2008 Handbooks

This unit looks at the global influence of India from three periods in world history. We follow the travels of Buddhism and Hinduism throughout Southeast Asia, to trace the important impact of Indian spirituality, philosophy and science in the formation of pre-modern cultures in the region. Next, we turn to the period of European imperialism from the eighteenth century to chart the emergence of Eurasian cultural forms, while also considering the external dispersal of Indian indentured labour to Africa, the Caribbean, the Indian ocean and the South Pacific. Finally, we trace the migrations of South Asians in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and also consider the role of music, food, and film in the reconstruction of new diasporic identities in more recent times. From Buddhism to Bollywood, this unit explores the ways in which South Asia has shaped the modern world.