South Asia and Family Turmoil: Challenges of Different Cultures Living Together

Our case study for the unit is India and the breakaway countries that surround it. We explore how the struggles within this region are reflected with the turmoil within the U.S. today. Central Question for the Unit: How can a minority group live within a larger one with peace and respect for all?

Course Lecture PowerPoint Slides and Other Materials

• Instructor Master PP Slides

• Student PP Slides

Course Lecture Video Recordings

• Music Video Overview of the Unit (4:16 minutes) Music: "Vande Mataram" performed by Sandesh Shandilya. (Click on this web link for the artist's website.) This is one of the first items we discuss in the class due to its controversial history. Read the lyrics from the Supplemental Learning options.

• (Video) Part One

• (Video) Part Two

• (Video) Part Three

• (Video) Part Four

Required Readings and Media

• Study Guide Questions for Assigned Readings and Media (Word)

• Gandhi and Nehru, Two Visions for India (PDF)

• Mitra, The Movement for Women's Emancipation Within the Bengali Muslim Community in India (PDF)

• O'Hanlon, India and the Untouchables (PDF)

• Talbot, Jinnah and the Making of Pakistan (PDF)

Unit Activities

• History Simulation India Conference

• Screenwriting History Online: India Conference

Supplemental Learning Materials (Not required for major exams)

• Afghanistan War: Firefight at Patrol Base Devoe (Video)

• Barstow and Raj, Caste Quotas in India Come Under Attack (PDF)

• Cox, India's Economy is Racing with China's (PDF)

• Easterbrook, Dr. Norman Borlaug: Father of the Green Revolution (PDF)

• Historpedia, Mohandas Gandhi: His Early Life through the Salt March (Web Page)

• Prominent Muslims Oppose Jamiat on Vande Mataram (PDF)

• Wikipedia, Vande Mataram: Historical Background, Controversy, and Lyrics (PDF)