Indian Culture I
A.Y. 2023/2024
Learning objectives
The course means first of all to
- develop a solid and consolidated knowledge, both diachronic and synchronous, and a deep understanding of different aspects of Indian culture, traditions and habits;
- develop the understanding of the main features of the different, religious and social, communities Indian society is made of and divided in, also in order to learn how to properly and effectively interact with Indian people depending on their social and cultural profile;
- develop the ability to relate and interact properly with Indian people living both in India and abroad using different linguistic registers and communicative skills depending on the social and cultural features of the community the Indian speaker belong to;
- develop different ways of relating to people based on their social identity;
- develop the understanding of the social, political and cultural relationships among the different communities living in India;
- train the students to understand and decipher the Indian point of view on a number of subjects ruling everyday social life;
- train the students to detect the problems and the difficulties Indian people living abroad do usually experience. The course also is supposed to give the students the instruments both to understand the social and cultural experiences Indian immigrants have to go through in order to integrate into the new social and cultural scenario and to detect the main problems they usually face depending on their social and economic status and on their religious identity;
- the course is also supposed to develop the students's ability to explain to someone who is not aware of any features of Indian culture, society and traditions its main aspects and contents. The students at the end of the course should be aware of the cultural and historical meaning of Indian demeanors, behaviors, and automatic physical and mental patterns. They should also be able to increase their knowledge of Indian culture autonomously, orienting themmselves in the vast array of available studies and researches on Indian culture.
- develop a solid and consolidated knowledge, both diachronic and synchronous, and a deep understanding of different aspects of Indian culture, traditions and habits;
- develop the understanding of the main features of the different, religious and social, communities Indian society is made of and divided in, also in order to learn how to properly and effectively interact with Indian people depending on their social and cultural profile;
- develop the ability to relate and interact properly with Indian people living both in India and abroad using different linguistic registers and communicative skills depending on the social and cultural features of the community the Indian speaker belong to;
- develop different ways of relating to people based on their social identity;
- develop the understanding of the social, political and cultural relationships among the different communities living in India;
- train the students to understand and decipher the Indian point of view on a number of subjects ruling everyday social life;
- train the students to detect the problems and the difficulties Indian people living abroad do usually experience. The course also is supposed to give the students the instruments both to understand the social and cultural experiences Indian immigrants have to go through in order to integrate into the new social and cultural scenario and to detect the main problems they usually face depending on their social and economic status and on their religious identity;
- the course is also supposed to develop the students's ability to explain to someone who is not aware of any features of Indian culture, society and traditions its main aspects and contents. The students at the end of the course should be aware of the cultural and historical meaning of Indian demeanors, behaviors, and automatic physical and mental patterns. They should also be able to increase their knowledge of Indian culture autonomously, orienting themmselves in the vast array of available studies and researches on Indian culture.
Expected learning outcomes
After attending the course, students should be able to recognize the main theoretical positions emerging in the contemporary debate on the historiographical and anthropological representation of the development of Indian society. The course is also supposed to promote students' ability to critically deal with methodological problems and to use appropriate scientific terminology. Students are expected to become familiar with academic and specialist literature and the course means to promote students' autonomy in studying topics related to Indian culture.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
The teaching programme will start from an analysis of the founding structures of the Indian family and, in particular, the Hindu family, focusing on gender relations and the status recognised to women within it. Since the family is one of the institutions in which one can best observe both the changes taking place in Indian society and the elements of continuity that run through its historical development and link the country's present to its past, an examination of the family institution will be proposed as a privileged tool for observing the processes that animate the Indian socio-cultural fabric, especially in relation to the gender dynamics that characterise it and the role played by its female components. We will therefore delve into the characteristics and relational dynamics that define and shape the identities of daughter, wife, mother and widow; the rites of passage and rituals of the female universe; the socio-cultural meanings underlying the practices of body ornamentation and the elements of which it is composed; the models of beauty and feminine virtue inherited from the mythological and theological repertoire; the dynamics of exclusion suffered by the female component of the Indian population and the forms of female solidarity within the family and Indian society. In order to understand the complex and at times paradoxical status accorded to women in Indian tradition, an excursus into Brahmanical philosophical and devotional thought will be proposed, in order to trace the origins of the contemporary subordination and magnification of the feminine conveyed therein. The examination of the structures on which the Indian family is based will also provide an opportunity to reflect on the regional differences that characterise both the rites, practices and ceremonies that mark the biological and social life of individuals, and the definition and functioning of kinship networks and the relationship between genders. The latter theme will be expanded to include the role and status, traditionally recognised by Indian culture and civilisation, of those who identify with neither the male nor the female gender and who embrace a non-binary gender identity. Thus, the hijra component of the Indian population will be introduced with a focus on the dynamics and strategies of socio-political recognition promoted in more recent times. The analysis of the family institution will also include its legal definition in contemporary India and the consequent explication of the laws and principles that regulate its functioning. The legal reflection on the traditional family will expand to include issues of divorce and the recognition of same-sex unions. The course will therefore deal with fundamental rights and illustrate the programmatic rules laid down in the Constitution, also framing them in relation to the social formations within which the individual's personality takes place.
MODULE I: In the first module, the founding structures and rituals of the Hindu family institution will be introduced, focusing on regional differences, the relationship with the caste system and the roles assumed by its various components. It will reflect on the content and the elements characterising the most significant relationships that shape the family reality (wife and husband; parents and children; mothers and sons; fathers and daughters; mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law), implicitly dealing with the ideas of couple, love and childhood and the educational-pedagogical principles traditionally adopted, explaining on the one hand the characteristics of the extended family and dwelling, on the other, on the growing imposition of the nuclear family in the country. It will focus on some of the practices (including the ghūṁghaṭ) and the main elements of material culture (jewellery, body ornamentation, clothing, etc.) that contribute to defining the relationship between genders and the status of the different members of the family. Finally, the hijra community will be introduced, outlining its presence in the history and culture of the country and the demands for socio-political recognition that animate its present.
Patricia Uberoi (ed.), Family, Kinship and Marriage in India, Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 45-90, 273-306.
Giri Raj Gupta (ed.), Family and Social Change in Modern India, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, 1976, pp. 135-183.
Sudhir & Katharina Kakar, Gli Indiani. Ritratto di un popolo, Neri Pozza, 2007.
Sudhir Kakar, Infanzia e mondo interno dell'India. Uno studio psicoanalitico sull'infanzia e la società in India, Vivarium, Milano, 2006, pp. 103-225.
Anosh Irani, La gabbia dei fiori, Piemme, Milano, 2017. (ROMANZO)
Bulbul Sharma, Garam masala, O Barra O Edizioni, 2010. (ROMANZO)
Anita Nair, Cuccette per signora, Guanda, 2017. (ROMANZO)
II MODULE: the second module will be dedicated to an in-depth examination of the heterogeneous manifestations of the feminine within the Hindu tradition, with particular attention to the representation of the female universe evoked by mythology and outlined by the iconographic repertoire. It will also reflect on the attributions of power and subordination that the Hindu philosophical, theological and devotional horizon addresses to the feminine and their cogency in defining the existence, past and present, of Hindu women.
Gavin Flood, L'induismo. Temi, tradizioni, prospettive, Einaudi, Torino, 2006, pp. 237-269.
David R. Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses. Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition, Motilal Banarsidass, 2005.
MODULE III: The third module will deal with fundamental rights and will illustrate the programmatic norms provided by the Indian Constitution, also framing them in relation to the social formations within which the personality of the individual takes place. Issues relating to protection against discrimination will be explored in depth and the personal statutes concerning family and succession law will be analysed, outlining the application of these regulations within the Italian legal system. In addition, the issue of the standardisation of family law will be addressed through the analysis of reference court cases. The debate on the recognition of same-sex marriages will be touched upon, and the legislation against discrimination in the workplace will be analysed, focusing in particular on protection against sexual harassment.
BY CHOICE one of the following books:
- Lorenza Acquarone, Tra Dharma Common Law e WTO. Un'introduzione al sistema giuridico dell'India, Unicopli, 2016.
- Lorenza Acquarone, Voci audaci. La stand-up comedy in India sfida tabù e censura, Le Lucerne, 2023.
MODULE I: In the first module, the founding structures and rituals of the Hindu family institution will be introduced, focusing on regional differences, the relationship with the caste system and the roles assumed by its various components. It will reflect on the content and the elements characterising the most significant relationships that shape the family reality (wife and husband; parents and children; mothers and sons; fathers and daughters; mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law), implicitly dealing with the ideas of couple, love and childhood and the educational-pedagogical principles traditionally adopted, explaining on the one hand the characteristics of the extended family and dwelling, on the other, on the growing imposition of the nuclear family in the country. It will focus on some of the practices (including the ghūṁghaṭ) and the main elements of material culture (jewellery, body ornamentation, clothing, etc.) that contribute to defining the relationship between genders and the status of the different members of the family. Finally, the hijra community will be introduced, outlining its presence in the history and culture of the country and the demands for socio-political recognition that animate its present.
Patricia Uberoi (ed.), Family, Kinship and Marriage in India, Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 45-90, 273-306.
Giri Raj Gupta (ed.), Family and Social Change in Modern India, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, 1976, pp. 135-183.
Sudhir & Katharina Kakar, Gli Indiani. Ritratto di un popolo, Neri Pozza, 2007.
Sudhir Kakar, Infanzia e mondo interno dell'India. Uno studio psicoanalitico sull'infanzia e la società in India, Vivarium, Milano, 2006, pp. 103-225.
Anosh Irani, La gabbia dei fiori, Piemme, Milano, 2017. (ROMANZO)
Bulbul Sharma, Garam masala, O Barra O Edizioni, 2010. (ROMANZO)
Anita Nair, Cuccette per signora, Guanda, 2017. (ROMANZO)
II MODULE: the second module will be dedicated to an in-depth examination of the heterogeneous manifestations of the feminine within the Hindu tradition, with particular attention to the representation of the female universe evoked by mythology and outlined by the iconographic repertoire. It will also reflect on the attributions of power and subordination that the Hindu philosophical, theological and devotional horizon addresses to the feminine and their cogency in defining the existence, past and present, of Hindu women.
Gavin Flood, L'induismo. Temi, tradizioni, prospettive, Einaudi, Torino, 2006, pp. 237-269.
David R. Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses. Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition, Motilal Banarsidass, 2005.
MODULE III: The third module will deal with fundamental rights and will illustrate the programmatic norms provided by the Indian Constitution, also framing them in relation to the social formations within which the personality of the individual takes place. Issues relating to protection against discrimination will be explored in depth and the personal statutes concerning family and succession law will be analysed, outlining the application of these regulations within the Italian legal system. In addition, the issue of the standardisation of family law will be addressed through the analysis of reference court cases. The debate on the recognition of same-sex marriages will be touched upon, and the legislation against discrimination in the workplace will be analysed, focusing in particular on protection against sexual harassment.
BY CHOICE one of the following books:
- Lorenza Acquarone, Tra Dharma Common Law e WTO. Un'introduzione al sistema giuridico dell'India, Unicopli, 2016.
- Lorenza Acquarone, Voci audaci. La stand-up comedy in India sfida tabù e censura, Le Lucerne, 2023.
Prerequisites for admission
No previous knowledge of Indian history and Indian culture is required.
Teaching methods
Classroom-taught lessons supported by the projection of power point presentations and, where useful for the illustration of the topics addressed, audio-visual materials (images, clips from films and television series, etc.). In addition, case studies will be presented and the active participation of students will be encouraged, involving them in discussions and reflections on the contents of the programme. Lectures and seminars will also be organised, within and outside the teaching hours, to explore the course topics in greater depth.
Teaching Resources
I TEACHING UNIT:
Patricia Uberoi (ed.), Family, Kinship and Marriage in India, Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 45-90, 273-306.
Giri Raj Gupta (ed.), Family and Social Change in Modern India, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, 1976, pp. 135-183.
Sudhir & Katharina Kakar, Gli Indiani. Ritratto di un popolo, Neri Pozza, 2007.
Sudhir Kakar, Infanzia e mondo interno dell'India. Uno studio psicoanalitico sull'infanzia e la società in India, Vivarium, Milano, 2006, pp. 103-225.
Anosh Irani, La gabbia dei fiori, Piemme, Milano, 2017. (ROMANZO)
Bulbul Sharma, Garam masala, O Barra O Edizioni, 2010. (ROMANZO)
Anita Nair, Cuccette per signora, Guanda, 2017. (ROMANZO)
II TEACHING UNIT:
Gavin Flood, L'induismo. Temi, tradizioni, prospettive, Einaudi, Torino, 2006, pp. 237-269.
David R. Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses. Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition, Motilal Banarsidass, 2005.
III TEACHING UNIT:
One of the following books:
- Lorenza Acquarone, Tra Dharma Common Law e WTO. Un'introduzione al sistema giuridico dell'India, Unicopli, 2016.
- Lorenza Acquarone, Voci audaci. La stand-up comedy in India sfida tabù e censura, Le Lucerne, 2023.
Patricia Uberoi (ed.), Family, Kinship and Marriage in India, Oxford University Press, 2010, pp. 45-90, 273-306.
Giri Raj Gupta (ed.), Family and Social Change in Modern India, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, 1976, pp. 135-183.
Sudhir & Katharina Kakar, Gli Indiani. Ritratto di un popolo, Neri Pozza, 2007.
Sudhir Kakar, Infanzia e mondo interno dell'India. Uno studio psicoanalitico sull'infanzia e la società in India, Vivarium, Milano, 2006, pp. 103-225.
Anosh Irani, La gabbia dei fiori, Piemme, Milano, 2017. (ROMANZO)
Bulbul Sharma, Garam masala, O Barra O Edizioni, 2010. (ROMANZO)
Anita Nair, Cuccette per signora, Guanda, 2017. (ROMANZO)
II TEACHING UNIT:
Gavin Flood, L'induismo. Temi, tradizioni, prospettive, Einaudi, Torino, 2006, pp. 237-269.
David R. Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses. Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition, Motilal Banarsidass, 2005.
III TEACHING UNIT:
One of the following books:
- Lorenza Acquarone, Tra Dharma Common Law e WTO. Un'introduzione al sistema giuridico dell'India, Unicopli, 2016.
- Lorenza Acquarone, Voci audaci. La stand-up comedy in India sfida tabù e censura, Le Lucerne, 2023.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The examination consists of an oral test that may alternatively consist of a reasoned and critical exposition of the contents of the examination programme, conducted through a dialogue with the lecturer, or in the presentation, whether or not accompanied by the projection of a power point, of an in-depth study of one of the themes of the examination programme or a topic previously agreed upon with the lecturer. Where a presentation is chosen, a written version must be sent to the lecturer's e-mail address one week before the date of the call. The text of the presentation will not be taken into consideration for evaluation purposes if it does not have the following formal characteristics: 1) quotations, direct or indirect, always accompanied by the bibliographical reference of the source; 2) a brief final bibliography drafted by choosing and uniformly applying one of the bibliography models accepted in scientific publications, 3) length not less than 10,000 characters. In the event of difficulty in identifying the reference bibliography, the lecturer, consulted in good time, will indicate which sources to refer to.
The examination is designed to test both the acquisition of theoretical knowledge and the ability to explain effectively and using appropriate terminology the content learned, contextualising it, where required, historically, and finally, the use of the notions learned to reflect on phenomena that are the subject of the student's direct or indirect experience. The assessment takes into account not only the soundness of the preparation and theoretical competence, but also clarity of exposition, the acquisition of appropriate terminology, in Italian and in Indian languages, the ability to reflect critically on the topics studied and to expound one's own point of view on them in an effective, linear, orderly and convincing manner.
There are no in itinere tests during the course of the year, however active participation in lectures and cultural initiatives promoted within and outside the University (conferences, seminars, book presentations, exhibitions, etc.) by the professors of the degree course is taken into due account and evaluated positively.
The final assessment is expressed in thirtieths.
The examination is designed to test both the acquisition of theoretical knowledge and the ability to explain effectively and using appropriate terminology the content learned, contextualising it, where required, historically, and finally, the use of the notions learned to reflect on phenomena that are the subject of the student's direct or indirect experience. The assessment takes into account not only the soundness of the preparation and theoretical competence, but also clarity of exposition, the acquisition of appropriate terminology, in Italian and in Indian languages, the ability to reflect critically on the topics studied and to expound one's own point of view on them in an effective, linear, orderly and convincing manner.
There are no in itinere tests during the course of the year, however active participation in lectures and cultural initiatives promoted within and outside the University (conferences, seminars, book presentations, exhibitions, etc.) by the professors of the degree course is taken into due account and evaluated positively.
The final assessment is expressed in thirtieths.
L-OR/19 - MODERN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
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