History of India

This course offers an introduction to the history and culture of the Indian subcontinent. It will examine the roots of Indic civilization, explore its classical past, survey the rise and decline of the region's Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim empires, study its experience of European colonialism and trace the development of the region's modern nation states. Its special focus is the region's place in world history, from its role as the birthplace of several of the world's major religious and philosophical traditions to its current status as a major player in the process of cultural as well as economic globalization.