Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs
Center for Contemporary South Asia

For Students

South Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary concentration in which students work across the humanities and social sciences, geographical locations, and time periods. The concentration emphasizes both the diversity of South Asia as a region, as well as the long-term historical connections among people and places in Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The concentration takes a comparative approach, bringing attention to history, politics, and culture within the region, as well as in the equally vital global South Asian diaspora. 

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Tiraana Bains, Assistant Professor of History

Office Hours: Tuesdays from 12-1 pm in Room 239, Stephen Robert ’62 Hall, 280 Brook St., or by appointment

Concentration Requirements

Course Requirements: 10 Courses or 12 for honors

2 Courses with a Majority Focus on South Asia in the Humanities, such as:

COLT 0812Y – Love and Longing across the Indian Subcontinent | Namrata Kanchan (Fall 2024)

HIAA 0023 – South Asian Art and Architecture | Holly Shaffer (Fall 2024)

RELS 1510 – Islam in South Asia | Suvaid Yaseen (Fall 2024)

2 Courses with a Majority Focus on South Asia in the Social Sciences, such as:

HIST 1973Q – Environmental Pressures of South Asia | Aparajita Majumdar (Fall 2024)

POLS 1280 – Politics, Economy and Society in India | Ashutosh Varshney (Spring 2025)

At least 6 additional elective courses: Students can take additional courses in the humanities or social sciences with a focus on South Asia (see CCSA course listings). 

  • At least 3 of the 6 electives must be drawn from the CCSA pre-approved course listings (or be approved by the DUS/Concentration Advisor).  The courses on this pre-approved list have significant (at least 25%) South Asia content. 
  • No more than 2 of the remaining 6 electives can be courses with less empirical South Asia content, but these courses must have theoretical relevance to the study of South Asia. 

The objective for allowing students to take these courses is to encourage students to develop a self-designed focus within South Asian Studies. The student must make a coherent and rigorous argument (to be approved by the DUS/Concentration Advisor) as to how they will bring the material from these elective courses to bear on the study of South Asia.  A student interested in state-society relations in South Asian Studies, for example, may draw from Political Science, Sociology, and Public Policy, or other departments, to develop their thinking on these issues.  A student interested in South Asian antiquity may draw from Philosophy, Comparative Literature, Africana Studies, Theatre Arts and Performance Studies, or other relevant departments as well. We encourage students to cultivate their elective trajectories in imaginative, inter-disciplinary ways, in consultation with relevant faculty. 

Courses with Minor Content in the Humanities:

ENGL 0202B – What Monks Want: Asceticism and Austerity Across the Global Anglophone | Arunav Jain (Fall 2024)

ENGL 0202D – Poetic Justice: Literature on Colonialism | Chi Le (Fall 2024)

ENGL 0700E – Postcolonial Literature | Olakunle George (Fall 2024)

ENGL 1762K – Migration and its Discontents: Asian American Literature and Culture | Rebecca Liu (Fall 2024)

TAPS 1230 – Global Theatre and Performance: Paleolithic to the Threshold of Modernity | J Dellecave (Fall 2024)

ETHN 0601A – Introduction to Asian American History | Shelley Lee (Fall 2024)

HIAA 1721 – Real and Unreal Landscapes | Holly Shaffer (Fall 2024)

RELS 0600E – Islamic Modernities: Religion, Culture and Power | Nancy Khalek  (Fall 2024)

Courses with Minor Content in the Social Sciences:

HIST 150L – Ecological Imperialism | Brian Lander (Fall 2024)

HIST 1120 – At China’s Edges | Rebecca Nedostup (Fall 2024)

HIST 1267 – The Global British Empire, 1600 – The Present (Spring 2025)

HIST 1953S – Costs of Resistance: History through Film | Suvaid Yaseen (Fall 2024)

HIST 1974E – The Intellectual History of Imperialism | Tiraana Bains (Fall 2024)

IAPA 1700M – Comparative Politics of Urban Development | Saul Wilson (Fall 2024)

SOC 1010 – Classical Sociological Theory | Andrew Schrank (Fall 2024)

10 Courses total.  For honors, students must take 12 courses total (see below)

For double concentrators, a maximum of two classes can count towards both concentrations. 

Language requirement:

Proficiency in a South Asian language, whether Hindi/Urdu, Sanskrit or Persian, is required for the concentration. Demonstrating proficiency can entail passing a written and oral examination, 4 semesters of formal language study at Brown or another institution, a high school transcript indicating that the language of instruction for all courses was a South Asian language. Native Hindi/Urdu speakers are encouraged to fulfill the language requirement by taking another South Asian language for four semesters, such as Sanskrit or Persian at Brown or a relevant language at another institution. Up to two language courses can count towards fulfilling the student’s elective requirements. We are happy to consider various languages as long as you can demonstrate its connection with your interest in South Asian Studies.

Language courses currently being taught:

HNDI 100 – Beginning Hindi or Urdu | Ashok Koul

HNDI 300 – Intermediate Hindi or Urdu | Ashok Koul

HNDI 1080 – Advanced Hindi or Urdu | Ashok Koul

PRSN 100 – Basic Persian | Michelle Quay

PRSN 300 – Intermediate Persian Language | Michelle Quay

SANS 100 – Elementary Sanskrit | David Buchta

SANS 300 – Sanskrit Epic Narrative | David Buchta

Senior-Year Project:

Students must complete either a senior capstone project OR an honors thesis. 

Capstone projects or honors theses are opportunities for students to creatively synthesize the thinking on South Asia that they have developed during the concentration. The project should exhibit an empirically and theoretically driven research question or argument about some aspect of South Asian Studies. The senior-year project should involve some research in at least one South Asian language. All students are encouraged to start thinking about their capstone in their junior year.  

Capstones can take two primary forms:

  1. A research paper of approximately 30 pages on a topic related to South Asia for an existing concentration-eligible course, undertaken with the permission of the instructor.
  2. An independent study-based project. The product and/or process that constitutes this can be artistic, primary or secondary research-based, internship-related, or something else.  The project must be supervised by at least one CCSA faculty member* for at least one semester under SAST 1970.  This course can count towards the 5 elective requirements.  

At the end of their junior year, each student should meet with the DUS to review their plan for completing their capstone. If pursuing a capstone project, students will be required to submit, by the end of the shopping period of the fall of their senior year, a short proposal (300 words) that describes how they are going to complete this requirement. 

An Honors Thesis is a two-semester independent study supervised by a thesis advisor [SAST 1970]. These two courses constitute the additional courses needed for honors in the concentration.

An honors thesis can be textual, or it can take other forms (multi-media, visual, artistic, or musical, for example). The form and substance of a non-textual honors thesis must conform to the rigorous regulations set out by the relevant department(s) and the Dean of the College.  

See previous SAS theses.

Additional Honors Requirements
To be eligible for Honors, students will have earned an “A” in the majority of graded courses for the concentration.

Students may graduate with Honors in South Asian Studies by completing an undergraduate Honors thesis under the supervision of at least one reader drawn from the CCSA faculty* and one additional reader from the Brown (or RISD, in the case of Brown-RISD students) faculty community.

In order to pursue Honors, students must submit the following materials to the CCSA Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) by the end of their 6th semester:

  1. A prospectus (3-5 pages, describing the major research questions and methods to be used, complete with bibliography) that has been read and vetted by the student’s intended primary reader.  
  2. An email from the faculty member who will serve as primary reader to the CCSA DUS noting their willingness to advise the thesis.

In addition, students must:

  1. Enroll in a two-semester sequence of independent study [SAST 1970 or under a relevant departmental course code].
  2. Designate a second reader by the end of the first month of their 7th  semester. Second readers should also confirm their willingness to serve as a reader by sending an email to the CCSA DUS.
  3. Be in regular contact with thesis advisor about the progress of the project. 
  4. Present their research to the CCSA community during their final semester. 

For mid-year graduating students, the topic and primary reader must be identified and confirmed by mid-November of the junior year, and a second reader must be arranged and confirmed by January 30 of the senior year.

 * This includes all people listed under the Faculty, Postdoctoral Associate, and Visiting Scholars (limited to those in residence at Brown) tabs on the CCSA website.