Teaching Resources
Author: EAA Editorial Office
Although Asian indigenous cultural variations appear endless, that said, China and India have historically, the most widespread influence throughout Asia, (and elsewhere), when compared with other Asian civilizations. Hopefully, the articles, essays, and resources in both sections of this column assist educators and students in their efforts to learn about and from South Asian literature.
Keywords: Culture, Education, History, India, Literature, Myanmar, South Asia
How to Cite: Editorial Office, E. (2021) “South Asian Literature”, Education About Asia. doi: https://doi.org/10.65959/eaa.1749
South Asian Literature
Although Asian indigenous cultural variations appear endless, that said, China and India have historically, the most widespread influence throughout Asia, (and elsewhere), when compared with other Asian civilizations. Hopefully, the articles, essays, and resources in both sections of this column assist educators and students in their efforts to learn about and from South Asian literature. Shirley Huston-Findley in “Understanding Cultural Perspectives through Greek and Hindu Theater” (volume 17, number 1, spring 2012) does a superb job of providing a rich substantive essay that assists teachers and students to compare, contrast, and learn from two culturally and globally influential civilizations. Literature can often convey visceral truths about politics that might be disturbing to rigid empiricists, but are useful in understanding emotions that fuel politics, as much a study of human feelings as a “social science.” Rina Williams in “Poetry, Prose, and Political Science” (volume 24, number 3, winter 2019) uses poetry, novels, and non-fiction works to make the politics of India more understandable for students. She provides both instructors and students who do and do not have a background in South Asia with a deeper engagement and interest in the region than a comparative politics or world history textbook alone can offer. It is impossible to genuinely understand Transcendentalism in literature or American history without learning about Asian influences on major figures in the movement. A compelling argument can be made that South Asia most influenced both Emerson and Thoreau. Todd Lewis and Kent Bicknell in the highly accessible “The Asian Soul of Transcendentalism” (volume 16, number 2, fall 2001) provide an essay that is ideal for high school or university survey students because of its accessible prose, and the authors’ high level of expertise on Asian belief systems and the Transcendentalists. I’ve had the opportunity to teach about the Transcendentalists in Asian Studies-related courses and workshops that included American history and literature teachers, and in one American history survey course I taught for my university history department. In considering the Transcendentalists, it is worthwhile, in my opinion, to introduce critiques of their ideas because in every class or workshop I taught that included the topic, participants held divergent viewpoints about the ideas and ideals discussed. For a critique of the Transcendentalists, consider Orestes Brownson (1803–1876), a student of religion, member of the clergy, and political theorist who attained some national prominence as an author and social critic in the middle decades of the nineteenth century. Brownson, at one time a Unitarian Minister, became an initial supporter of the Transcendentalist movement, only later to convert to Catholicism. A supporter of the Democratic Party, Brownson saw his party lose to the Whigs in the 1840 Presidential election and became disillusioned with many Transcendentalists who voted for the Democratic Party candidate, but opposed strong institutions like the Catholic Church that in his opinion helped to ensure ordered liberty and societal stability. The following Brownson essay, “Democracy and Liberty,” was published in at least one edited volume on the American Transcendentalists and appears here courtesy of the History Tools website.
Other Teaching Resource: The South Asia Book Award
