Presentation: March 26

Paper: Due April 6

Given the small class and the relatively short time we’ve had to discuss the magnificent Ganga/Ganges river, let’s devote our final projects to this fascinating stream. A long river but by no means the longest, when combined with the Brahmaputra the Ganges has the third-largest discharge of any river in the world. It flows largely East-West across the Northern Indian plains, fed by Himalayan glacial outflow, and in our class we will explore various aspects of its cultural history. For this assignment, you should pick one narrow aspect of the Ganges and explore it first in a brief in-class presentation, and second in a mid-length (7-10 pp) research paper.

General Guidelines

Your job is to extend your own knowledge and that of your classmates by learning something new about one aspect of the river. Even if your research overlaps with your classmates’, you will likely bring a fresh perspective and a specific focus. Some obvious topic areas are:

  • the sacredness of the Ganges: what does the Ganges mean to Hindus, and what can we learn about the nature of belief by examining the river?
  • hydropower: what political and cultural issues are made visible by the conflicts around hydroelectric damming along the Ganges & its tributaries?
  • pollution: similarly, by studying pollution on the Ganges, can we learn about the nature of modern life, about conflicts between environmental and human flourishing, or perhaps something specific about the meaning of the “sacred” in contemporary India?

Presentation

Prepare a short presentation on your topic area for the class. 10-15 minutes is probably more than sufficient. A slide-based presentation will probably be best. Introduce your topic area to the class, spend the bulk of your time discussing details of the issue, and close with a hint at the thesis you might be interested in pursuing for your paper. Move form the general to the concrete, but also talk about the wider importance of the issue you’re exploring. Grading criteria:

  • is your presentation clear and straightforward?
  • Did I learn something from it?
  • Did your peers learn something from it?
  • Are your visual materials helpful and relevant to the presentation?
  • Do you indicate a clear path towards your final paper?

Paper

Prepare a short research paper (7-10pp) on a specific topic relevant to the History and/or culture of the Ganges River. The paper should be clear and well-argued, with convincing argument supported by compelling evidence. Your evidence should come largely from works beyond the course readings. A good paper will be relatively free of grammatical and typographical errors, and will apply a consistent style of citation whenever citations are appropriate. For more general guidelines on writing research papers, consider consulting [http://history.utoronto.ca/undergraduate/learn-more/essay-writing-guide][the History Department’s guide to essay writing.