Gandhi: His Time and Ours
AS.070.137.13
Instructor: Swayam Bagaria
404 Macaulay Hall
Office Hours: Th 4-5 or by appointment
Course Meetings: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 1:30-3:00
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will introduce students to the work of one of the most prolific political thinkers of the 20th century, Mahatma Gandhi. Although we will consider longstanding philosophical questions of non-violence, asceticism, and political action that Gandhi was so concerned with, we will also try and understand Gandhi as a human figure who underwent historical and personal struggles to articulate the ideas he did and the conclusions he reached.
The central text of the course is Gandhi’s own, although partial, autobiography that is also the most powerful documentation of his early life. This will form the background of the rest of the course which will emphasize those moments in Gandhi’s trajectory where his thought might seem to flounder or hesitate a bit. We will also draw on some secondary literature on Gandhi to receive context, questions, and even provocations. As conclusion, we will read the trial speech that Gandhi’s assassin gave in the court to plead innocence.
COURSE STRUCTURE
This course is designed as a close reading of a single author.. Class sessions will be divided between 1) introductory lectures given by the instructor, which will synthesize the material and provide historical and theoretical context, while pointing to relevant contemporary scholarship, and 2) open discussion and debate. Students will be expected to come to class having closely read the material and be prepared to share their interpretations and questions with the group.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
I. Attendance (10%)
Attendance is mandatory. If a student must miss a class for religious observance, illness, etc, they will be expected to inform the instructor as soon as possible, and arrange to make up the missing work.
II. Participation (40%)
Active participation in discussion is a requirement for the course. Students will be expected to voice their views and demonstrate their understanding of the course texts, while taking an active role in
III. Critical Response Paper (50%)
Students will be asked to write one final reflection (about 5 pages) at the end of the course. Specific instructions will be provided later. Papers will be due one week following the class in which they are assigned. Assignments will be graded on the basis of their demonstration of understanding of the material, as well as their ability to critically engage with it.
READING SCHEDULE
January 6 & 7 (We will meet the weekend before the 6th to watch the renowned film on Gandhi by Richard Attenborough to get some sense of the historical and political actors that Gandhi was interacting with)
Introduction:
- Gandhi’s Autobiography (You can read this text as the course progresses but some familiarity with it will be assumed in the first class where we will share incidents, events in the text that you might have found curious)
- Kathryn Tidrick, Gandhi: A Political and Spiritual Life, Prologue.
January 9
Setting Ground – Many Mahatmas:
- George Orwell, Reflections on Gandhi.
- Faisal Devji, Review of Ramachandra Guha’s Gandh Before India.
- Yasmin Khan, Gandhi’s World in The Cambridge Companion to Gandhi.
- Akeel Bilgrami, Gandhi: The Philosopher in Secularism, Identity, Disenchantment.
January 13
Civilization and Swadeshi
- Gandhi, Hind Swaraj (Selections).
- Letter exchanged between Gandhi and Tagore (circulated by instructor).
January 14
The Violence of Non-violence
- Gandhi, Lectures on the Bhagavad Gita (Selections)
- Shahid Amin, Event, Metaphor, Memory, pp 7-18, 41-66.
- Faisal Devji, The Impossible Indian, pp 1-8.
January 16
The Untouchable Question
- B.R. Ambedkar, Gandhism.
- D.R. Nagaraj, Self-Purification vs Self-Respect.
January 20
The Idea of Gender
- Madhu Kishwar, Gandhi on Women.
- Tanika Sarkar, Gandhi’s Women.
January 21
Assassination
- Nathuram Godse, Why I Killed Gandhi.
January 23
Wrap Up Discussion