Unit information: Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict in South Asia in 2023/24

Unit name	Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict in South Asia
Unit code	POLI20009
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Wyatt
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Unit Information

This unit will introduce students to the politics of modern South Asia. The unit will focus on the politics of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The unit will provide a broad overview of politics in this region beginning with a survey of the colonial period of state formation, early nation building and the uneven consolidation of political institutions. The unit will examine a number of conflicts that have complicated the process of national building. These include the 1947 partition of India, the divide between West and East Pakistan, the confilict over Kashmir and the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.

Aims:

• To introduce students to the political history of South Asia

• To introduce students to key texts on South Asian politics

• To demonstrate the challenge of post-colonial state formation

• To develop a critical and comparative understanding of contemporary South Asian politics.

Your learning on this unit

Upon completion of this unit students will:

1. demonstrate familiarity with the political development of the states of South Asia
2. be familiar with the broad sweep of literature on the politics of South Asia
3. be able to integrate empirical evidence into persuasive arguments and articulate these in seminars and oral presentations
4. be able to integrate empirical evidence into comparative arguments sustained in a substantial piece of written work
5. be able to critically assess the place of nationalism in the politics of the region
6. be able to explain the success and failure of ethnic conflict management among the states of South Asia

How you will learn

The unit will be taught through blended learning methods, including a mix of synchronous and asynchronous teaching activities

How you will be assessed

2,000 word essay 1 (25%) 2,000 word essay 2 (75%)

Both assessments test all learning outcomes listed.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. POLI20009).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.