Henry Carter Hull

Bangladesh—formerly East Pakistan and the Bengal region of India—was partitioned three times in the 20th century: first by the British in 1905, and then during independence in 1947, and finally from Pakistan in 1971. Professor Fisher reveals this relatively young nation’s turbulent history and explores some of its contemporary challenges.

Set in the grassroots of the Himalayan mountains, TASHI'S TURBINE is an uplifting tale of a small village's attempt to harness renewable, sustainable energy with the power of the wind. The story begins with the strong friendship between Tashi Bista and Jeevan, who journey from Kathmandu to Namdok with hopes of building a stronger Nepal, one wind turbine at a time...Their first site, Namdok, is a humble remote village in Upper Mustang, which previously...

While the regional governments remained fragmented at the turn of the Common Era, the Brahmins worked to rebuild their cultural prominence. They formally developed what is today Hinduism, thanks to a series of written manuals, or shastras, which lay out the principles of an ideal life—including notions of dharma, kama, artha, and moksha.

Shift your attention to India’s other major epic, the Mahabharata, which is the longest major text in human history (clocking in at a whopping 1.8 million words). After examining the sources and style of this epic, Professor Fisher surveys its plot and shows what it means from the "emic"perspective of Indians as well as the "etic"perspective of outsiders.

Today, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh make up 20 percent of the world’s population, and the subcontinent is a rising global economic powerhouse. Professor Fisher concludes this course by recapping some of the major themes and looking at the condition of the region in the 21st century—and some of the developments on the horizon.

The critically acclaimed, The Missing Picture, a 2014 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language film, is filmmaker Rithy Panh’s personal quest to re-imagine his childhood memories. From the time when the Khmer Rouge ruled over Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, the only recorded artifacts that remain are propaganda footage. Panh uses beautifully detailed sculpted clay figurines and elaborate dioramas to recreate the missing images from his memory. His...

Turn to the second group of ancient Indian communities: the urban people of the Indus Valley. Many mysteries abound regarding this long-lost Bronze Age civilization, but Professor Fisher takes you through excavated cities, examines art and artifacts, and reveals what we know about this intriguing society—and what may have happened to them.

Continue your study of the Mughal Empire by tracing the rule of Emperor Akbar. During his dramatic five-decade reign, he truly established the empire for the long term thanks to several key initiatives: drawing regional rulers into his army, encouraging interreligious marriage, transforming the administrative system, and creating an imperial ideology based on various mystical ideas and practices.

Whether as students, soldiers, or servants, South Asians who left the subcontinent contributed significantly to the cultural exchange among China, continental Europe, and Great Britain. And whereas the British Raj relied on segregation for political control, Indian immigrants in Britain found greater freedom. Reflect on the impact of South Asians throughout the world.

Life asked Death, "Why do people love me but hate you?" Death responded, "Because you are a beautiful lie and I'm a painful truth." The developing world represents over 80 percent of the world's population. People living in these countries typically die younger, have less education and money. Asia is home to sixty percent of the world's population. Many of these people live in developing economies. That means less physical and human resources for...