Middle East/South Asia Studies Faculty

Baki Tezcan
Jamal Abedi
Afra Afsharipour
Ali Anooshahr
Karima Bennoune
David Biale
Anupam Chander
Poonam Chauhan
Catherine Chin

Professor, School of Education

Professor, School of Law
Associate Professor, History
Professor, School of Law
Distinguished Professor, History
Professor, School of Law
Lecturer, Classics
Associate Professor,
Religious Studies
Elizabeth Constable
Associate Professor,
Women and Gender Studies
Diana Davis
Associate Professor, History
Corrie Decker
Assistant Professor, History
Mark Elmore
Assistant Professor,
Religious Studies
Omnia El Shakry
Associate Professor, History
Cristiana Giordano
Assistant Professor, Anthropology
Shayma Hassouna
Lecturer, Classics
Naomi Janowitz
Professor, Religious Studies
Kevin Johnson
Dean, School of Law
Suad Joseph
Dist. Professor, Anthropology &
Women and Gender Studies
Sunaina Maira
Professor, Asian American Studies
Zeev Maoz
Dist. Professor, Political Science
Flagg Miller
Associate Professor,
Religious Studies
Susan G. Miller
Professor, History
Vaidehi Ramanathan Professor, Linguistics
Noha Radwan
Associate Professor,
Comparative Literature
Lynn Roller
Professor, Art History
Parama Roy
Professor, English
Brenda Schildgen
Distinguished Professor,
Comparative Literature
Sudipta Sen
Professor, History
Jocelyn Sharlet
Associate Professor,
Comparative Literature
Smriti Srinivas
Professor, Anthropology
Teresa Steele
Associate Professor, Anthropology
Madhavi Sunder
Professor, School of Law
Mairaj Syed
Assistant Professor,
Religious Studies
Baki Tezcan
Associate Professor,
History & Religious Studies
Archana Venkatesan
Associate Professor, Comparative
Literature & Religious Studies
Heghnar Watenpaugh Associate Professor, Art History
Keith Watenpaugh
Associate Professor,
Religious Studies

Director of Middle East/South Asia Studies

Associate Professor,
History & Religious Studies
3222 Social Science & Humanities
University of California, Davis
One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616
btezcan@ucdavis.edu

Gurjit Mann
Program Coordinator of
Middle East/South Asia Studies
1272 Social Science & Humanities
University of California, Davis
One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616
(530)754-4926
mesastaff@ucdavis.edu
Founding Director: Suad Joseph 2004-2009
Middle East/South Asia Studies Website
mesa.ucdavis.edu

Building India & South Asia Studies at UC Davis

India and the South Asia region are the new vibrant center of
global transformation, carrying with them the hopes and
challenges of a fifth of humanity. Recognizing the
importance of this region and the interest amongst our
students, the Middle East/South Asia Studies Program at
UCD, started the work to build an India & South Asia
Studies Program at UC Davis in 2003. Over the next ten
years, and with the generous support of the university, the
UC Davis Foundation, the Indian & South Asian
Community, and various donors, ME/SA hosted academic
scholars and intellectuals (including such eminent scholars
as Dipesh Chakrabarty, Richard Eaton, B.D.
Chattopadhyaya, Shiv Visvanathan, and renowned
filmmakers such as Mira Nair) discussion series, film
screenings, seminars, conferences, and public lectures.
In 2005, 874 UCD students signed a petition asking for
Hindi/Urdu language instruction; and the Middle East/South
Asia Studies Program was able to launch classes the
following year with a major grant from the U.S. Department
of Education. In 2007, students petitioned for third-year
level Hindi/Urdu classes.
In 2011-12 ME/SA faculty and UCD Alumni worked in
partnership with the University and the Mondavi Center to
produce a season-long Focus on India series, exploring the
diversity and dynamism of Indias cultures through films,
photo exhibits, music and dance including the Kathak
dance ensemble of the Rachna Yadav troupe from New
Delhi, Bharatanatyam performed by the local Kalanjali
School, and table maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain and the sitar
virtuoso Anoushka Shankar.
In May 2014, a special cross-disciplinary South Asia
roundtable on Religion and its Discontents, featuring U.S.
and international scholars (incl. Srilata Raman, Canada, and
V. Geetha, India) will be held at UCD. The UC-wide
symposium on Spirited Topographies, also in May 2014,
will feature scholars working on urban spaces and religiosity
in the South Asian world.
Today, ME/SA has a core of nine faculty members whose
expertise lie in the field of India & South Asia Studies: Ali
Anooshar (History), Poonan Chauhan (Classics), Mark
Elmore (Religious Studies), Sunaina Maira (Asian American
Studies), Vaidehi Ramanathan (Linguistics), Parama Roy
(English), Sudipta Sen (History), Smriti Srinivas
(Anthropology), and Archana Ventakesan (Comparative
Literature/Religious Studies). Campus-wide and via its
Education Abroad Program, UCD is offering almost 50
courses on India & South Asia in the humanities, social
sciences, and languages. A proposal for a new Minor in

India & South Asia Studies is expected to be approved by

UC Davis this year, with students registering for it in the
2014-15 school year.

contribute to this lecture series, as well as, fund visiting

scholars, seminars, symposia, conferences, and other
academic and student activities.

The Achievements of ME/SA

The UCD Humanities Institute and UC Multi-Campus

Research Group have supported collaborations featuring
scholars working on India and South Asia. UCD has
worked with Bay Area UCs and Stanford University on a
South Asia graduate conference and is planning other events
showcasing India and South Asia.

The new Minor in India & South Asia Studies is housed

in and supported by the Middle East/South Asia Studies
Program at UCD. ME/SA was founded in 2004 as an
undergraduate Minor and became a Major in 2008 in
response to the demands of UC Davis students and the
urgent need to understand this important area of the
world. In 2001 there were two ME/SA teaching faculty,
five courses, 2-400 students, and one language. By
June 2006, the program had won a U.S. Department of
Education grant to launch Arabic and Hindi/Urdu
instruction, new courses, conferences, lectures, and K12 teacher training. By 2013 UC Davis had 26 ME/SA
teaching faculty, 38 affiliated faculty, over 100 courses,
2,500 students, and three regional languages. As the
only University of California campus with a minor and
major in Middle East/South Asia Studies, and one of
only four nationally, UC Davis is a pioneer in the study
of the Middle East and South Asia in relationship to
each other.

Why UC Davis
The University of Davis is a major research university,
ranked ninth amongst U.S. public universities, and its
entering students are from the top 12.5% of their class.
There are 3.2 million Asian Indians in California (with large
communities in the Sacramento Region and San Francisco
Bay Area); and 1,481 undergraduates at UC Davis
identified as Asian Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri
Lankan, or Afghan in 2013.
There are a number of Indian, Sikh, Pakistani, and Afghan
student organizations active on campus and within ME/SA,
putting on speaker events, poetry nights, dance
performances, and various cultural events. Students are
eager for further studies of India & South Asia; and the new
Minor will offer them more opportunities to prepare for
related professional careers and graduate work. The wider
Indian & South Asian community, alumni, and the UC
administration, have been very supportive of ME/SAs
efforts and programming, and look forward to strengthening
the internationalization of the campus.

Expanding India & South Asia Studies at UCD

Thanks to the fundraising efforts of the India & South Asia
Studies Program Committee, under the leadership of Profs.
Sudipta Sen, Smriti Srinivas, and ME/SA Founding Director
Prof. Suad Joseph, a Speaker Series in India & South Asia
Studies was started in 2012. Further donations will

A number of new courses were developed for the Minor in

India & South Asia Studies, and others are planned.
Students in first and second- year level Hindi/Urdu
instruction look forward to the possibility of third-year level
classes being available with further funding
February 2014

Catalogue Minor Description & Requirements

India & South Asia Studies (20-24 Units Total)
Middle East/South Asia 100
Middle East/South Asia 180
Either HIS 196A or HIS 196B
Either MSA 181B or MSA 182B
Electives from Core Course list (below)

4 Units
4 Units
4 Units
4 Units
4-8 Units

Core Course List

MSA 100. Middle East & South Asia: Comparative Perspectives
MSA 112. History of South Asian Islam
MSA 180. Topics in ME/SA Studies
MSA 181B. Topics in Regional ME/SA Studies:
India & South Asia Studies
MSA 182.B. Undergraduate Proseminar in ME/SA Studies:
India & South Asia Studies
ANT 145. Performance, Embodiment, and Space in S. Asia
ASA 150 F. South Asian American History, Culture, and Politics
COM 053B. Literature of India and Southeast Asia
COM 148. Mystical Literatures of South Asia and the Middle East
COM 156. The Ramayana
HIN 001. Elementary Hindi/Urdu I
HIN 002. Elementary Hindi/Urdu II
HIN 003. Elementary Hindi/Urdu III
HIN 021. Intermediate Hindi/Urdu I
HIN 022. Intermediate Hindi/Urdu II
HIN 023. Intermediate Hindi/Urdu III
HIS 008. History of Indian Civilization
HIS 102Q. Undergraduate Proseminar in History: India
HIS 196A. Medieval India
HIS 196B. Modern India
MUS 148. Hindustani Vocal Ensemble
RST 030. Topics in Religious Studies: Religions of South Asia
RST 068. Hinduism
RST 069. Introduction to Hindu Mythology
RST 156. Religion and the Performing Arts in India
RST 157. Hindu Women and Goddesses