South Asia Studies
Academic Program Introduction
Our program focuses on the histories, cultures, and people of South Asia and its diaspora. Students explore both European and South Asian theories of knowledge. Majors concentrate on a single method, such as literary analysis, or a single theme, such as international development, and become proficient in a South Asian language such as Hindi or Urdu.
Learning goals
- Think in a multicontextual way and at the intersection of disciplines.
Engage in rigorous encounters with a crucial but underrepresented area of the world.
Gain a broad understanding of the cultures, histories, religions, societies, politics, and people of the region and in the diaspora.
Learn to speak and comprehend, and to write and read, in Hindi or in Urdu, or in another South Asian language.
Programs of Study
South Asia studies major and minor
Students acquire skills and sentiments needed to understand South Asian arts, cultures, histories, politics, and religions.
Research highlights
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Professor Neelima Shukla-Bhatt’s book Hinduism: The Basics (Routledge, 2023) digs into the variety of philosophical schools, priestly rituals, and popular practices common in the Hindu faith, looking in particular at the diversity of Hinduism’s traditions and how they function in everyday life.
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The Islamic Welfare State: Muslim Charity, Human Security, and Government Legitimacy in Pakistan (Cambridge University Press, 2023), by Professor Christopher Candland, explores the relationship between government legitimacy, everyday security, and lived Islam in Pakistan, a Muslim-majority country.
Opportunities
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Student organizations
Students run three organizations centered on South Asian communities: Al-Muslimat, Wellesley’s Muslim Student Association; Darshana, for Wellesley’s Hindu community; and the Wellesley Association for South Asian Cultures, which hosts a cultural show, Shruti Laya, each fall.
Beyond Wellesley
Beyond Wellesley
Our graduates pursue a wide range of careers in health care, consulting, government, and advocacy. Recent employers include ATASK (Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence), Druk Holding and Investments, the National Institutes of Health, Publicis Sapient, the National Cancer Institute, Singapore’s Ministry of National Development, and the World Bank.
Recent Employers
106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02481