• Arts, Histories and Cultures
• Subject Areas
• Religions & Theology
• Postgraduate study in Religions & Theology

South Asian Studies

At Manchester we have a thriving research and teaching culture focused on South Asia and the South Asian diaspora.  South Asia is associated with a multiplicity of religious traditions and is also a region of international geo-political importance.  Because of the entwining of religion and politics in this region, especially during and after the colonial period, and the extent and impact of its diaspora communities, it is an important area to study for understanding

• our contemporary world
• constructions of religion and culture in scholarly and popular discourse
• ...and the consequences of such constructions in the context of social relations
  

In the Religions and Theology subject area, this work is led by

• Dr Jacqueling Suthren Hirst
• Dr John Zavos
• Dr Atreyee Sen

Jackie, John and Atreyee provide a broad spread of research expertise, with Jackie's interests ranging from Indian philosophy to gender, representation and education in South Asian religious traditions, John's focused on religion and politics in the modern history of South Asia and the contemporary period, as well as the development of Hindu identities in diaspora contexts, and Atreyee's focused on the anthropology of gender, conflict, women's militancy, child-soldiering, urban anthropology and religious fundamentalism.  We welcome enquiries from potential PhD students in these broad areas.  Please click on the links above for further information on our research interests.

South Asian Studies @ Manchester

Jackie, John and Atreyee are also part of a thriving research culture focused on South Asia across the university.  Colleagues working on the region are located in History, Sociology, Drama, Art History, Anthropology and Development Studies.  This range of research expertise is regularly brought together through the South Asia Research Group - this forum, which also includes colleagues at Manchester Metropolitan University, arranges an interdisciplinary research seminar series each year for the benefit of students and staff interested in issues related to South Asia.

MA South Asian Studies

This interdisciplinary culture provides the framework for our innovative MA programme.  Our MA combines a core of units in the Religions and Theology subject area with units drawn from across the university.  As well as the units which you will see explained on the MA course units page, the MA provides the opportunity to study units such as the following:

• Colonial Modernity and the Public Sphere (History, Dr Anindita Ghosh)
• State, Society and Culture in South Asia (Sociology, Dr Tej Purewal and others)
• Bollywood: Issues in Popular Hindi Cinema (Drama, Dr Rajinder Dudrah)
• Buddhist Art and Architecture of the Himalayan Kingdoms and Tibet (Art History, Dr Julia Hegewald)
• We also offer language training in beginners' Hindi and Urdu, and Sanskrit. 

For details on how to apply for the MA South Asian Studies, please follow this link.