Are there “ways of seeing” that are specific to modern South Asia? What are the ways in which colonial modernity conditioned visual culture in the region? Is there a traffic in ideas and practice between South Asia and other parts of the world? What are the objects and sites through which unfolding stories of visual forms may be tracked vis-à-vis South Asia? How did the people from the region and beyond visually represent themselves and their land and how did those representations circulate to help forge communities? Is visual culture in South Asia community-specific? These are a few of the questions that have generated discussions and debates among scholars and practitioners for at least a century and a half. In the past three decades scholars of South Asia have become ever more attentive to visual culture for analyzing modern South Asian experiences. Focusing on museum practices, discourses on artistic productions, fine art objects, popular prints, photography, and moving images, this course addresses these concerns while also looking at specific objects and their multilayered histories. For final evaluation students develop their own projects in consultation with the instructor.