South Asian Studies
Bowdoin offers courses in the anthropology, art, history, music, religions, and sociology of South Asia and the South Asian diaspora, with additional courses offered on occasion in government, literature, environmental studies, urban studies, and gender, sexuality & women’s studies.
Studying South Asia, a region characterized by extensive linguistic and cultural diversity, could involve pursuing a language ranging from Hindi, the third most spoken language in the world, or Urdu, its close sibling, to languages from an entirely different linguistic family, such as Tamil, Telugu, or Kannada, or many other possibilities. While Bowdoin does not currently offer courses in any South Asian language, students satisfy the language requirement through Study Abroad and sometimes through summer language programs in the U.S. Our students have been successful applicants for the CLS programs in Hindi (Jaipur) and Bengali (Kolkata), and have additionally studied Marathi, Nepali, Sanskrit, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu while participating in Study Abroad programs in South Asia.
For questions about studying South Asia at Bowdoin, learning a South Asian language, or Study Abroad in South Asia, please get in touch with Prof. Rachel Sturman or Prof. Claire Robison.
Meet Our Faculty
Left to right: Claire Robison, Rachel L. Sturman, Christine Marrewa Karwoski