ANTH V3525

A midterm (approx. 6 pages) and a 10 page final. Very ambiguous on how exactly she wants the papers to be structured, which results in erratic grading. Not an extremely generous grader.

Generous grader. I was merely over worried about this class. Take it if you can, you'll be fine :)

Not at all bad. 2 papers, 5-7 pp, a midterm (that was slightly a joke, it was so easy), and an interesting take home final. The TAs did most of the grading, I think.

Sadana is a very stiff professor. Her excellent reading list certainly taught me a lot about South Asia, but I did not gain any insight from her. She is clearly knowledgable about the topic and her section, in which she typically shows videos, was fascinating (though mandatory). However, her lack of energy or enthusiasm in her teaching, and her tendency to read off a sheet of notes, is not conduscive to interesting discussion. She does make herself very available and is flexible with her time.

Had an anxiety attack during the final. The Professor was very supportive and understanding. He really wishes to see student success in his class.

I agree with the second reviewer. Prof Chatterjee provided deep an insightful comments on the various texts we read, raised issues that weren't immediately obvious from a first reading of the texts, and argued on both sides of the issues raised in class, leaving us to give our own opinions in papers and such: basically, he did all the things a good professor should do. The class was arranged by topics, something that was most definately emphasized on the syllabus. I do have previous knowledge of South Asia, and I found that this class, far from being elementary or boring, gave a depth of inquiry into the four topics discussed not found in other South Asian history classes which have so much ground to cover. If anything, previous knowledge of South Asian history was helpful. The four topics were "Nationalism and Modern Statehood", "Modernity and Religious Reform", "Modernity and Women" and "Modernity and Caste". (Lots of discussion about modernity) Basically the course was about the production of opposing categories like modernity and tradition in a colonial context, and how these categories were worked through different areas like gender, religion, caste and the state. I really recommed this class to anyone actually interested in South Asian history rather than just getting rid of their core requirement.

Watching movies, one response paper (online, courseworks) per week, one 5-6 page paper as mid-term and one 10 page paper for final. Lots of reading, still, easier than average workload.

20% participation (discussion section + being in class) No midterm 7.5% film review 20% reading reviews 10% Met scavenger hunt 7.5% campus event review 35% final Extra credit - 5% on final , simple scribe assignment

This class does not have ANY exams: no midterm or no final. However, it is a very rigorous 3000 level introductory class that demands a lot of reading on the stidents' behalf. For each class you have to do a whole lot of intreresting primary source reading which are supplemented by the lectures. There is a one hour mandatory discussion section which is basically just watching movies and documentaries that gives the course a soft side and neutralises the pressure of the dry readings. One weekly posting on open ended topics mandatory, in class discussions highly appreciated, and pretty balanced syllabus. Also, Prof. Sadana deserves appreciation for being able to teach South Asian topics that are as controversial as middle-east problems pretty neutrally by focusing on all sides of the issues equally. She is a rational grader, is very approchable, and helpful. On the down side, she is a bit stiff in class as long as she is delivering the prepared lecture (but eases down as she enters the class discussion). Also, this being a fast paced introduction to a vast topic, students better do the readings. For those who does not have some idea about South Aisan history: specially read the optional/required Jalal & Bose chapters to make sure you know what is happening to the bigger picture otherwise you will be scrambling through the more focused texts without getting any clue about how to…

Brilliant class! Prof Peterson is very passionate (can clearly see he loves this stuff) Is very casual with assignments Overall if you read the assigned readings, summarize them and do the reading reviews you’ll do great