South Asian cultures posit that food serves to mediate between ourselves and the world around us. This course examines connections between diet and physical activity in South Asia’s modern history. Topics include: the connection between the body and the spiritual world as mediated by diet in pre-modern South Asia; assumptions about food and colonial rule’s underlying opposition between a “manly” Europe and an “effeminate” India; articulations of anti-colonial nationalism in sporting performance and experimentation with diet; connections between anxieties about sexual performance, considerations of what one eats, and conceptualizations of modern South Asian identities; the roles played by food politics and sports play in the international relations of postcolonial South Asia.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 25

Prerequisites: None.

Instructor: Rao

Distribution Requirements: HS - Historical Studies

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered

Notes: