Welcome to the Dhar India Studies Program
The Madhusudan and Kiran C. Dhar India Studies Program at Indiana University Bloomington promotes original research and innovative teaching on all aspects of the Indian subcontinent. Although our more than thirty full-time faculty members work in a range of disciplines and with diverse regional interests, all share an enthusiasm for the study of South Asia. Faculty are engaged in research in the humanities, social sciences, language education, and also work in the creative disciplines, and possess expertise in a wide range of subjects ranging from South Asian religion and history to contemporary Indian politics, law, literature, business, and culture. We have specialists on our staff in Bengal, northern India, Tamil Nadu, the Tibetan plateau, and Maharashtra, to name but a few.
We also have a diverse and talented undergraduate and graduate student community at Dhar India Studies who are able to take the opportunity to specialize in the Indian subcontinent through an undergraduate major and minor, as well as a Ph.D. minor. The study of South Asia at Indiana University Bloomington is facilitated not only by our world-class faculty, but also by extensive library holdings in English and Indian languages, a series of regular public academic lectures and cultural events, many study abroad opportunities in the subcontinent, as well as the chance to study a number of South Asian languages to an advanced level.
The naming of the Madhusudan and Kiran C. Dhar India Studies Program honors the parents of Dr Sisir Dhar. Dr Dhar and his wife, Heather Dhar, have provided a generous endowment gift that underwrites the program's mission as a centre of excellence in the study of the Indian subcontinent. The Dhar family's support and confidence in our program, together with that of our many other individual donors, enables us to build upon our commitment to excellence in scholarship, teaching, and public engagement.
We invite you to join us here at Dhar India Studies. Further information on our faculty members, courses, and public events can be found on this website, and please feel free to contact us at the email or phone numbers listed below.
Michael S. Dodson Director, Dhar India Studies Program
Spring 2012
Our lecture series brings the originality of Vikram Chandra, author of Sacred Games and Siddhartha Deb, author of The Beautiful and the Damned: A Portrait of the New India to Bloomington, along with the insights of the nation's leading South Asia scholars--and end the semster with a celebration of the most striking music and dance with Gargi Shinde and Conversations in Taal. The full listings are here. Culture @ India House begins a brand new way of engaging with the DISP--check the Google Calendar for Tuesday cultural listings at India House!. If you missed our inaugural Fall Newsletter, check out a copy here
Languages at the Dhar India Studies Program
Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Sanskrit are routinely taught by DISP faculty.
STARTalk--Start Talking!
The DISP and Indiana University are proud to host one of the nation's premier programs in Hindi and Urdu acquistion for high school and early collegiate students--STARTalk!
