Department of
Asian Languages &
Literatures
453 Folwell Hall
9 Pleasant St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455

E-mail: all@umn.edu

South Asian Literary and Cultural Studies

Curriculum

The curriculum incorporates traditional approaches of classical philology and contemporary literary and cultural studies for the study of South Asia. It also allows for comparative engagements with other literary traditions, especially those of other Asian regions and those that have otherwise historically intersected with Indian forms of thought and practice in ancient or modern times. We also engage with the historical constitution of the region, how it has related to other geographies, and the consequences this has had for the way in which South Asia figures in the world of knowledge today.

Approaches

Just as advanced study in Asian Languages and Literatures does not exclude classical approaches to literary study (of whichever region), it also does not exclude contemporary theoretical reflections on questions of cultural form, representation, history, power, language and media that have arisen transnationally. Whatever the approach, courses are designed to advance reading in primary texts, evaluating commentaries, producing translations and attaining proficient knowledge of social, cultural and political contexts relevant to the objects of study. We also encourage research in areas that are emergent and so far have not had much support in more traditional area studies programs. Included here is work that bridges media (such as film and literature), involves linkages betweens regions (on account of migration or media distribution), and intersects disciplines (more below), or reflects contemporary issues of gender (involving issues of representation and political ideologies)

Disciplines

We encourage disciplinary alignments beyond simply Asian studies, such as comparative literary, cultural, feminist, or media studies. Conversely, it is possible for both undergraduate and graduate students in other departments at the university to minor in Asian Languages and Literatures if their studies involve focusing on any one of the languages or literatures offered.

ALCM Faculty

  • Catherine Asher, Associate Professor
    Indo-Islamic art and architecture, early modern culture, art and society
  • Jigna Desai, Associate Professor
    South Asian diaspora, contemporary film and media, gender and sexuality
  • Keya Ganguli, Associate Professor
    Indian film studies, film theory, Marxism, media and cultural studies
  • Richa Nagar, Associate Professor
    Feminism and politics in South Asia, transnational social formations, NGOs
  • Ravi Prasad, Lecturer
    Hindi language and linguistics
  • Guriqbal (Bali) Sahota, Assistant Professor
    Hindi/Urdu, intellectual history, romanticism, modernity, religion and politics
  • Simona Sawhney, Associate Professor
    Sanskrit/Hindi, South Asian literature, literary and textual theory, political thought, gender
  • Ajay Skaria, Associate Professor
    Gandhian thought, postcolonial theory, subaltern studies, historiography, environmental history

Non-Affiliated South Asia Faculty

Resources and Activities

In conjunction with ALL and ALCM, there are a handful of established institutions at the University of Minnesota that foster research and activities that relate to South Asia scholarship.