DWA 238 Identity and Citizenship: The South Asian Diaspora

This class will focus on South Asians who were indentured to British colonies from 1860, immediately following the abolition of slavery. Over one million Indians were indentured to Mauritius, South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad, and Fiji. South Asians currently constitute a substantial proportion of the population in each of these countries, and they are in the majority in Mauritius and Trinidad. We will conduct a comparative study based on theoretical perspectives related to the diaspora's globalization, trans-state identities, and analytical themes associated with identity and citizenship.