Lecture and discussion on the novel as it arose on the Indian subcontinent during the 19th and 20th centuries, using English translations and original works in English. Critical discussion of the novel as a modern genre adapted to local conditions and coexisting with older traditions of writing. Examines the novel as a window on Indian modernities. Interpretation of Indian society, culture, and history through literature.

This course examines a range of novels from South Asia including realist, experimental, graphic novels, eco-fiction, and film adaptations. We will read novels or excerpts set during British colonial rule by British writers (Kipling, Forster, Orwell); early examples of novels by Indian writers (Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan); novels in English by writers who came to global attention after winning the Booker Prize (Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Aravind Adiga); and works in translation by novelists writing in Indian regional languages. The pace of the reading privileges quality over quantity, and therefore excerpts may be used in place of some full texts.We will consider issues of identity, religion, caste, gender, politics, the nation, and migration. The course will examine how the South Asian novel mediates tradition and modernity, selfhood and society, in a deeply diverse culture.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills