Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
Prime membership required
Terms apply
Episodes
- S1 E1 - Introduction to IndiaJanuary 5, 201733minDelve into core aspects of Indian culture that provide a rich background for the story of British rule. Grasp the key precepts of Hinduism, and the notions of dharma, karma, and samsara. Study the caste system, the features of Indian families and marriages, and explore how society and religion shape politics in India. #HistoryFree trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E2 - The Mughal Empire in 18th-Century IndiaJanuary 5, 201733minExamine the monumental empire of the Mughals, the Islamic rulers of India. Investigate how the Mughals governed through military skill, administrative brilliance, and religious tolerance. Look at the state of Indian society in the 18th century, and how changes in Mughal politics and economics laid the foundation for the British conquest of India.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E3 - Indian and British Economic InterestsJanuary 5, 201732minHere, explore further how the Indian subcontinent drifted toward colonialism. Observe how the "regionalization" of the Mughal Empire compromised the emperors' ability to govern. Take account of India's prominence within the broader global economy, and chart the rise of powerful banking families who played a critical role in the emergence of British rule.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E4 - British Expansion in India (1757 - 1820)January 5, 201729minWitness how the English East India Company, a trading organization, expanded its early footing in Bengal. Study the Company's extraordinary transformation, through military conquests, from a merchant venture into a political entity. Finally, follow the Company's expansion into other regions, employing the Mughal revenue system to tax India's agrarian countryside.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E5 - Knowing the Country: British OrientalismJanuary 5, 201731minLearn how British scholars and administrators pursued knowledge of Indian culture, and how the early British colonials adapted to living within Indian society. Grasp the ways in which British romanticizing of India and misunderstanding of traditional customs had major consequences for colonial policy and the well-being of the Indian populace.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E6 - Race, Gender, and Culture (1750 - 1850)January 5, 201731minThe opening up of India gave rise to a discourse on race that became central to the colonial relationship. Study British racial paradigms in Company-ruled India, which emphasized differences between Indians and the British to "justify" colonial rule. Also explore the British notion of masculinity and how it bolstered their self-perception as colonial masters.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E7 - The Age of Reform (1830 - 1850)January 5, 201730minContemporary currents of thought in England affected the ways in which India was governed. Learn how utilitarianism and Christian evangelicalism undergirded attempts by the British to educate and "reform" India. Track the major changes in the economic relationship between Britain and India that contributed to the Great Uprising of 1857.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E8 - The Great Uprising (1857 - 1858)January 5, 201728minStudy the accumulation of religious, economic, and political grievances against the East India Company that set the stage for the Great Uprising of 1857. Then witness the outbreak and bloody unfolding of the Uprising itself. Observe how the "mutiny" changed British attitudes toward India, and the way Britain governed it under the Raj.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E9 - Economics and Society under the RajJanuary 5, 201730minExamine the nature of the colonial economy, and trace economic decisions by the British that constrained the livelihoods of artisans and peasants. Assess the Raj's fiscal policy, which privileged British interests over public works. Observe how these policies affected the lives of millions who toiled to produce the wealth of the Raj.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E10 - Caste and Tribal Identity under ColonialismJanuary 5, 201729minAs a social institution, caste changed markedly under British colonial rule. First, examine how the British encountered caste and tried to understand it. Then see how caste became significantly linked with the colonial tax revenue system. Take account of the ways in which caste distinctions became more prominent, codified, and pervasive under colonialism.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E11 - The Nationalization of Hinduism (1870 - 1900)January 5, 201732minDiscover how the broader traditions of Hinduism were affected by the colonial experience. Examine the theological assault on Hinduism by European Christian missionaries, and the responses of high-caste Hindus. Look at important Hindu reform movements, which sought to modernize Hinduism, and grasp how key currents of reformist thinking linked Hinduism with Indian nationhood.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E12 - Indian Muslim Identity and Colonial RuleJanuary 5, 201731minIndian Islam underwent profound shifts under colonial rule. Investigate how the British codifying of Islamic law changed Indian Muslims' communal identity. See how the advent of English language and education, and the Indian census, distanced Muslims from Hindus. Lastly, assess how the Deobandi reform movement reinvented Indian Islam to ensure its survival.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E13 - The Late-19th-Century British RajJanuary 5, 201730minStudy British racial attitudes toward Indians in the late 19th century and how these conceptions were manifested in the way India was governed. Learn about the officials who administrated the Raj, the Indian Civil Service, and the modernization of India. Grasp how all of these elements reflect the mindset of the British Raj.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E14 - Princely States and Royalist RelationshipsJanuary 5, 201730minIndia's princely states played a crucial role in maintaining British power. Examine the history of the princely kingdoms, and why they remained separate from British-controlled territory. Follow how the British cultivated ties of loyalty with Indian princes and exerted "indirect rule." Explore the contradiction of a modernizing British Raj that supported feudal princes.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E15 - Indian Nationalism and the Freedom StruggleJanuary 5, 201732minAnalyze how a new generation of English-educated Indians spearheaded Indian nationalism. Trace the emergence of the Indian National Congress, which initially represented moderate nationalists, and observe how repressive British policies sowed anticolonial sentiment. Witness the strengthening of nationalist fervor, as it erupted into political extremism and violence in the early 20th century.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E16 - The Great War and Its Impact on IndiaJanuary 5, 201730minExamine the severe effects of the First World War on India's economy. Learn how both moderate and radical nationalists responded to the war to press for concessions and independence. Explore strains in the colonial relationship exposed by the war that made India ripe for the emergence of Mohandas Gandhi.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E17 - Gandhi's Moral-Political PhilosophyJanuary 5, 201730minInvestigate Gandhi's early life and how he became a nationalist leader. Study the elements of his political philosophy, the political tools of ahimsa (no harm) and satyagraha (force of truth), and the forces of modernity and British rule that Gandhi critiqued. Finally, examine the 1919 event that thrust him onto the national stage.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E18 - The Noncooperation MovementJanuary 5, 201732minObserve how Gandhi reorganized the Indian National Congress into a mass political machine, as witnessed in the Noncooperation Movement, where Indians boycotted the British on a national scale. Note how these actions and others exposed moral faults in the Raj, and track the Raj's counterstrategies that attempted to marginalize those nationalists seeking independence.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E19 - Indian Muslim Politics between the WarsJanuary 5, 201730minIndian Muslim identity began to change in important ways in the 20th century. Study the impact on Indian Muslims of the First World War, and the resulting Muslim Khalifat Movement, which opposed Britain's war aims against the Ottoman Caliphate. See how Hindu/Muslim religious-political rivalries gave birth to the idea of Pakistan.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E20 - The Civil Disobedience CampaignJanuary 5, 201733minNow examine the "second round" of Indian nationalist action against the British Raj. Witness the effects on India of the global economic depression after 1929, which triggered the Civil Disobedience Campaign, a massive boycotting of British goods, services, and institutions. Assess the Raj's countertactic of extending constitutional concessions to stem nationalist agitation.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E21 - Britain and Its Empire in the 1940sJanuary 5, 201731minWitness how Britain's wartime mobilization alienated the Indian National Congress and took a horrific toll on the Indian poor. Study the resulting Quit India Movement, the largest uprising against the British since 1857, and the events of the war's aftermath that set the stage for the end of 200 years of colonial rule.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E22 - The Raj on Its Knees (1945 - 1947)January 5, 201730minInvestigate the increasing levels of dissent, mutiny, and agrarian suffering and unrest that followed World War II. Chart the astonishing rise of the Muslim League after 1940, its presence in the negotiations for independence, and the League's actions in key provinces that sparked terrible communal violence in the Raj's final days.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E23 - A Split India: Negotiating IndependenceJanuary 5, 201731minExamine the factors in Britain's decision to "quit" India. Take account of the final negotiations between the National Congress, the Muslim League, and the British, noting the contrasting visions of an independent India held by the Congress and the League. Grasp how Hindu-Muslim violence affected the ultimate partition of India and Pakistan.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
- S1 E24 - Reflections on Postcolonial IndiaJanuary 5, 201731minLearn about the harrowing events following Partition, which saw widespread killings and the largest displacement of human populations in history. Assess what the events of 1947 meant for the Indian National Congress, Pakistanis, and the British. Finally, reflect on the lasting legacy of the British Raj and its rule of India.Free trial of The Great Courses Signature Collection or buy
Details
More info
By clicking play, you agree to our Terms of Use.