Description
Course content: Readings in race theory from early theoreticians of race; the development of the “two stocks” theory of humankind by Friedrich Schlegel; its development and application in the “biracial theory” of India by his brother A. W. Schlegel; the anchoring of the “biracial theory” in Indian history by Schlegel’s student Christian Lassen through his researches into the Mahābhārata; the expansion of this concept to explain all aspects of Indian culture, including its aesthetics, religion, philosophy, worldview, and its textual productions; the application of this principle to separate, date, and refashion Indian texts; the racism espoused by German Indologists; the rise of Aryan ideology and its interaction with German anti-Semitism; the impact of Indologists’ racist theories on Indian intellectuals in the twentieth century; the turn to physical, sociological, and mechanical explanations of Indian texts.
Course Learning Objectives:
In this course students will be able to:
- Learn about the theological roots of the concept of race.
- Trace how the concept was scientized, reified, and universalized.
- How the concept has shaped modern humanities.
Class Structure
The class will meet for three hours each week. Students will be required to summarize and present one reading and to write a final paper on the author of their chosen reading.
Area of Study: History & Methods
Required / Elective: Elective
Prerequisites: Admission into a Program of Study / Concurrently enrolled or completed Orientation to Hindu Studies.
Faculty / Instructor: Dr. Joydeep Bagchee
Day: Sunday
Start Date: 17 January 2021
End Date: 28 March 2021
Quarter Offered: Winter 2021
