Indian Culture I

The first goal of the course is to consolidate the historical, religious, philosophical, anthropological, legal, artistic and literary knowledge that students developed during their previous study programme. To this end, the course is designed to provide students with the theoretical tools to understand and interpret the development of Indian culture, getting acquainted with the various stages that contributed to shaping the social and religious heritage of the country, while also familiarising with the cultural, religious, social and economic aspects of contemporary India. Students are required to understand the peculiar and multiform heterogeneity of the country, grasping the different expressions and interactions of the many cultures, ethnicities, religions and languages which shape the Indian social fabric. In addition to this theoretical knowledge, students are expected to acquire the ability to critically reflect on the dynamics which led to the development of contemporary Indian society, drawing on heterogeneous theories and disciplinary perspectives. These theoretical, critical and methodological competencies will enable students to acquire a deep and diversified understanding of India's social and cultural specificities. Consequently, students will also gain a thorough overview of the cultural resources necessary to make the most of their own language skills and to achieve a better and more conscious command of the Hindi language.

At the end of the course, students are expected to be able to fully understand the social, religious, economic, cultural, legal and political aspects that mark India's contemporary society. This implies that they will have to develop not only a solid theoretical grounding, but also critical reflection skills and the ability to independently further their knowledge of Indian culture. Students are expected to be able to identify and then consult the most solid and trustworthy academic sources, as needed to have a thorough and complete understanding of a particular social or cultural phenomenon. They should also be able to argue their position in an effective, dialectically appropriate and methodologically persuasive way. Moreover, they should be able to rephrase the contents of heterogeneous sources by using the appropriate subject-specific language and vocabulary. Lastly, students are expected to develop a strong sensitivity to the themes of inclusion and diversity, which are exemplified in many ways within Indian cultural traditions. Indian culture has also proposed refined conceptual models to approach inclusion and diversity, so it is equally important that students gain a full grasp of these models.