Indian Culture Ii
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
The course aims to:
- broaden the students' historical, social, religious, legal and philosophical knowledge, and facilitate a more exhaustive and deeper understanding of the dynamics and implications which contributed to shaping India's social and cultural heterogeneity;
- help students develop social and cultural skills enabling them to understand the viewpoint and perspectives shared by Indian speakers, in their country as well as abroad, in terms of the main features and practices that are part of individuals' social life;
- develop a particular social and cultural awareness towards the problems and difficulties that Indian people and communities encounter while working on their social, cultural and economic integration in other countries;
- improve the students' ability to interact successfully with the different groups of Indian society, based on robust language skills as well as on an in-depth understanding of Indian culture, practices and traditions.
- broaden the students' historical, social, religious, legal and philosophical knowledge, and facilitate a more exhaustive and deeper understanding of the dynamics and implications which contributed to shaping India's social and cultural heterogeneity;
- help students develop social and cultural skills enabling them to understand the viewpoint and perspectives shared by Indian speakers, in their country as well as abroad, in terms of the main features and practices that are part of individuals' social life;
- develop a particular social and cultural awareness towards the problems and difficulties that Indian people and communities encounter while working on their social, cultural and economic integration in other countries;
- improve the students' ability to interact successfully with the different groups of Indian society, based on robust language skills as well as on an in-depth understanding of Indian culture, practices and traditions.
Expected learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students are expected to:
- master the theoretical contents covered by the course syllabus;
- have a sound knowledge of all the phases of Indian history and their interpretations by high-profile protagonists of the historiographical debate in today's time as well as during the colonial period;
- be able to identify and describe the most important theories concerning the representation of Indian social stratification, and have developed an in-depth understanding of the dynamics and underlying structures of the Indian national state;
- be able to argue their opinions on the topics and contents studied, orally and in writing, using the appropriate language registers and referring to texts, authors and studies with which they are familiar;
- be able to define research lines and design pathways to further explore familiar topics, compiling an appropriate bibliography;
- be able to make informed and successful use of the learning tools at their disposal, conducting research and further exploring topics in the appropriate environments, with the aid not only of printed sources, but also of carefully selected online materials.
- master the theoretical contents covered by the course syllabus;
- have a sound knowledge of all the phases of Indian history and their interpretations by high-profile protagonists of the historiographical debate in today's time as well as during the colonial period;
- be able to identify and describe the most important theories concerning the representation of Indian social stratification, and have developed an in-depth understanding of the dynamics and underlying structures of the Indian national state;
- be able to argue their opinions on the topics and contents studied, orally and in writing, using the appropriate language registers and referring to texts, authors and studies with which they are familiar;
- be able to define research lines and design pathways to further explore familiar topics, compiling an appropriate bibliography;
- be able to make informed and successful use of the learning tools at their disposal, conducting research and further exploring topics in the appropriate environments, with the aid not only of printed sources, but also of carefully selected online materials.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
HINDUS AND MUSLIMS: AN IMPOSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP?
The course aims to investigate some of the factors that led to the deterioration of relations between Hindus and Muslims. The arrival of Muslims in India was initially marked by massacres and the destruction of temples, which left a deep wound in the psyche of Hindus. The two concepts of sacredness are extremely divergent, as evidenced by a comparison between the two places of worship - the temple and the mosque. However, movements such as the Sufis and Sant Mat have overcome the ideological barriers of the two faiths in a mystical vision centered on the inspiration of the heart. And in reality, the Muslim and Hindu communities have lived side by side peacefully for most of the time. The political events of the last century and the struggle for independence altered a balance that, although precarious, did exist. The massacres that followed the partition of India and Pakistan reopened old wounds that could not be healed. However, the period following independence seemed to offer glimmers of hope for reconciliation. Everything changed from the 1990s onwards. Once again, the reasons are not only political but also psychological.
PROGRAMME
1. Introduction: course objectives
2. The arrival of Muslims in India: the Arabs, early conversions; the raids of Mahamud of Ghazna and the destruction of temples
3. Muhammad of Ghor and the battle of Tarain; the defeat of Pṛthvīrāja Cauhāna
4. The era of the sultanates
5. The Mughals
Akbar and his relationship with the Hindus - the ideal city of Fatehpur Sikri
The great Mughals - Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb
6. The role of women: Nur Jahan and modern begums
7. Sufis and Sant Mat: the path of mysticism
8. Westerners in India
9. Decline: the Marathas and the East India Company
10. The mutiny and the end of the empire
11. Islamic rulers under British rule
12. The Muslim League and Ali Jinnah
13. Pakistan and Bangladesh, the uncomfortable neighbours
14. The Hindu stronghold - the Ārya Samāj and subsequent movements
15. The birth of Hindu fundamentalism: the Rāmrājya
16. Modi and the return to Vedic tradition
17. Soft power: Yoga Day and more
18 Indians outside India
19. Hindu-Muslim relations in literature and film
20. Concluding remarks
The course aims to investigate some of the factors that led to the deterioration of relations between Hindus and Muslims. The arrival of Muslims in India was initially marked by massacres and the destruction of temples, which left a deep wound in the psyche of Hindus. The two concepts of sacredness are extremely divergent, as evidenced by a comparison between the two places of worship - the temple and the mosque. However, movements such as the Sufis and Sant Mat have overcome the ideological barriers of the two faiths in a mystical vision centered on the inspiration of the heart. And in reality, the Muslim and Hindu communities have lived side by side peacefully for most of the time. The political events of the last century and the struggle for independence altered a balance that, although precarious, did exist. The massacres that followed the partition of India and Pakistan reopened old wounds that could not be healed. However, the period following independence seemed to offer glimmers of hope for reconciliation. Everything changed from the 1990s onwards. Once again, the reasons are not only political but also psychological.
PROGRAMME
1. Introduction: course objectives
2. The arrival of Muslims in India: the Arabs, early conversions; the raids of Mahamud of Ghazna and the destruction of temples
3. Muhammad of Ghor and the battle of Tarain; the defeat of Pṛthvīrāja Cauhāna
4. The era of the sultanates
5. The Mughals
Akbar and his relationship with the Hindus - the ideal city of Fatehpur Sikri
The great Mughals - Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb
6. The role of women: Nur Jahan and modern begums
7. Sufis and Sant Mat: the path of mysticism
8. Westerners in India
9. Decline: the Marathas and the East India Company
10. The mutiny and the end of the empire
11. Islamic rulers under British rule
12. The Muslim League and Ali Jinnah
13. Pakistan and Bangladesh, the uncomfortable neighbours
14. The Hindu stronghold - the Ārya Samāj and subsequent movements
15. The birth of Hindu fundamentalism: the Rāmrājya
16. Modi and the return to Vedic tradition
17. Soft power: Yoga Day and more
18 Indians outside India
19. Hindu-Muslim relations in literature and film
20. Concluding remarks
Prerequisites for admission
The essential prerequisite for attending the course and sitting the exam is to have taken and passed the Indian Culture I exam. It is therefore assumed that students have acquired the theoretical, expressive, methodological, and critical skills that are the objectives of the first year of the course.
Teaching methods
Frontal lessons, power point, audiovisual material, representations conveyed by the Indian mass media, in order to promote a better and more precise understanding of the context
Teaching Resources
Kulke H., Rothermund D., Storia dell'India, ed. Odoya, Milano 2019
Dalrymple W., L'assedio di Delhi. 1857. Lo scontro finale fra l'ultima dinastia Moghul e l'impero britannico, ed. Rizzoli, Milano 2007
Virginia Vacca, L'India musulmana, Istituto per gli studi di politica internazionale, 1941
Muhhammad Dara Sikoh, La congiunzione dei due oceani, Piccola Biblioteca Adelphi, Milano 2001
Paolo Branca, Introduzione all'Islam, ed. Paoline, Milano 1995
Jolanda Guardi, L'Islam, ed. Xenia, Milano 1999
William C. Chittick, Il Sufismo, ed. Einaudi, Torino 2009
Dalrymple W., L'assedio di Delhi. 1857. Lo scontro finale fra l'ultima dinastia Moghul e l'impero britannico, ed. Rizzoli, Milano 2007
Virginia Vacca, L'India musulmana, Istituto per gli studi di politica internazionale, 1941
Muhhammad Dara Sikoh, La congiunzione dei due oceani, Piccola Biblioteca Adelphi, Milano 2001
Paolo Branca, Introduzione all'Islam, ed. Paoline, Milano 1995
Jolanda Guardi, L'Islam, ed. Xenia, Milano 1999
William C. Chittick, Il Sufismo, ed. Einaudi, Torino 2009
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists of an oral test that may consist of a question on the contents of the exam program or the presentation of an in-depth study of a topic previously agreed upon with one of the course instructors. The exam is intended to assess both the full assimilation of the topics covered and the mastery of the terminology used in the various disciplines (philosophical, historical, artistic, architectural, choreographic, anthropological, etc.) involved in the examination offered by the teaching program, as well as the ability to rework the content learned and subject it to personal and critical reflection. The assessment therefore takes into account the solidity of theoretical preparation, the ability to express oneself, and the development of critical thinking that is able to compare the different theoretical positions taken in the reading of socio-cultural phenomena. There are no ongoing assessments during the year, but active participation in lectures and cultural initiatives promoted within and outside the University (conferences, seminars, book presentations, exhibitions, etc.) by the degree course lecturers is taken into account and evaluated positively. The final assessment is expressed in thirtieths.
L-OR/19 - MODERN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Professor:
Albanese Maria Ausilia
Professor(s)