Approaches to History (393-0-24)
Topic
Empires, Borderlands, Nationalisms
Instructors
Ashish Koul
847/467-3879
Harris 212
Meeting Info
Kresge Centennial Hall 2-343: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
What does ‘nationalism' or ‘national belonging' look like at the frontiers of a sovereign state instead of its political center? How have expressions of political authority and national belonging changed with global shifts from sovereign imperial polities to sovereign nation-states carved out of former empires? And how do shifts in state authority shape notions of belonging among imperial subjects and national citizens inhabiting frontier territories? This seminar is an opportunity to reflect on these complex and topical questions. We will adopt a historical and comparative approach to analyze frontier regions spread across South and Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and North America. In doing so, we will take border regions and peoples seriously, instead of dismissing them as ‘peripheries' of imperial and national states. We will learn the stories of communities that inhabit such regions as they moved from imperial subjecthood to national citizenship—a process that happened more than once for some of them. Putting these stories in conversation with inherited cultural and scholarly knowledge about nationalism, we will discover what makes a region a borderland, and the extent to which frontiers are central to the formation and perpetuation of sovereign states.
This seminar is divided into three parts. Part I focuses on theoretical understandings of nationalism and borderlands. Part II examines imperial borderlands ranging from the Mughal empire in South Asia to the many frontiers of the British empire. Part III focuses on international borders of the post-colonial era. Key themes will include: sovereign power and its relationship to territorial borders; the politics of belonging among borderlands populations; disputed frontier regions; the seemingly eternal marginality of some borderlands.
Learning Objectives
In this course, students will learn to 1. Locate and analyze primary sources 2. Read secondary literature and evaluate scholarly arguments 3. Use primary and secondary sources to arrive at their own historically informed arguments 4. Refine their writing skills and produce cogent, coherent essays 5. Reflect on the instability of nationalist narratives
Evaluation Method
3 papers
Class Materials (Required)
Materials will be available on Canvas.
Class Attributes
Advanced Expression
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Only History majors and minors can currently enroll in this class.