ASIAN 206 A: Literature and Culture of South Asia from Tradition to Modernity

Modern Literature of South Asia

Spring 2020

Prof. Jennifer Dubrow

This course introduces the modern literature of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc.) from the eighteenth century to the present. We will read a selection of novels, short stories, and poetry drawn from the diverse literary traditions of the region. Major readings include Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, short stories about the partition of India and other topics, Umrao Jan Ada, a novel about a nineteenth-century courtesan, and ghazal poetry. All works will be read in English translation. At the end of the course, we will have a class musha'irah (poetry recitation), in which students will present their own original English ghazals.