Curriculum Options

SASP Undergraduate Curriculum Options

To know more about the curriculum options offered by the South Asian Studies Programme, please select the relevant academic track from the menu on the right side of this page.

Honours

South Asian Studies through its comprehensive multi-disciplinary curriculum offers NUS students a unique opportunity to become trained specialists in the South Asian region, one of the fastest growing in the world. Students majoring in South Asia will study the first-year exposure module - South Asia: People, Culture, Development, alongside a range of level-2000 and level-3000 modules offered by SASP or recognised modules from other departments. For Honours, students will be required to undertake an Honours Thesis/Projects component.

For graduation requirements, click here.

Single Major

South Asian Studies through its comprehensive multi-disciplinary curriculum offers NUS students a unique opportunity to become trained specialists in the South Asian region, one of the fastest growing in the world. Students majoring in South Asia will study the first-year exposure module - South Asia: People, Culture, Development, alongside a range of level-2000 and level-3000 modules offered by SASP or recognised modules from other departments.

For graduation requirements, click here.

Second Major

The Second Major in South Asian Studies allows students to establish credentials in more that one discipline or area of study. Such a combination would be especially helpful to students who wish to develop strengths and credentials in both a discipline and an area study such as South Asia. This will enable students to complete their undergraduate degree from NUS with a discipline-based subject (e.g. Geography, History or Economics) but with a Second Major in South Asian Studies, equipping them to address employers' preference for disciplinary training coupled with expertise and knowledge about a dynamic part of Asia.

For graduation requirements, click here.

Shared Major

This is applicable to students from 2001-2006 cohort.

For graduation requirements, click here.

Minor in South Asian Studies

This is applicable to students from 2006 and 2007 cohort.

South Asian Studies offers the flexible option to undertake South Asian Studies as a Minor. The Minor in South Asian Studies can be undertaken alongside a Major in any disciplinary area. To attain the Minor in South Asian Studies, students will be required to have 24MCs (about 6 modules) of SN modules from the list below, including the exposure module at level-1000.

Recognised modules for Minor in South Asian Studies

SN1101E	South Asia: People, Culture, Development
SN2231	Contemporary South Asian Economies
SN2232	South Asia: Poverty, Inequality, Power
SN2234	Gender and Society in South Asia
SN2251	Information Revolution in South Asia
SN2271	Religion and Society in South Asia
SN2273	Introduction to Indian Thought
SN2274	South Asian Cultures: an introduction
SN2275	Tamil Studies I
SN2276	Islam: Society and Culture in South Asia
SN3231	South Asia and the World Economy
SN3232	Socio-Economic Development in South Asia
SN3261	Exile, Indenture, IT: Global South Asians
SN3262	The Struggle for India, 1920-64
SN3272	Issues in Indian Philosophy
SN3274	South Asian Cinema
SN3275	Tamil Studies II
SN3276	Introduction to Classical Indian Texts
LAL1201	Tamil 1
LAL2201	Tamil 2
LAH1201	Hindi 1
LAH2201	Hindi 2
EN3265	South Asian Literatures in English
PS2247	South Asia Politics

 

For graduation requirements, click here.

Minor in India Studies

This is applicable to students from 2008 cohort.

South Asian Studies offers the flexible option to undertake India Studies as a Minor. The Minor in India Studies can be undertaken alongside a Major in any disciplinary area. To attain the Minor in India Studies, students will be required to have 24MCs (about 6 modules) of SN modules from the list below, including the exposure module at level-1000.

Recognised modules for Minor in India Studies

SN1101E	South Asia: People, Culture, Development
SN2233	India's Economic Policies & Performance
SN2251	Information Revolution in India
SN2273	Introduction to Indian Thought
SN2275	Tamil Studies I
SN2277	Indian Communities in Southeast Asia
SN2278	Introduction to Sikhism
SN2279	The Making of Modern India, 1856-1947
SN3261	Exile, Indenture, IT: Global South Asians
SN3262	The Struggle for India, 1920-64
SN3272	Issues in Indian Philosophy
SN3275	Tamil Studies II
SN3276	Introduction to Classical Indian Texts
SN3278	Rivers of India: Divinity & Sacred Space
SN3279	Language, Culture and Identity in India
SN3280	Governing Public Services in India
LAL1201	Tamil 1
LAL2201	Tamil 2
LAH1201	Hindi 1
LAH2201	Hindi 2
EN3265	South Asian Literatures in English

For graduation requirements, click here.

Gender Studies Minor

SN2234 Gender and Society in South Asia
This module aims to expose students to women's position and gender discrimination in South Asia, relating these to broader aspects of society, economy and culture. Comparisons with the students' own experiences, leading to appreciation of cross-cultural perspectives on women and gender, are part of the envisaged learning outcomes. Topics covered include women's position in the family and the kin-group, the market, social and political institutions, violence and trafficking, feminist critiques, activism and resistance, cinematic and literary expressions. The module would be of general interest to all students concerned about women's position and gender, as well those interested in South Asia.

---

 

Cultural Studies Minor

SN3261 Exile, Indenture, IT: Global South Asians
This module studies the background leading to the mass migration of the South Asians to Southeast Asia in the nineteenth century, and examines their economic, political and cultural contributions towards the development of the Southeast Asian countries in the twentieth century. It will also examine the roles played by South Asian communities living outside the region in the globalisation of South Asian economies.

 

SN3274 South Asian Cinema
This module begins with a historical overview of cinema in South Asia. It then focuses on the regional production centres and their specific specialisations. Other topics covered are 'Genres of SA Cinema' and their stylistic elements, and 'Cinema and Local Politics in South Asia'. Important films will be viewed and discussed as case studies.

---

 

Religious Studies Minor

SN2271 Religion and Society in South Asia
This module introduces the student to the scientific and comparative study of religion in general and to South Asian religions in particular. After an introduction into the discipline of Comparative Study of Religion, the history of this discipline, and the different approaches it offers, the great variety of South Asian religions will be described chronologically and studied from a comparative perspective. For each tradition a survey of the relevant original literature will be given. Further themes to be covered are the co-existence of different religious traditions, and the social and psychological implications of religious values, beliefs and rituals.

 

PH2204/SN2273 Introduction to Indian Thought
This course is designed to survey the history of Indian philosophy both classical and modern. The course will begin with lectures on the Rig Veda and the Upanishads. It will proceed with the presentation of the main metaphysical and epistemological doctrines of some of the major schools of classical Indian philosophy such as Vedanta, Samkhya, Nyaya, Jainism and Buddhism. The course will conclude by considering the philosophical contributions of some of the architects of modern India such as Rammohan Ray, Rabindrananth Tagore and Mohandas Gandhi.

 

SN2276 Islam: Society and Culture in South Asia
This module introduces the student to South Asian Islamic society, culture and religious thought. Especially in Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Maldives, the three South Asian countries with a Muslim majority, Islam forms an important cultural element. The focus of this module will be on the period from c. 1750-1950, during which important developments took place in South Asian Islam. The course will outline the role of Islam in pre-colonial society as well as the movements for religious and political reform of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Questions of language and literature will also be addressed.

 

SN3276 Indian Religious Texts
This module introduces several of the traditional texts of South Asian religions, especially Hinduism (eg. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana) and Buddhism (the Pali canon). The texts will be studied in translation. The religious, cultural and literary influence and the changing interpretations of the texts will be discussed. A major focus will be the influence of Indian texts on Southeast- and East-Asian societies and their cultures. Local forms of representation, such as story-telling, ritual- and folk-theatre, shadow puppet plays etc. will be taken into account.