Performative Gender and Religions in South Asia

Week 1: Introducing Performance and its Characteristics in the South Asian Context: Mahākāvyā, oral tradition and ithāsa, performance-based rituals; Human agency and intervention in conceiving the Divine Week 2:Sanskrit dramaturgy and Rasa theory: Studying select dramatic text through the lens of Bharat Muni’s Nātyasāstra; Nine Aesthetic Emotions – Rasas and Bhāvas; Concepts of Nāyaka and Nāyika; Role of Vidushaka Week 3:Bhakti Tradition: Studying the history of the Bhakti movement; the performances, philosophy, and worldview of the Bhakti cult; Alwars and Nayanārs; Nirguna and Saguna; Vaishnavism and its ramificationsWeek 4:Sufi Tradition: Studying the history of the Sufi movement; the philosophy and worldview of the Sufi cult; Sufi devotional performances and practices; Explaining Sufi codes, cosmology, and metaphysicsWeek 5:Bhakti mysticism and poetics: Through select poets, studying the body-centric interpretation of gods and alternative meanings of religion; love, divinity, and spirituality; Bhakti poetry and the relevance of its ideas in contemporary worldWeek 6:Gender and Performance in Bhakti movement: Reading unconventional reflections on the gendered social practices; subversion of gender; divine and devotee as lover and beloved; Bhakti, gender, and egalitarianismWeek 7:Sufi mysticism and poetics: Through select poets and Sufi mystics, exploring the role of the body and transcendental mysticism; Qawwali tradition, gender play and performance – feminized/ androgynous male artists and gender fluidityWeek 8:Gender and Performance in Sufi movement: Murshid and Mureed as lover and beloved; spiritual receptivity and inversion of exoteric gender categories; Sufi embodiment, ecstasy, and the Self; Madness, irrationality, and bodily excessWeek 9:Folk Traditions and Performances: Folk theatre forms (Nautanki, Theiyyam, Ramlila and Krishnalila, Tamasha, Jatra, Chhau, Therukoothu, Ghoomar); Folk Theatre and Shift of Space/MediumWeek 10:Classical Traditions and Performances: Classical dance and theatre forms (Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattom, Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Yakshagana, Kutiyattam, Manipuri, Kathak); Classical Theatre and Shift of Space/Medium Week 11:Tribal Traditions and Performances: Tribal culture and religious worldview; Rituals and practices; body, performance, nature, and deities; Tribal Performance and Shift of Space/MediumWeek 12:Bhakti, Sufi, and Cinema: Reading the Influence, Adaptation and Reception of Bhakti and Sufi codes in select South Asian films; Dilution, Hybridization and Romanticization for Marketing and Re-Emergence in Contemporary Times, Reading cross-cultural nature of South Asian music