Indian Culture Ii

The aim of this course is to foster an in-depth reflection on the concepts of diversity and inclusion within Indian traditions, drawing on the solid and diverse knowledge students already possess about Indian culture. The course will explore the conceptual models developed in pre-colonial India, the influence of theoretical frameworks that accompanied the country's colonisation, and their persistence (and the reaction they sparked) in independent India. In particular, the course will provide tools to investigate how diversity and inclusion are expressed in various socio-theoretical spaces in contemporary India, encouraging, where appropriate, a comparison with the European experience of the same period. Additionally, the course aims to equip students with theoretical, linguistic, and rhetorical resources to voice the socio-cultural specificities of India in all those contexts that imply a reflection on individual versus collective identity, the concepts of person and individual, and the relationship between the self and the surrounding environment.

Students are expected to be able to understand the theory, ontology and conceptual models of Indian socio-cultural traditions in relation to identity, diversity and inclusion, and to explain these concepts to a non-specialist audience. They should be able to apply the solid and structured theoretical knowledge acquired — regarding India's history, philosophy, religion, social and legal framework, and current political and economic affairs — to promote the creation of multicultural spaces where Indian socio-cultural specificities can be translated, conveyed and made comprehensible in other contexts outside of India.