HIAB01021U MIS, South Asian Histories (E26)

Volume 2026/2027
Education

Bacheloruddannelsen i asienstudier (Indien og Sydasien), 2026-ordningen 

Content

South Asia region is home today to about 2 billion people including the world’s most populous nation, India. It has a vastly diverse geography, social systems, and cultures that have shaped over millennia. The course introduces the ancient, early modern, colonial, and postcolonial history of the region beginning from the earliest human settlements in the Indus Valley Civilisation network to the present. This broad sweep of history opens up the dynamic between the past and the present, and ways in which historical narratives and collective memory are forged over time. Through a range of readings, documentary films, images, and objects, the students are introduced to key primary and secondary sources vital to the historical study of the region. The course combines lectures and workshops where students are expected to take part in the classroom discussions, presentations, and group work.       

Learning Outcome

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to demonstrate:

 

Knowledge of and understanding of

  • India and South Asia's most important historical developments in relation to Asia and the world
  • how collective memory and narratives of the past shape societies in the present
  • sources, archives, and the subject’s field of practice.
     

Skills in

  • communicating at a basic scientific level using source citations and bibliographies in accordance with the author-date system as described in the Chicago Manual of Style
  • use of digital resources, including digital archives and library systems, that are relevant to the study of India and South Asia, as well as introduction to topics related to the critical and ethical use of AI.

 

Competencies to

  • finding, structuring and critically evaluating information on topics related to the history of India and South Asia
  • orienting oneself in academic literature, including the connection between data, literature, analysis and argument.

Available in the course room in Absalon.

Lectures and workshops.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 0
  • Total
  • 0
Oral
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester
Credit
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination, 30 minutes including assessment
Home assignment, 4-5 standard pages
Type of assessment details
Free oral examination and free written home assignment.
The home assignment counts for 1/2 and the oral examination counts for 1/2 of the assessment. Both parts must be assessed at a passing level for the overall exam to be passed.
Group exam regulations: The oral examination can only be taken individually, but the home assignment may be written in groups. If several students write together, each participant’s contribution must constitute a coherent whole that is identified and can be assessed independently. The jointly produced part must not exceed 50 %. The length of the home assignment when written in groups is: 6–8 standard pages (2 students) or 8–10 standard pages (3 students).
Exam language: English.
Aid
All aids allowed

For rules on generative artificial intelligence, see Study Information.

 

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Re-exam

Same as ordinary exam

Criteria for exam assesment

See Learning Outcome