GoldMay 24, 2006
Rao, Anupama 
[HIST BC3840] Gender, Caste, and Nation in South Asia and [HIST BC4804] Political Modernity in South Asia
Please keep in mind that this review is more than 5 years old.
Anu is the best professor I've had at Columbia. She presents cogent lectures that deftly mix theory with dry history and anthropology. Some students find her lectures to be a little hard to follow bc she talks very fast and jumps from topic to topic. Since she has a dual PhD from Michigan in Anthro and History, she basically knows everything. Her purview extends far beyond the boundaries of south Asia; she focused on post-colonialism in general, so she can talk about the Caribbean and Africa in equal depth. She pulls really nuanced discussions out of students, which is enjoyable. She's also just wonderful to be around, always joking around and definitely very approachable.
Political Modernity had an unbearable amount of reading, but you could choose when to write you papers--essentially you had four options and only had to write three. G,C and N had a ton of reading also (sometimes up to 450 pps/wk) and three big papers. She grades according to your familiarity to the material, so if you come into one of her classes cold-turkey, she'll take that into consideration.
Directory Data
| Dept/Subj | Directory Course | Professor | Year | Semester | Time | Section |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HSTB / HIST | HSTB HIST BC4804: Political Modernity S. Asia | Anupama Rao | 2003 | Spring | W / 2:10- 4:00 PM | 1 |