With the rise of nationalism, language becomes both a political question unto itself as well as a vehicle for other political issues. Why were people willing to set themselves on fire to protest against having to speak Hindi in southern India, and willing to fight wars to defend it in the north? How was Hebrew, which had been a dead language for almost 2000 years, revived as a modern spoken language? What are the politics of imposing a single language, Mandarin, on an incredibly diverse population of 1.3 billion people in China? This seminar explores the politics of language across Asia through case studies in parts of the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia. It pairs literary and historical case studies with different theoretical frameworks for the study of language politics, and explores how language has been central to political and historical phenomena from European and Japanese colonialism to state formation to anti-colonial struggles and revolutionary movements. Students will therefore gain specific knowledge about how language politics have played out historically and presently in different parts of Asia, as well as developing theoretical and analytical skills for thinking critically about language in general.
Please print out readings for note taking and for use in class discussion. All readings will be in English translation and no prior linguistic or historical knowledge is required for this class.