This module provides an introduction to Indian philosophy and Indian history. It is designed to equip students with a basic knowledge of the concepts, basic procedures and main periods of Indian philosophy (as it was pursued in South Asia in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist contexts from the Vedic period to the fall of the last great Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, in 1707) and the broad contours of Indian history (from the Indus Valley Civilization to post-Independence India). Students will also have to consider the use and value of the concepts of philosophy and history as they are applied to historic South Asia.  

Knowledge

• Outline a broad chronology of the intellectual and political history of South Asia
• Briefly describe some key movements in Indian Philosophy
• Recognize and name primary source material relevant to the study of both Indian philosophy and Indian history
• Select relevant primary and secondary source material for the study of specific issues in the study of Indian philosophy and history
• Recall some of the key Sanskrit terms in Indian philosophical discourse
• Recall some of the key Sanskrit and vernacular terminology relevant to the study of Indian history
• Recall some of the key scholarly, terms and categories for the study of Indian philosophy and history
• Know in more detail the particulars of one period of Indian history and one school of Indian philosophy
• Recall the dates of key events and figures in Indian philosophy and history

Comprehension

• Comprehend broad trends in Indian philosophical discourse
• Comprehend broad trends in Indian social and political history
• Defend an argument pertaining to one period of Indian history and one school of Indian philosophy
• Distinguish between different schools of thought in Indian philosophy
• Paraphrase secondary source work accurately
• Distinguish between different schools of Indian philosophy
• Distinguish between different types of primary source data
• Give examples from Indian philosophical and historical texts in order to support points made about them (or in support of  more general hypotheses)
• Infer trends, ideological and practical agendas and bias in primary and secondary sources
• Summarize the content of primary source material in support of an argument adduced in order to answer an essay or examination question

Application

• Apply seminar activities to independent research activities
• Relate primary and secondary sources to essay and examination questions
• Demonstrate the significance of primary and secondary source data to a given hypothesis

Analysis

• Contrast differing schools of Indian philosophy and related religious ideologies
• Compare the relative utility of forms of data (material and textual) used in order to support historical hypotheses
• Contrast the views of scholarly authorities
• Illustrate logical contradiction in primary and secondary sources
• Illustrate points at which insufficient primary data has been adduced by secondary source material in the support of a given hypothesis
• Infer hypotheses on the basis of a thorough examination of primary and secondary source materials
• Outline a scholarly hypothesis and the evidence upon which it is based
• Select relevant primary and secondary sources
• Relate material cultural to textual cultural data in the support of an argument

Synthesis

• Categorize some of the forms and types of Indian philosophical activity
• Categorize some of the forms and types of early south Asian political and social organisation
• Plan a research process
• Devise a means to manage primary and secondary source materials to support the answering of essay and examination questions
• Compose an introduction to a scholarly argument that outlines its central hypothesis and evidence base
• Compose a scholarly argument that supports its contentions with primary and secondary source materials
• Compose a conclusion to a scholarly argument that summarizes what has been shown and relates this to broader issues in the study of religion and society 

The module will be delivered by lectures and seminars.  Of the thirty contact hours, twenty will be reserved for basic lectures on key topics in Indian philosophy and Indian history (10 hours per section), while ten hours will be reserved for seminars related to primary source materials and to controversies and differences of opinion in the secondary literature.