In the late 4th century BCE, the Maurya Empire under Chandragupta conquers most of North India. His son Bindusara continues the conquest into the south. Bindusara's son Ashoka (Asoka) takes the empire to its furthest extent, but then turns to a life of Buddhism and nonviolence. He is considered one of the prime catalysts for the spread of Buddhism.
Material Type: Lesson
This course focuses on Hindustani classical music of North India, and also involves learning about the ancient foundations of the rich classical traditions of music and dance of all Indian art and culture. Students explore the practice the ragas and talas through learning songs, dance, and drumming compositions, and develop insights through listening, readings, and concert attendance.
Material Type: Full Course
Poster showing map of India, Buddha, Gandhi, and the Taj Mahal. Hand-written on recto in pencil: Maurice Merlin - Detroit.
Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Primary Source
An overview of the first 6 Mughal emperors: Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb.
Material Type: Lesson
This module talks about an interesting facet of board games (chess, chaupar, snakes and ladder) in India. It not simply traces their trajectory through the centuries but also locates these games as a legitimate site of visual culture in India. What is the politics of these board games? How did they travel across centuries? How have they evolved into their present models?
Material Type: Case Study
This inquiry leads students through an investigation of how human and physical features of India influenced the development of Ancient India’s culture. Students will investigate the role geography played in the development of trade, cuisine and religious beliefs. Resource created by Dee Ann Roy, Arcadia Public Schools, as part of the Nebraska ESUCC Social Studies Special Projects 2023 - Inquiry Design Model (IDM).
Material Type: Unit of Study
Students will view a powerpoint presentation and short video over the rise of the Ancient Indus River Valley Civilization, as well as the rise and fall of the Mauryan and Gupta Empires. Students will be completing review questions over the content and concepts covered.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
As markets or production bases, China and India are becoming important and integral players in the global economy. Foreign direct investment (FDI), portfolio investments and outsourcing businesses have increased dramatically in these two economies. Despite the rising importance of these two economies on the world stage, our knowledge and analysis of these two countries in an integrated manner has remained poor. The two are often lumped together by business analysts as “emerging markets,” despite the substantial differences in their political systems, reform policies and business organizations. Academics, in contrast, have tended to treat the two countries separately, preferring to specialize in issues and questions specific to one or the other country. The purpose of this course is to analyze these two countries within a coherent analytical framework. Our learning model is inductive, and heavily based on class discussions and participation. The group projects should aim at integrating analysis, knowledge and understanding of these two countries. We will also experiment with other forms of group projects, such as creating and working on business plans and those projects that integrate research from field trips with more traditional research, such as library research. There is no prerequisite but 15.012 (Applied Macro- and International Economics) and 15.223 (Global Markets, National Policies and the Competitive Advantage of Firms) are highly recommended.
Material Type: Full Course
This course is an introduction to modern Indian culture and society through films, documentaries, short stories, novels, poems, and journalistic writing. The principal focus is on the study of major cultural developments and social debates in the last sixty five years of history through the reading of literature and viewing of film clips. The focus will be on the transformations of gender and class issues, representation of nationhood, the idea of regional identities and the place of the city in individual and communal lives. The cultural and historical background will be provided in class lectures. The idea is to explore the “other Indias” that lurk behind our constructed notion of a homogeneous national culture.
Material Type: Full Course
