Borders and Mobilities in Postcolonial South Asia
| Module title | Borders and Mobilities in Postcolonial South Asia |
|---|---|
| Module code | HIH3451 |
| Academic year | 2024/5 |
| Credits | 60 |
| Module staff | Dr Kalathmika Natarajan (Lecturer) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 16 |
|---|
Module description
Tracing contested borders and frontiers cleaved by Empire, this module examines histories of war, peace, and resistance in postcolonial South Asia. Drawing on the intertwined histories of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, we will study the cartographic anxieties and boundary-making practices that enumerate identity and shape mobilities in the region. We will adopt an intersectional approach that foregrounds caste, gender, race, religion and class and unsettles the nation-state's rigid, exclusionary borders. Spanning a range of topics including ethnic conflict, diplomacy and disputed territories, statelessness and citizenship, this module explores the postcolonial states and societies of South Asia.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The module will enable students to utilise interdisciplinary frameworks in postcolonial studies, diplomatic history, migration and borderland studies to better understand South Asia. You will be introduced to scholarship that challenges methodological nationalism and top-down approaches by putting forward a nuanced, intersectional agenda. Drawing on diverse sources including archival documents, diplomatic memoirs, biographies, fiction, translated works, and cinema, you will also be equipped to work with primary sources effectively and innovatively.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Identify the range of different sources available for a nuanced and sophisticated study of postcolonial South Asia and utilise them in written coursework, seminar discussions, and presentations.
- 2. Analyse postcolonial histories of diplomacy, identity and mobility in South Asia through a focus that is intersectional and cognizant of the hierarchies of race, caste, religion, gender, and class.
- 3. Describe and critique conceptual and theoretical frameworks that trace the making of borders, peace, and conflict in South Asia
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Analyse closely original sources and assess their reliability as historical evidence.
- 5. Comprehend complex historical texts.
- 6. Understand and deploy relevant historical terminology in a comprehensible and sophisticated manner
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Select, organise and analyse material for written work and/or oral presentations of different prescribed lengths and formats.
- 8. Present complex arguments orally.
- 9. Present an argument in a written form in a clear and organised manner, with appropriate use of correct English
- 10. Through essay development process, demonstrate ability to reflect critically on your own work, to respond constructively to feedback, and to implement suggestions and improve work on this basis
Syllabus plan
Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:
- Cartographic Anxiety and Territorial Conflict
- Political Violence
- Critical Histories of Kashmir
- Paper Regimes and Mobility
- Gendering South Asia
- Citizenship and Statelessness
- Partitions: Intertwining 1947 and1971
- Caste, Race, and International Relations
- Nuclear Nationalism
- Migration and Diaspora
- India-Pakistan Relations
- Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 88 | 512 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 88 | 44 x 2 hour seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 512 | Reading and preparation for seminars, coursework and presentations |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written work | 500-1,000 words | 1-7, 9-10 | Oral and written |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | 0 | 30 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | 70 | Portfolio of THREE or FOUR pieces of written work, totalling 8,000 words. At least one of these pieces will require students to engage with primary source material in a sustained and detail manner. | 1-7, 9-10 | Oral and written |
| Presentation | 30 | Individual, oral presentation. 20 minutes, + 10 minutes leading discussion, + supporting materials [equivalent total word count: 3,000 words] | 1-9 | Oral and written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | Portfolio assignment | 1-7, 9-10 | Referral/Deferral period |
| Presentation (20 minutes) | Written transcript (2,000 words + 1,000 word supporting materials) | 1-9 | Referral/Deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
The re-assessment consists of a 8,000 word portfolio of source work, as in the original assessment, but replaces the individual presentation with a written script that could be delivered in such a presentation and which is the equivalent of 30 minutes of speech (3,000 words).
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Abraham, Itty. How India became territorial: Foreign policy, diaspora, geopolitics. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2014.
Ahmed Asif, Manan, Where the Wild Frontiers Are: Pakistan and the American Imagination, Just World Books, 2011.
Ferdous, Sayeed, Partition as Border-Making: East Bengal, East Pakistan and Bangladesh, Routledge, 2022.
Jegathesan, Mythri, Tea and Solidarity: Tamil Women and Work in Postwar Sri Lanka, University of Washington Press, 2019.
Krishna, Sankaran. Postcolonial Insecurities: India, Sri Lanka, and the question of nationhood. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1999.
Leake, Elisabeth, The Defiant Border: The Afghan-Pakistan Borderlands in the Era of Decolonization, 1936–1965, Cambridge University Press, 2016.
Manchanda, Nivi, Imagining Afghanistan: The History and Politics of Imperial Knowledge, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.
Qasmi, Ali Usman, Qaum, Mulk, Sultanat: Citizenship and National Belonging in Pakistan, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2023
Ramnath, Kalyani, Boats in a Storm: Law, Migration and Decolonization in South and Southeast Asia, 1942-1962 Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2023
Sur, Malini, Jungle Passports: Fences, Mobility, and Citizenship at the Northeast India-Bangladesh Border, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021.
| Credit value | 60 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 30 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 14/02/2022 |
| Last revision date | 14/02/2022 |
