• Contact Info
Publications in VIVO

Gautam, Sanjay K.

Associate Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • Professor Sanjay K. Gautam is an intellectual and cultural historian of South Asia, with a focus on India. He received his M.A. from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Professor Gautam's research interests include the history of aesthetics, gender, and sexuality in ancient India, the history of yoga, postcolonial theory and literature, and the history of warfare in modern South Asia. His first book 'Foucault and the Kamasutra: The Courtesan, the Dandy, and the Birth of Ars Erotica as Theater in India (University of Chicago Press, 2016)' is the first serious reading of the iconic Indian text, the Kamasutra in its relationship with Michel Foucault's work on the history of sexuality in the West. By entwining together Foucault’s works and the classical Indian text, Professor Gautam transforms our understanding of both, even as he opens up new ways of investigating erotics, aesthetics, gender relations, and subjectivity.

Publications

Teaching

courses taught

  • HIST 1518 - The History of India from Aryans to Maratha Warriors, 2500 BCE-1757 CE
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2024
    Beginning with the origin of Indian civilization amongst a people who called themselves Aryans, the course introduces students to major milestones in Indian history and culture: The Indus valley civilization (2500-1900 BCE), the Buddha (563-483 BCE), Alexander�s invasion (326 BCE), the first Pan-Indian polity, the Mauryan Empire (321-185 BCE), the epic, Mahabharata, the Mughal empire (1526-1707), and finally the rise of Hindu nationalism under the Marathas (1650-1757).
  • HIST 1528 - Introduction to South Asian History since 1757
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2024
    Introduces the history of modern South Asia from 1757 to the present. Examines themes such as the nature of British colonial state formation in South Asia, social transformation under British rule, modes of anticolonial resistance movements, particularly Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent civil disobedience movement, Muslim nationalism and the formation of Pakistan, and current political conflicts involving India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
  • HIST 1800 - Introduction to Global History
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2024
    The first cornerstone course for history majors applies a broad perspective to the global past in order to illuminate how common historical patterns and processes, as well as unique elements, shaped the human experience. Using a thematic approach, all topical variations of this course highlight cross-cultural interactions among societies, and, when relevant, how historical processes that began centuries ago still impact the contemporary world. Topics will vary by section. Department enforced prerequisite: 3 hours of any history coursework.
  • HIST 2220 - History of War and Society
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2023
    Focuses on war and society in a variety of global contexts. Explores the character, origins, and social, political, and intellectual impacts of war in contexts ranging from several centuries of international conflict to the experience of individual nations in specific wars. Topic varies in any given semester; contact Department of History for details.
  • HIST 3020 - Historical Thinking & Writing
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2019
    The second cornerstone course for history majors centers on the essential skills all historians use. Students will advance their reading, sourcing, and research techniques, hone critical, analytical, and synthetic skills, navigate scholarly discourse, and practice historical writing. As this simultaneously satisfies the College's upper-division writing requirement, all sections involve substantial, regular, and varied writing assignments as well as instruction in methods and the revision process. All topical variations of this course are limited to a maximum of 18 students in order to focus on supporting students as they learn to write - and think - like an historian. Topics will vary by section. Recommended for sophomores or juniors, HIST 3020 may be taken concurrently with, but not prior to, HIST 1800. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.
    • ... more

Background

International Activities

Other Profiles