The South Asia Center, Jackson School of International Studies, is a leading center for South Asian Studies in North America. It promotes knowledge about South Asia through innovative research, teaching and outreach to educational, civic, and business institutions and to the community. At UW, over forty faculty across several colleges and professional schools focus their research on South Asia. We
have a long tradition of excellence in the teaching of Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and several Indo-Aryan languages from beginner to the most advanced levels. Sanskrit has been taught at the university for more than one hundred years. The Center receives significant funding from the US Department of Education for graduate student fellowships, language instruction, scholarly activities and outreach. In recent years, the South Asia community in the Pacific Northwest has endowed several special scholarships and initiatives. Research and teaching at the South Asia Center are centered around two interlinked foci:
Contemporary Politics, Culture and Development in South Asia
A distinguished group of faculty in the social sciences (anthropology, geography, history, political science, international studies and women’s studies) and in the professional schools (architecture, business, law, public affairs and social work) address issues of contemporary politics, culture, and development in South Asia. The group is renowned for its ethnographic and empirically-based research and its commitment to accountability, whether through community collaboration, policy oriented analysis, or transnational advocacy. Current clusters of interest include: water and natural resources; gender, violence and political identities; youth cultures and education; agrarian change; humanitarian relief and sustainable development; liberalization & privatization; urban politics and architecture; new economies; migration and diaspora; corporate social responsibility. Languages, Literatures and Religions of South Asia
Faculty in the South Asian language programs are world class. They are internationally prominent linguists, and they are passionate about the teaching of South Asian languages. Facility in multiple, often, little known, languages and literatures is the hallmark of a core group of faculty who study religious texts, performances, practices, and political formations. We are also unique in our coverage of the entire range of South Asian history from the ancient to the modern. Senior and junior faculty engage in archival and interpretive research aimed at understanding contemporary and historical, literary, and religious “traditions.” Current clusters of interest include: the Early Buddhist Manuscripts Project; Bhakti Studies; Ethnomusicology; Sikhism; Islam in South Asia. In addition, faculty and students in the schools of Architecture, Business, Engineering, Global Health, Law, Public Affairs, & Social Work are actively engaged in professional training, research and practice with a focus on South Asia.
