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PSCI 359Politics of South Asia

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
Political Science

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 1 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

This course provides students with the analytical tools to understand the international politics of South Asia and how it has been shaped by domestic political considerations. Students will study bilateral relations between South Asian countries within South Asia and the involvement of external powers, such as the U.S., Russia, and China, and delve into the challenges of political development in the region as they are shaped by class, ethnicity, religion, and gender. Through academic scholarship, newspaper analysis, film review, and research-based written assignments students will learn the nuances of political decision-making in the South Asian context in comparison to the rest of the world.

Prerequisites

  • Students must be in level 2B or higher

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Reviewed on UW Flow

100% liked it75% easy88% useful

From 5 ratings and 3 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • The research essay was actually fun to do for me, overall workload was good and the content is useful and also enjoyable to me.

    Oct 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Such an interesting course, taught by an awesome professor. Mariam Mufti is extremely engaging and helpful when answering questions about assignments. If you're interested in the politics of South Asia this is a great course to take. Not too difficult if you do the readings/pay attention in class.

    Nov 2022 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I took this online in F21 with Mariam Mufti. Course breakdown: participation (20%), film review (15%), argumentative essay (15%), policy response paper (25%), research paper (25%). Clearly, the assignments are different from the usual assignments you might get in other psci courses. There were required readings each week (range anywhere b/w 20-60 pgs in total) that you'll need to do in order to do well in the participation. Content was very interesting. The first half is a lot of history, but that's necessary to understand the political relations of South Asian countries.

    Nov 2021 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar