This course provides a glimpse into India’s wisdom via the study of the ever-popular songs of its holy men and women, the saints of the bhakti or devotional tradition. These songs are still sung from temples to village courtyards, from movie soundtracks to the classical concert stage. They are used not only in worship, but also in education, performing arts, and politics. Many of them carry a message protesting existing hierarchies of caste and gender, but others have been used to confirm the status quo.
We will look at songs dating from the middle of the first millennium CE through today, including South- as well as North-Indian ones, focusing on some of the most influential works of the Indian devotional tradition. We will study these texts in their cultural context, but with an eye to how they are interpreted and used in contemporary religion and politics.- Teacher: Heidi Pauwels
HINDI 501 SPRING 2021: READINGS IN CLASSICAL HINDI (Braj)
Meeting times: MW: 10:30-12:20
Instructor: Heidi Pauwels, Gowen Hall 233, tel. 3-4235 hpauwels@uw.edu
Office Hours: MW 3:20-3:50 and by appointment
Prerequisites: Students should have a solid knowledge of modern standard Hindi
Aims:
The primary goal of this class is to provide an introduction to the language and literature of Braj Bhāṣā, the literary form of Classical Hindi associated with the Braj area in Western UP. This will be accomplished by a short grammar introduction and close reading of selections from representative literary works in the original language. To ease in we will start with prose sections (amusing stories and stories of saints), moving on to the devotional (bhakti) songs of Mīrābāī, Sūrdās, and Raskhān, and the dazzling court (rīti) poetry of Bihārī. We will listen to diverse renderings of the songs, and study modern popular perception in for instance Bollywood films.
Course requirements and grading:
Class participation/preparation: 40% Portfolio due F W10
Class Presentation: 30 % As assigned, preparation in portfolio
Final Presentation and Paper 40 % Presentation W10, paper M exam week
- Teacher: Heidi Pauwels
- Teacher: Heidi Pauwels