Singer Kishori Amonkar. Express archive photo.
HIND 30300 / 40300 / 47902
Tuesday / Thursday 11:00am – 12:00pm (Central Standard Time UTC-6)
During the Spring Quarter 2020, we will focus on the theme of music: we will read lyrics, listen to performances, read essays, articles, and stories about music, and watch music-related films and video clips.
All course materials (including recordings) will be made available on the Canvas site and course blog. Students should purchase a copy of R.S. McGregor’s Oxford Hindi Dictionary, available for delivery through Seminary Co-op. (Please avoid using Amazon.com if possible.)
Class format
To prepare for each class session, students will read two poetic lyrics and either listen to a recording or watch a video of a musical performance of these lyrics; students will also read a short essay or journalistic article about the particular style of music or poetry. In class–conducted using the Zoom platform-– we will closely examine the lyrics together, discuss their meaning, and discuss how they relate to the broader musical genre or tradition as well as to systems of devotion, culture, literature, and politics.
Class discussions will be in Hindi; these will be collaborative discussions in which we will help each other to learn new vocabulary, improve our grammar and pronunciation, and become more comfortable discussing a range of topics in the language.
Once a week students will be asked to write a short essay– usually one to two pages–on a topic related to the readings.
Students will also ‘meet’ online with the course Language Assistant, Ms. Ashima Mittal, for one hour each week to receive further help in improving their speaking, listening, reading, and writing in Hindi.
At the end of the quarter students will present either a) a final paper in Hindi, or b) a poetic or musical presentation (accompanied by a short essay explaining the significance of the composition/performance). Since the Spring 2020 quarter will be taught online, students may submit a final project in digital format (audio/visual recording, website, blog post, etcetera). We will discuss options for the final project during the first class meeting.
Assessment
Student learning will be assessed in the following manner:
- *Class attendance and participation: 30%
- Homework and other assignments: 30%
- Midterm quiz: 20%
- Final paper/project: 20%
*Given the unusual circumstances facing us in the Spring 2020 Quarter, class ‘attendance’ and participation will be gauged in a flexible and adaptive manner, taking into account each individual student’s ability to participate in synchronous (real-time) class sessions and access online materials and systems. The instructor will work with students as necessary to find a fair and reasonable criteria for participation in class discussions and activities, either in real-time or via asychronous means.
The midterm quiz will be take-home (to be completed within a 24-hour period) and given during the fourth week of the quarter.
The final paper should be written in Hindi and deal with one of the themes of the course; within this broad framework, students may write on any topic of interest to them.
If a student would like to create a multi-media or performance project in lieu of a final paper they may do so; students interested in pursuing an alternative form of project should speak with the instructor about options for doing so by the fourth week of the quarter. All students should speak with the instructor regarding the topic of their final paper or project by the fifth week of the quarter.
Course Schedule
Please note that small changes to the syllabus may be made up until the first week of the quarter.
Session |
Date |
Topic |
Materials |
| 1 | 4/7 | Introduction | No assignments. |
| 2 | 4/9 | Musical terminology and history | Listen:
Read:
Supplemental reading:
|
| 3 | 4/14 | Dhrupad | Listen:
Read:
Watch:
Supplemental reading:
|
| 4 | 4/16 | Khyal & Thumri | Listen:
Read:
Supplemental reading:
|
| 5 | 4/28 | Bhajan | Listen:
Read:
Watch:
|
| 6 | 4/30 | Bhajan | Listen:
Read:
|
| 7 | 5/5 | Qawwali | Listen:
Read:
|
| 8 | 5/7 | Ghazal | Listen:
Read:
|
| 9 | 5/12 | Bollywood | Listen:
Watch:
Read:
|
| 10 | 5/14 | Bollywood | Listen:
Read:
|
| 11 | 5/19 | Bollywood | Listen:
Read:
|
| 12 | 5/21 | Indi-pop & Rap | Listen:
Read:
|
| 13 | 5/26 | Political songs | Listen:
|
| 14 | 5/28 | Punjabi pop | Listen:
|
| 19 | 6/2 | Student presentations |
Student presentations. No assignments. |