ASIA 253 - The Jungle in Indian History

1 unit(s)

(Same as HIST 253) When pre-modern Indians used the Sanskrit word for jungle (jangala), they didn’t imagine trees or tigers; they pictured open savannah and antelope. When modern Indians speak of the jungle, they think of forests and wilderness. Why did the jungle change its identity and how does its transformation relate to developments in South Asian environments, politics, culture, and society? We read classical Indian literature alongside colonial and post-colonial natural histories, works of fiction, activist polemics and forestry treatises. Ms. Hughes.

Not offered in 2014/15.

Two 75-minute periods.