| Course Type | Course Code | No. Of Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Discipline Core | SUS1EN269 | 4 |
Semester and Year Offered: Semester V, Monsoon Semester/ Yet to be offered
Course Coordinator: Dr. Bhoomika Meiling
Email of course coordinator: bhoomika[at]aud[dot]ac[dot]in
Pre-requisites: None
Course Objectives/Description:
This course takes into cognizance the multiplicity of ways of retelling of Ramayana across cultures which believe in its narrative invincibility. The reach of the epic is extremely valuable. But more remarkable are the number of perspectives it lends itself to. While some retellings take place from the perspective of Sita or Ravana, some others demystify Rama and portray him as a normal human being. Some focus on the abduction of Sita while some others find only the war scenes interesting. The field of meanings that these retellings create is complex as well as fascinating. While retaining a basic thematic unity, all the retellings begin, develop and culminate in their own unique ways. This course seeks to introduce the students to the heterogeneity of the field of retellings of Ramayana and to apprise them of the different cultural perspectives which exist regarding this sacred text often taken to be monolithic and uni-dimensional.The objective of the courses is to introduce the students to the idea of ‘many Ramayanas.’ Instead of looking at adaptations or reworkings, this course promotes a re-analysis of the epic not just as a text but as a multifarious and heterogeneous narrative culture. Through an assortment of folk, popular, literary, performative and cinematic texts, the course expects to develop in the students a critical perspective on the texts and the epic itself. True to this objective, the reading list includes diverse retellings of Ramayana from different temporal and spatial settings.
Course Outcomes: On successful completion of this course students will be able to:
Brief description of modules/ Main modules:
Module 1: Understanding the story of Ram, told from various perspectives:
Reading versions of the Ramayan by R.K Narayan and Aubrey Menen.
Module 2: Ramayan in the popular sphere: Analysing selections from the works of Ramanand Sagar, Anant Pai, Shamik Dasgupta and Abhishek Shukla.
Module 3: Ravan’s Story: Reading Ravanayan and Asura, Tale of the Vanquished: The story of Ravan and his People.
Module 4: Sita’s Story: Analyzing Sita Sings the Bluesand selections fromA Woman’s Rāmāyaṇa: Candrāvatī’s Bengali Epic.
Module 5: Ramayan beyond India: AnalysingOpera Jawa.
Assessment Details with weights:
Class assignments and presentations will be spread across the course.
Reading List:
Primary Texts:
Secondary Readings:
