South Asia: An NEH Bridging Cultures Project

FAIN: ME-50046-14

Community College of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA 19130-3936)
Lakshmi Gudipati (Project Director: August 2013 to May 2018)

A partnership between the Community College of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania's South Asia Center to conduct a two-year Bridging Cultures faculty and curriculum development project on cultural divides and diversity in India.

A partnership between the Community College of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania's South Asia Center to conduct a two-year Bridging Cultures faculty and curriculum development project on cultural divides and diversity in India. The Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) collaborates with The South Asia Center, a Title VI National Resource Center at the University of Pennsylvania, to expand the CCP curriculum in selected periods in Indian history from the Vedic era to the Partition of 1947. Lakshmi Gudipati and David Prejsnar of CCP (English Department and History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies Department, respectively) direct the project for sixteen participants, all of whom are selected from humanities faculty hired by CCP in the last ten years. Each year a cohort of eight junior faculty participate in a series of seminars, in company with University of Pennsylvania scholars of South Asia such as Daud Ali, Deven Patel, Michael Meister, Jamal Elias, and Suvir Kaul, who bring rich knowledge about Indian art, history, religion, and literature. Topics explored in light of the theme of negotiating diversity show myriad permutations of accommodation or strife amongst different religious, social, or political groups in ancient, early modern, and colonial eras. Year one encompasses the classical to pre-colonial periods, drawing on poems, plays, moral tales, and selections from religious texts and epics such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. A tour of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's permanent collections, led by the Curator of Indian and Himalayan Art, offers direct experience with representative art. In year two, the early modern era and colonialism ending in the Partition of 1947 is examined using primary sources such as the writings of explorers, missionaries, travelers, and Victorian intellectuals; East India Company history; and twentieth-century literature and films. Mentoring by the South Asia Center scholars assists CCP faculty as they infuse content into modules for existing courses. In addition, the CCP directors create a new interdisciplinary course on South Asia to complement other area studies courses offered under the auspices of CCP's Center for International Understanding. The project supports expansion of the college's print and digital resources for teaching, as well as the creation of digital avenues for disseminating modules, bibliographies, and useful links.

Associated Products

Audience and Perspective: Colonial Famines in India (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Audience and Perspective: Colonial Famines in India
Author: Aiden Kosciesza
Abstract: This module is part of a larger reimagining of my English 101: Composition I course. The objective of this new style is to rewrite ENGL 101 into a course that combines global material with English composition skills, presented in a modular format with content units that can be switched out year to year according to the needs of the instructor, the interests of the students, or College-wide projects for regional study. This approach intends to heighten students’ global consciousness, making them more culturally aware, and instill in them a greater sense of world citizenship. As such, this reimagining is in line with CCP’s Mission Statement
Year: 2016
Audience: Undergraduate

ModuleTitle: Colonialism and Tea (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: ModuleTitle: Colonialism and Tea
Author: Nicholas L. Peterson
Abstract: 1. To examine the production and consumption of beverages as a historical process with significant social ramifications and effects, and to connect student consumption with the history of these beverages. 2. To defamiliarize everyday material such as common beverages by revealing the social and economic context in which these beverages became popular. In terms of tea specifically, to reveal the origins of tea in the context of the social and economic history of the British Empire and its colonial project.
Year: 2016
Audience: Undergraduate

Unit Title: “Cultural Aesthetics of Revolt and Rebellion” (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Unit Title: “Cultural Aesthetics of Revolt and Rebellion”
Author: Christine Corrigan
Abstract: As any ESL teacher knows, ESL students comprise numerous nationalities with a variety of cultural backgrounds, including a good number from Asian and African cultures. Subject matter based on Indian and African topics would therefore be of interest to students from these backgrounds as well as to other ESL students who wish to gain more intercultural perspectives. An ESL classroom can be said to be a multi-cultural microcosm of the world and students often have a natural interest in familiarizing themselves with their classmates’ backgrounds and cultures. In addition, a goal for most ESL students is to learn about the country where they are learning English; thus, another component of the module focuses on the United States. Students at this level must improve their skills in writing various kinds of essays, paraphrasing, summarizing, and critical thinking. Students will practice these skills with embedded assignments in the context of rebellions against the British in India, Nigeria, and the U.S.
Year: 2016
Audience: Undergraduate

Module Title: Nationalism and Theater in South Asia (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Module Title: Nationalism and Theater in South Asia
Author: Faculty: Peggy Mecham, Associate Professor of Theater
Abstract: This module will integrate the significant theater and performance forms of South Asia into our student’s understanding of theater history, cultural theory and practice. One of the issues with survey courses is the inevitable generalizing because of time constraints that lead to a superficial presentation of content and analysis. One approach is to include unifying forms and theories to explore multiple historical theater forms and practices. Concepts and constructs of nationalism and its relationship to identity can provide a framework for examining how the stage and scripts support a study and critique of national cultures and identity. All cultures present and represent their history and values in performance. Disruptions of notions of history or cultural and social mores are also often performed, for example, in dada or intercultural performance. An exploration of significant scripts and theatrical periods and styles, reflecting multiple styles of performance in South Asia, will contribute to student’s understanding of the history and culture of particular regions and groups. These studies will also introduce students to conflicts and issues, both historical and current, in South Asia. Additionally, students will increase their understanding of the relationship of theatrical practices and genres historically and in intercultural performance.
Year: 2016
Audience: Undergraduate

Module Title: An Introduction of the South Asian Concept of Arranged Marriages (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Module Title: An Introduction of the South Asian Concept of Arranged Marriages
Author: Name: Prof. Joanna Labov
Abstract: Rationale: The purpose of this module is to discuss the continued custom of arranged marriages in order to introduce South Asian cultural values to advanced ESL writing/ reading students. It is an excellent way to bridge cultures in a course designed to improve ESL students’ writing, reading and critical thinking skills. An arranged marriage is a custom that is not understood by many people across the globe. It is important for students to examine the custom of arranged marriages because it helps them to understand the values, beliefs and practices of people who come from other cultures. It helps them to understand the concept of marriage from a broader perspective and communicate empathetically with people from other cultures. The students will learn how to write reaction papers, conduct a debate, write a persuasive essay, and a critical analysis essay about the topic. They will read chapters about arranged marriages, view recent films, video clips and read a novel. The module will be four weeks in duration.
Year: 2016
Audience: Undergraduate

Nonverbal Communication in Art: Hybridity in the Visual Art of India (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Nonverbal Communication in Art: Hybridity in the Visual Art of India
Author: Elizabeth Catanese
Abstract: Course looks at how culture broadly define, influences, and challenges communication.
Year: 2016
Audience: Undergraduate

Module Title: A Case Study of the Architecture of South Asia as Cultural Bridge (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Module Title: A Case Study of the Architecture of South Asia as Cultural Bridge
Author: Michael Stern
Abstract: Course Description: This course explores the major historical design movements and theoretical concepts of architecture and interiors from pre-historical times through the end of the Renaissance (ca. 1600). Lectures and discussions will explore ways of interpreting built forms, as well as illustrative sculpture and painting, so that specific building projects can be understood in the context of the major issues that are central to each historical period. Interior spaces as well as exterior forms will be investigated in order to illuminate the relationship between the container and the contained. While this course focuses predominantly on western architecture, Islamic, Asian and indigenous American architectural history will be investigated as well. This is a writing intensive course.
Year: 2015
Audience: Undergraduate

Learning About Indian History Through Temples, Art, and the Ramayana (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Learning About Indian History Through Temples, Art, and the Ramayana
Author: Nicholas Molnar
Abstract: Goals of Unit: To give first-year students a broader understanding of cultures across South Asia, using the topic to discuss the study of the discipline of history in general. The importance of other disciplines to the study of history will be discussed. The students will have many opportunities to write about these topics.
Year: 2015
Audience: Undergraduate

Course Modules: Violence, Ethics and the Mahabharata (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Course Modules: Violence, Ethics and the Mahabharata
Author: W.Esposito
Abstract: This course teaches undergraduates how to research and how to incorporate research materials into a sustained argument having the form of an academic essay. To assist students to these ends, I have chosen the topic of violence and its variants: pacifism, non-violent direct action, etc. Students are assessed primarily through two research papers which they draft and complete. The first explores the social and psychological origins of violent behavior. The second asks whether violence (or non-violence) continues to be useful as an agent of social change. I have therefore written two modules pertaining to South Asian materials for this course. The first revisits the idea of non-violence as understood by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The second looks at the uses and regrets which attend violent action in the Indian epic The Mahabharata. For a more-nuanced and complete look at how the South Asian materials are integrated with texts originating elsewhere, I refer the reader to the “Introduction of Modules for Faculty” section below.
Year: 2015
Audience: Undergraduate

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