ASIAN 6678 - Projects of Modernity in Asia

(crosslisted) HIST 6408, RELST 6678

Spring. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

Prerequisite: one 3000 level course in the humanities; some knowledge of Asian history. Co-meets with ASIAN 4480/HIST 4408/RELST 4480.

C. Formichi.

Idea(l)s of modernity across the Global South have been largely rooted in Euro-American projections of “civilization”, and “civilizational” projects. The colonial worldview in which only Western(ized) experiences could be modern is foundational to the multifarious ways in which scholarship and nation-builders have engaged with progress, whether aspiring to it, rejecting it, or appropriating it. In this seminar we explore how imperial authorities, nationalists, and scholars/intellectuals have interfaced with idea(l)s of progress and modernity in Asia, reading works (“one book a week”) grounded in multiple disciplines and cultural settings. Core themes will include: health and hygiene, consumption, technology, gender, piety and devotion, imperialism and race, and nationalism. (RL)