Dr. Rebecca Johns

University of South Florida

"Regions are not simply the unintended outcomes of economic, social and political processes but are often the deliberate product of actions by those with power in society, who use space and create places in the pursuit of their goals. Thus regions are resources to be manipulated in the creation, recreation and restructuring of the contexts in which people are made."

R.J. Johnston, The Question of Place

The purpose of this seminar is to explore in depth the construction of region in South Asia. A well-defined physical region, South Asia s cultural, economic and political identity has been shaped over millennia by a complex combination of external influences at the regional and global scales, and internal dynamics between a variety of cultural and political groups.

Building on a brief foray into historic influences on regional formation, we will analyze a set of separate but interconnected topics, each of which is constitutive of regional identity and illuminates ongoing patterns of political, economic and social change in the region. Critical issues such as the rise of communal violence, the impact of recent economic reforms, and the changing role of women in society will be given particular attention. Analysis will take place within the framework of identifying and understanding the complex process through which regional identity is constituted.

This seminar is intended to afford students the opportunity to become intimately familiar with key aspects of the process of construction of regional identity in South Asia. Participants will develop their ability to identify and analyze the social, economic and political processes that underlie the descriptions of geographic regions. Finally, participants will build their skill in developing and presenting intellectual points of view through the writing assignments, group discussions and oral presentations.

Seminar participants will be required to lead discussions, complete a short book review, conduct independent research on a topic of their choice, and present their findings to the group.

Book Review: Each student is required to read a book on a topic related to regional or national formation in South Asia but not being discussed in-depth in class, and write a comprehensive review and critique of the author s main arguments. Books may be chosen from the selected bibliography; suggestions for other titles will be considered. Reviews should be roughly 5 pages, typed, double-spaced.

Research Paper: Research topics may be chosen from the broad range of topics within the geography of South Asia. Possible topics include: secession and struggle in Kashmir; role of tourist industry in regional development; political context for the destruction of sacred landscapes and holy sites; analysis of the goals and scale of operation of specific movements for social change; comparison of regions or states within India or Pakistan in reference to socio-economic and political structures; socio-economic aspects of flooding in Bangladesh; specific environmental problems, sources and possible remedies; the political struggle over investment and control in particular sectors of the Indian economy, such as communication and energy; adverse/beneficial effects of international loans and development projects; interpretation of contemporary South Asian literature with regard to regional identity, social change and the changing landscape; construction of place in Arabindo Ashram outside of Pondicherry, etc.

Papers should be 15 to 20 pages in length, double-spaced, typed or word-processed, with footnotes and complete bibliography. Participants will present their research findings orally at the end of the semester.

1: Introduction to the Course: Constructing regional and national identity.

Selected Readings:

"A Fragmented Discipline?" and "Attempts at Integration" in A Question of Place: Exploring the Practice of Human Geography. R.J. Johnston, 1991. Blackwell: Oxford.

"The  new  regional geography and problems of narrative," Andrew Sayer, 1989. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, vol. 7.

"The region is dead! Long live the region!" Neil Smith, 1988. Political Geography Quarterly, Vol. 7, No 2, April.

Constructions of Race, Place and Nation. Peter Jackson and Jan Penrose, editors, 1991. UCL Press: London.

"Grief and a Headhunter s Rage"

"After Objectivism"

"Subjectivity in Social Analysis"

Culture and Truth: The Remaking of Social Analysis. Renato Rosaldo, 1989. Beacon Press, Boston.

2: The Lay of the Land: Introduction to South Asia

Physical and cultural geography of the South Asian region; Indus Valley civilization; hearth of Hinduism and Buddhism; great epics; Moguls and Brahmins: rewriting Indian history.

Selected Readings:

Gods of Flesh, Gods of Stone: the Embodiment of Divinity in India. Joanne Punzo Waghorne and Norman Luther, 1989. Anima: PA.

South Asian Religion and Society. Asko Parpola, 1986. Curzon: London.

A Brief Introduction to Hinduism: religion, philosophy and ways of liberation. A.L. Herman, 1991. Westview: Boulder.

An Atlas and Survey of South Asian History. Karl Schmidt, 1995. Armonk: New York.

Excerpts From:

A History of India, Part I. Romila Thapar, 1990. Penguin Books: New York.

"The Spirit of Place"

"The Western Wind"

"Irrigation"

Bret Wallach, 1996. Losing Asia: Modernization and the Culture of Development. Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.

3: Colonial Legacy

Impacts on indigenous industry and resources; civil service, democracy and communalism; British education, language; partition.

Selected Readings:

Excerpts from:

A History of India, Part II. Percival Spear, 1990. Penguin Books: New York

The Rise and Fall of British India: Imperialism as Inequality. Karl de Schweinitz, Jr, 1983. Metheun: London.

"Indian Technology and Culture 1498-1757" Claude Alvares, 1991. Decolonizing History. Apex: New York.

4: Regional Geopolitics

Non-aligned movement, arms race, Kashmir, India- Pakistan relations, civil war in Sri Lanka, end of the Cold War; which way forward?

Selected Readings:

The International Politics of South Asia. Vernon Martson Hewitt, 1992. Mancester University Press: Manchester.

"India in South Asia: the Quest for Regional Predominance", Mohammed Ayoob, 1994. World Policy Journal.

India and Southeast Asia: Perceptions and Policies. Mohammed Ayoob, 1990. Routledge: New York.

"India and Pakistan: Collision or Compromise?" Great Decisions, 1993.

The Tamil Question. Satchi Ponnambalam. Zed Books: London.

"Seven Days in Jaffna: Life Under Indian Occupation," N. Shanmuguratnam, 1989. Race and Class, Vol. 31, No. 2

Sri Lanka: The Holocaust and After. L. Piyadasa, 1984. Marram Books: London.

4: Environmental Degradation/Conservation

Land use patterns, agricultural development, the green revolution, deforestation, desertification, human impact on mountains, the Chipko movement, other environmental organizations.

Selected Readings:

The Unquiet Woods: Ecological Change and Peasant Rebellion in the Himalaya. Ramachandra Guha, 1990. University of California Press: Berkeley.

This Fissured Land: An Ecological History of India. Madhav Gadgil, and Ramachandra Guha, 1992. University of California Press: Berkeley.

5: Economic Liberalization

Colonial economies, post-Independence policies, from import substitution to export economies; reasons for and impacts of liberalization, the case of Enron, case study of the food industry; India and GATT.

Selected Readings:

Post Independence Economic Policies. John Maliekal, 1977. Center for Social Action, Bangalore.

"Food Business, Multinationals and Labour," Gautum Mody, 1995. Centre for Workers  Management: New Delhi.

"The Seed Satyagraha: Indian Farmers and Global Capital Face Off," Chirag Mehta, Dollars and Sense, September/October 1994.

Dependent Capitalism in Crisis: the Sri Lankan Economy, 1948-1980. Satchi Ponnambalam. Zed Books: London.

Public Enterprise in an Intermediate Regime: A Study in the Political Economy of Bangladesh. Rehman Sobhan and Muzaffer Ahmad. Zed Books: London.

Indian Economy: The Regional Dimension. A. Kundu and M. Raza, 1982. Spektrum: Delhi.

6: Gender and Culture

Women in Hindu society; dowry, bride-burning, arranged marriages, extended families; women and work, changing roles; women in Muslim society.

Selected Readings:

Indian Women Forge Ahead. Jessie Tellis-Nayak and Merlyn Lobo Brito, editors, 1992. Indian Social Institute.

Women and Work in South Asia: Regional Patterns and Perspectives. Saraswati Raju and Deipica Bagchi, 1993. Routledge, New York.

We Will Smash this Prison! Indian Women in Struggle. Gail Omvedt. Zed Books: London.

Frogs in A Well: Indian Women in Purdah. Patricia Jeffrey. Zed Books: London.

The Changing Division of Labor in South Asia: Women, and Men in Indian Society, Economics and Politics. J. Bjorkman, 1986. Riverdale: Baltimore

Indian Women: From Purdah to Modernity. B.R. Nanda, editor, 1976. Viking: Delhi.

Women in Islam. M. Khuhro, 1984. Women s Division: Government of Pakistan: Islamabad.

Women s Seclusion and Men s Honor: Sex Roles in North India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. D.G. Mendelbaum, 1988. University of Arizona Press: Tucson.

Profile of Bangladesh Women: Selected Aspects of Women s Roles and Status in Bangladesh. 1977, USAID: Dhaka.

Village Women of Bangladesh: Prospects for Change. T.A. Abdullah and S.A. Zeidenstein, 1982. Permagon/ILO: Oxford.

7: Social Structures/Social Change

Caste system in India, relation to class relations, tribal and indigenous peoples, non-caste groups; peasant and worker movements; rural - urban dichotomies.

Selected Readings:

India s Simmering Revolution: the Naxalite Uprising. Sumanta Banerjee, 1984. Zed Books: London

"Who sows? Who reaps? Women and land rights in India," B. Agarwal, 1983. Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol. 15, no. 4.

"India s movements for democracy: peasants,  greens , women and people s power." Gail Omvedt, 1989. Race and Class, Vol. 31, No. 2.

The Shaal Forest. Gunomoy Manna, 1990. Facet: New York.

8: Poverty, Development and the North-South Divide

Access to land; access to health care; literacy and education; malnutrition and food production; industry and service sectors; micro development indicators; IMF and World Bank; from independence to dependent development or integration into world economy?

Selected Readings:

Rakku s Story: Structures of Ill Health and the Sources of Change. Sheila Zurbrigg, 1991. Center for Social Action, Bangalore.

Jobs, Poverty and Working Conditions in South Asia. Regional Perspectives on World Development Report 1995. The World Bank, Washington D.C.

"New World Ordure," Mari Marcel Thekaekara, 1993. New Internationalist, June.

A Quiet Violence: View from a Bangladesh Village. Betsy Hartmann and James Boyce.

Bangladesh: the Unfinished Revolution. Lawrence Lifshultz. Zed Books: London.

9: Communalism and Nationalism in India

History, definition, primary manifestations, the search for explanations; construction of national identity; which way forward for India?

Selected Readings:

"Communalism and the Writing of Ancient History," Romala Thapar, 1990. Beyond Darkness: Some Reflections on Communalism. CIEDS Collective: Bangalore.

"Hindu-Muslim Relations in Contemporary India," Asghar Ali-Engineer, 1987. Mainstream, May.

"Class and Communalism in India," Rajini Kothari, 1988. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XXIII, No. 49. December.

"Nation-Building in Multi-Ethnic Societies: the Experience of South Asia," D. L. Sheth, 1989. Alternatives, Vol. XIV, No.4, October.

"Cultural Context of Communalism in India," Rajini Kothari, 1989. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XXIV, No. 2, January.

"The Mosque and the Temple: The Rise of Fundamentalism," Ved Mehta, 1994, Foreign Affairs.

"Religious vs. Regional determinism: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh as inheritors of Empire," Graham Chapman.

10: Conclusion: Which Way Forward?

Future possibilities for regional identity in a unipolar world; potential north-south conflicts; outcomes of communalism; possible paths resulting from global integration, etc.

Selected Readings:

"India s Democracy in Transition," Francine Frankel, 1991.

Copyright   2000 Project South Asia and Rebecca Johns.  May be copied for educational purposes only.  Commercial use is prohibited without permission of Rebecca Johns.