ClassInfo - Spring 2025 Political Science Classes

Spring 2025 | POL 3431 Section 001: Politics of India (65050)

Instructor(s): Anoop Sarbahi
Class Component:: Lecture
Credits:: 3 Credits
Repeat Credit Limit:: 4 Credits
Grading Basis:: Student Option
Instructor Consent:: No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:: In Person
Class Attributes:: UMNTC Liberal Education Requirement
Times and Locations:: Regular Academic Session

01/21/2025 - 05/05/2025

Tue, Thu 01:00PM - 02:15PM

UMTC, West Bank
Enrollment Status:: Open (0 of 25 seats filled)
Also Offered:: Spring 2025

Course Catalog Description:

The course introduces students to the politics of India; a non-Western, parliamentary political system that stands out as a bastion of democracy in the developing world, despite underdevelopment & significant ethno-religious divisions. By focusing on India, we offer an understanding of the problems of democratization, underdevelopment, governance & political violence. We examine India's political institutions & challenges confronting the institutions such as socio-economic inequalities, social exclusion, social divisions, ethno-religious & ideological insurgencies, criminalization of politics & rampant corruption. The course enables students to answer important questions: Why did democracy endure in post-colonial India when much of the developing world endured authoritarian regimes? What accounts for the persistence of ethno-religious conflict & violence? What determines a country's approach to socio-economic development? What accounts for India's economic development over the last few decades? How do we explain the existence of political democracy and rampant corruption?

Class Description:

This course will introduce you to the politics of India - the world's largest democracy (over 800 million voters - 2.5 times the US population), the world's third largest economy (in purchasing power parity), and one of the most ethnically-diverse nations (over 4,500 ethno-cultural groups from all major world religions and speaking more than 750 languages). You will not only learn more about India, a fifth of world's population, but through a focus on India, this course will offer you an understanding of the problems of democratization, underdevelopment, governance and political violence.

We will learn about India's political institutions as well as challenges confronting these institutions such as widespread socio-economic inequalities, social exclusion, deep-seated societal divisions, ethno-religious and ideological insurgencies, continued criminalization of politics and rampant corruption. The course will enable students to answer such important questions as: Why did democracy endure in post-colonial India when much of the developing world endured authoritarian regimes? How do political institutions and processes interact with socio-cultural factors? What accounts for the persistence of ethno-religious conflict and violence? What factors determine a country's approach to socio-economic development? What accounts for India's rapid economic development over the last couple of decades? How do we explain the co-existence of political democracy with rampant institutional corruption?

Grading:

Three In-class assignments: 12%
Four homework assignments: 28%
One individual/group research assignment: 15%
Final paper: 25%
Class Participation: 20%

Exam Format:

No exam

Class Format:

50% Lecture
25% Film/Video
25% Discussion

Workload:

Around 100 pages of readings per week; four homework assignments;
three in-class assignments, a research assignment and a final paper.

Textbooks:

https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/65050/1253

Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:

1 December 2016

ClassInfo Links - Spring 2025 Political Science Classes

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