Indian Culture Ii

The course aims to:
- broaden the students' historical, social, religious, legal and philosophical knowledge, and facilitate a more exhaustive and deeper understanding of the dynamics and implications which contributed to shaping India's social and cultural heterogeneity;
- help students develop social and cultural skills enabling them to understand the viewpoint and perspectives shared by Indian speakers, in their country as well as abroad, in terms of the main features and practices that are part of individuals' social life;
- develop a particular social and cultural awareness towards the problems and difficulties that Indian people and communities encounter while working on their social, cultural and economic integration in other countries;
- improve the students' ability to interact successfully with the different groups of Indian society, based on robust language skills as well as on an in-depth understanding of Indian culture, practices and traditions.

By the end of the course, students are expected to:
- master the theoretical contents covered by the course syllabus;
- have a sound knowledge of all the phases of Indian history and their interpretations by high-profile protagonists of the historiographical debate in today's time as well as during the colonial period;
- be able to identify and describe the most important theories concerning the representation of Indian social stratification, and have developed an in-depth understanding of the dynamics and underlying structures of the Indian national state;
- be able to argue their opinions on the topics and contents studied, orally and in writing, using the appropriate language registers and referring to texts, authors and studies with which they are familiar;
- be able to define research lines and design pathways to further explore familiar topics, compiling an appropriate bibliography;
- be able to make informed and successful use of the learning tools at their disposal, conducting research and further exploring topics in the appropriate environments, with the aid not only of printed sources, but also of carefully selected online materials.