What are the criteria according to which society defines writing as historical and are these universal criteria? Can mythology be considered history, and if so, under what conditions? In this course, we will discuss such questions while considering a set of contrasting claims: the first, a claim that developed during the colonial period according to which in early India there was no historical writing at all and the second claim, presented by contemporary Indian scholars, that even in early literary corpora we can find historiographic elements which by pre-modern times develop into historical writing. We will also see the impact this debate has had on modern public and cultural discourses.

Grading components: Final exam – 100%

No prerequisites