North Carolina State University • Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures

 

Advanced Hindi-Urdu I
Readings in Literature

Summer  2006                  FLN 301                3 credit hours

 

Instructor: Prof. Afroz Taj and assistant

 

Course Materials:   Course Readings: compiled by Afroz Taj. 

Prerequisite:  Intermediate Hindi-Urdu II (FLN 202 and 204), or equivalent proficiency in Hindi or Urdu, with instructor’s permission.

GER Requirement:  This course counts toward the NC State GER Humanities-Literature Requirement.  See the instructor if you have any questions.

Course Description and Objectives: Advanced Hindi-Urdu I: Readings in Literature begins the third year of training in spoken and written Hindi-Urdu with special emphasis on the discussion of literary works and their relationship to social, historical and political issues in South Asia.  We cover a wide range of South Asian literature including the epic Ramayana, medieval devotional poetry, 19th century ghazals, 20th century short stories, and a novel excerpt from “Umrao Jaan Ada, and modern poetry.  We discuss how historical and social themes inspire and inform South Asian literature.

            At each meeting we will discuss the assigned reading selection, covering vocabulary and grammar topics as they arise.  Readings are available in both the Hindi script (Devanagari) and the Urdu script (Nastaliq); you are not required to know both scripts.  You are expected to come to class prepared for discussion according to the assignment schedule given below. Homework assignments will generally consist of short essays on literary and cultural topics, presentations, or interviews. In-class discussion is designed to help you develop mature oral competency in idiomatic spoken Hindi and to express relatively sophisticated ideas and opinions in a culturally and linguistically authentic manner.  Homework assignments are designed to take advantage of immersion in Hindi-Urdu culture.

Important Policies:  

1. Attendance: Regular attendance is obligatory. For each unexcused absence five points will be deducted from your final grade and you will lose the 10 points for class participation as well. Students arriving in class more than 15 minutes late will be considered absent for that day.  More than five unexcused absences during the program will result in an “F” grade for the course. See the NC State attendance regulation for the definitions of excused and unexcused absences.  If you miss class, even with an excused absence, you are responsible for making up the missed work and keeping up with the schedule of assignments.  Contact  a classmate or the instructor to find out what you missed.

2. Academic Integrity: Every student is expected to abide strictly by the NC State Code of Student Conduct, including the use of the Honor Pledge on all dictations, essays, and exams.  Students cannot give or receive aid on any test, essay, or paper, even if it is a "take-home," unless specifically told otherwise by the instructor. Plagiarism: You are expected to consult outside sources, including Internet websites, for your essays or papers, but you must cite each source according to standard academic practice.  If you fail to cite a source from which you have borrowed ideas or text, you may be guilty of a violation of the NC State honor code.  If you have questions, ask the Instructor.

3. Disabilities: Reasonable accommodations will be made for students with verifiable disabilities.  In order to take advantage of available accommodations, students must register with Disability Services for Students at 1900 Student Health Center, 515-7653.  For more information on NC State’s policy for students with disabilities, please see the Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Regulation.

 

Course Requirements:

 

Class Participation: You are expected to come to class prepared, having read the assignment in advance, and you will be expected to express in Hindi or Urdu your opinions, feelings, and ideas.  If you contribute actively to the class each week, you may earn up to 100 class participation points for the program.

Essays: There will be five short (2-3 page) essays based on the readings and topics discussed in class.  To ensure proper credit, you MUST write the essay number on each essay. Each essay will be worth 25 points.  Essays not turned in will receive zero points. 

Interviews:  There will be five interviews. Each is worth 25 points.  You will prepare a set of questions based on a particular task or topic, and use these questions as the basis for an interview with a native speaker.  You will write this up and hand it in (1-2 pages).

Exam:  There will a final exam in the form of a final project: the project may be a research paper, interview, presentation, or creative work. In the final project, you will be graded on spelling and grammatical accuracy as well as content (originality of ideas, logic of argument, depth of research).  The final exam is worth 100 points and is due June 30.

Grading System:

Course grades will be awarded according to the percentage you earn out of the total possible points as given in the table below. No work submitted after the last day of class will be accepted or counted towards the final grade.

Class Participation

20 x 5

100

22%

Essays

5 x 25

125

28%

Interviews

5 x 25

125

28%

Final Paper

100

100

22%

Grand Total

 

450

100%

The following grading scale will be used. Fractional percentages will be rounded up, for example 84.3% would be counted as 85% = B+.

100%

99% - 95%

94% - 90%

89% - 85%

84% - 80%

79% - 75%

74% - 70%

A+

A

A-

B+

B

B-

C+


 Schedule of Activities:

 

Day

Date

Location

Readings

Assignments

Wed

May 24

Delhi

Introduction

 

Thur

May 25

Delhi

Amir Khusrau, Selected verses.

 

Fri

May 26

Delhi

Amir Khusrau, Selected verses.

 

Sat

May 27

Delhi

Kabir, selections from The Bijak of Kabir

Essay 1 due (Khusrau)

Mon

May 29

Delhi to Haridwar

Travel Day

 

Tue

May 30

Haridwar-Rishikesh

Kabir, selections from The Bijak of Kabir

Interview 1

Wed

May 31

Haridwar to Delhi

Travel Day

 

Thur

June 1

Delhi

Mira Bai, selected padas.

 

Fri

June 2

Delhi

Mira Bai, selected padas.

 

Sat

June 3

Delhi

Music

Essay 2 due (Kabir or Mira Bai)

Mon

June 5

Delhi to Aligarh

Travel Day

 

Tue

June 6

Aligarh

Music

Interview 2

Wed

June 7

Aligarh

Excerpt from the Ramcharitmanas (Ramayana) by Tulsidas

 

Thur

June 8

Aligarh

Ramcharitmanas

 

Fri

June 9

Aligarh

Babri Masjid – Ram Janmabhoomi

Essay 3 due (Tulsidas)

Mon

June 12

Agra

Babri Masjid – Ram Janmabhoomi

 

Tue

June 13

Agra

Ghalib, selected ghazals.

Interview 3

Wed

June 14

Agra

FIELD TRIP

 

Thur

June 15

Agra

FIELD TRIP

 

Fri

June 16

Agra

Ghalib, selected ghazals.

Essay 4 due (Ghalib)

Mon

June 19

Jaipur

Ruswa, Umrao Jan Ada, excerpts

 

Tue

June 20

Jaipur

Ruswa, Umrao Jan Ada, excerpts

Interview 4

Wed

June 21

Jaipur

Travel Day

 

Thur

June 22

Jaipur

"Kabuliwala," by Rabindranath Tagore

 

Fri

June 23

Jaipur

"Kabuliwala," by Rabindranath Tagore.

 

Sat

June 24

Jaipur

"Godan" (excerpt) by Munshi Premchand.

Essay 5 due (Tagore or Premchand)

Mon

June 26

Delhi

"Godan" (excerpt) by Munshi Premchand

 

Tue

June 27

Delhi

Faiz Ahmed Faiz, selected poetry.

Interview 5

Wed

June 28

Delhi

Saadat Hasan Manto, "Khol Do."

 

Thur

June 29

Delhi

Saadat Hasan Manto, "Khol Do."

 

Fri

June 30

Delhi

 

Final Exam Due