ENROLL

Seungjoo Yoon

At what point can we talk about the formation of China as an organized political entity? What did it mean to be a Chinese at different points in time? This course is an introduction to the history of China from its beginnings to the end of the Han dynasty in 220. Students will examine the emergence of philosophical debates on human nature, historical consciousness of time and recording, and ritual theories in formation. Students will focus on the interplay between statecraft and religion, between ethnicity and identity, and between intellectual (e.g., Confucianism) and socio-cultural history (e.g., feminine and popular mentalities).

Amna Khalid

At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947 India and Pakistan, two new nation states emerged from the shadow of British colonialism. This course focuses on the political trajectories of these two rival siblings and looks at the ways in which both states use the other to forge antagonistic and belligerent nations. While this is a survey course it is not a comprehensive overview of the history of the two countries. Instead it covers some of the more significant moments of rupture and violence in the political history of the two states. The first two-thirds of the course offers a top-down, macro overview of these events and processes whereas the last third examines the ways in which people experienced these developments. We use the lens of gender to see how the physical body, especially the body of the woman, is central to the process of nation building. We will consider how women’s bodies become sites of contestation and how they are disciplined and policed by the postcolonial state(s).

Ahoo Najafian

From the Islamic state to Islamic secularism, from progressivism to jihadism, this course examines a broad range of Islamic political thought and practice. Through exploring thinkers and movements both classical and modern who have shaped contemporary conversation, students will get beneath the headlines and come to a robust understanding of the role of Islam in modern politics across the globe.