medieval India: Society and Politics
4
This course shall familiarise students with the state and society of late medieval India starting with the establishment and expansion of Delhi sultanate to the coming of Mughals and the consolidation of various local identities. We will engage with debate among the historians over nature of Indian feudalism and the decline of Mughal state. The course also provides a critique of social, religious, and economic condition of the people of medieval India.
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Development of India as a Colonial Economy
4
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Consolidation of British Rule and anti-British Rebellions
4
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20
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Semester 6
Credits
-
Politics in India: From Plassey to Partition (1757-1947)
4
This course will focus on ‘modern Indian history’ that stretches from the British conquest of India to Indian independence. We will study the characterization of 18th century India by different schools of historians, the implications of the 18th century Dark Age theory to Indian history. The course will deal with colonialism, capitalism, imperialism and nationalism in the context of the period covered in the course. We will study the British revenue policies- origins and consequences; types of revenue/tenurial systems; three stages of colonialism; deindustrialization, commercialisation of agriculture and their impact in the rural economy; and the mode of production debate on India. We shall study the formation of all India community of English educated intellectuals and the educational policies of the British; 19th century socio- religious reform movements- an assessment; the ideas on caste and the growth of caste reform movements in India. The course will also deal with civil rebellions in the early 19th century and emergence of discontent and the Revolt of 1857 – various historiographical perspectives; emergence of Indian nationalism- origin and growth during the 19th Century; history of anti-colonial struggles – 1905-11, 1920-22, 1930-34, and 1942. History of peasant and tribal movements; formation of working class in India; the history of trade union movements.
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Agrarian Struggles and Movements in India
4
The British economic policies in the nineteenth century India were characterized by the colonization forced on the Indian market, whose nature and structure was determined by the needs of Britain resulting in massive debt, dismal poverty, recurring famines, and impoverishment of peasantry. The changing economic relations and the colonial agrarian economy contributed to the peasant grievances, which found their expression in various rebellion and other movements. This course will examine the nature and methods of peasant struggle in colonial Indian and the colonial policies which contributed towards various movements.
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Society, Politics and Economy: India after Independence
4
This course will focus on ‘Contemporary India’ since country’s independence from the British colonial rule in 1947. It will deal with the features of Indian nationalism, ideology of the Indian nationalists and their imaginary of independent India, features of Nehruvian politics and ideology, socialism, the emergence of Indira Gandhi, emergency, Janata Party, Rajiv Gandhi Era and VP Singh Era. The course will also deal with the language, ethnic, caste and communal questions of contemporary India. The economic history of independent India will be briefly discussed in the course.
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Seminar Course (Gender/Caste/ Agrarian/Environmental/Economic History)
4
Each student, will arrive at a topic/research project in consultation with her/his faculty advisor in the department and work on an extended seminar paper during the semester on any one of the aspects listed here or a combination of those. The course will involve regular presentations before the class and submission of a long term-paper by the end of the semester. The evaluation will be on the basis of presentations, participation in the discussions while others present and also on the long term-paper.
This course will draw from a series of special lectures by visiting faculty invited to the department through the three years of the BA Program while the students will begin work on the seminar paper only towards the end of Semester V (of the respective batch). The seminar paper that ought to be submitted by the end of the semester (Semester VI) will be in the range of 3000 words and will consist of an introduction, the problem dealt with and a conclusion in addition to an extensive list of references, both primary and secondary sources.
The paper will be evaluated for a total of 100 marks by the faculty mentor allotted by the department at the beginning of the semester based on their area of expertise and the topic of the research project undertaken.
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16