Religious Studies B335: Bollywood and Beyond: Religion in South Asian
Film
3 credits (Both COLL (CASE) A&H Breadth of Inquiry credit and Global Civ & Culture credit)
Tuesday/Thursday, 4:00-5:15 p.m. (SY001), Wednesday
5:45 – 8:45 p.m.(SE105)
Instructor: Rebecca J. Manring (rmanring@indiana.edu)
This course gives a nice introduction to cinema in the
Indian subcontinent using a theoretical framework for understanding the ways
religion plays out in both popular and less commercial films. Religion makes
frequent appearances in South Asian cinema, sometimes for surprising
reasons.
Each week we will watch and discuss, in detail, one
film. Our broad topics include
partition, gender, myth, fundamentalism, and the diaspora. We will come to know a range of views on
religion and its role in the lives of South Asians through film produced in
India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and our reading of critical articles for each
film, and in the process students will also gain some cultural literacy in the
region. The films include mythologicals,
social commentary, and Bollywood blockbusters, all of which have a great deal
to tell us about religion in South Asia . No prerequisites, and prior knowledge of
South Asia, while helpful, is not expected.
Each week students will submit a 1-2 page response to
questions raised by that week's material.
Grading will be based on these papers (30%), attendance and
participation in classroom activities (30%), and two term papers (40%).
Our in-class discussions will center on the readings, and
questions posed on OnCourse will help guide students' thinking about each
piece.
By the end of the course students will be able to
-
recognize and deconstruct religious tropes in
South Asian film, and discuss these in religious studies critical terms
-
discuss the role of Bollywood in perpetuating
communal (religious) stereotypes, and how the diaspora furthers such goals
-
understand the enduring trauma of the Partition
of South Asia
-
debate the cliche "Hindus and Muslims are
all brothers" from various South Asian cinematic perspectives
