Specific aspects of South Asian religions within a historical or comparative/ phenomenological framework. Two topics are offered 2009/2010. Students may take one or both for credit. Fall 2009: Religion and Politics in South Asia. Explores the relationship between religion and politics in colonial and post-colonial South Asia through readings of primary texts as well as debates on religious reform/revival, nationalism, caste, and partition. Spring 2010: Visual Piety in South Asia. A focus on the Indic concept of darshan (auspicious sight) as a way of understanding the everyday religious lives of South Asians. An exploration of the way people in the region "see" religion, with an emphasis on Hinduism.