Partition was not a single event but a cataclysmic rupture that reshaped South Asia’s political, social, and cultural landscapes. Reading the Partition in Fiction and Film examines literary and cinematic representations of the Partition of 1947 and its afterlives across borders. Through close readings of novels, short stories, oral testimonies, critical essays, and films, students will explore how art interprets trauma, displacement, memory, and nationhood. Students will critically analyze narratives of violence, survival, migration, nostalgia, and loss, and consider the continuing relevance of Partition today, including reflections on Kashmir, Bangladesh, and contemporary South Asian identities. The course adopts an interdisciplinary approach combining literary analysis, historical contextualization, and film critique, and emphasizes oral history methods. Discussions and assignments aim to deepen critical thinking, close reading, and analytical writing skills.
