"The history community at Krea is very ambitious and vibrant. A large variety of thought provoking courses enable students to form new perspectives. With such inspirational and supportive faculty, growth and expansion in your interests are inevitable".
History at Krea is not merely the history of one dynasty succeeding another. Instead, we engage with the vast canvas of human existence in all its myriad details. Our History undergraduate programme explores the rich fields of social, political, cultural, environmental, military and scientific history. In looking at these themes, it draws on other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences like sociology, anthropology, philosophy, literature, politics and economics to ask the big questions: how does historical change happen? What is the role of human agency in bringing about change? How do human activities impact the prospects for life on earth? What are the ethical dimensions of these actions? In its preoccupation with the texture of time and a concern with lived environments and spaces, History shares philosophical concerns with the physical and natural sciences.
The study of History at Krea also deals with changing conceptions and constructions of the past. Beginning from inquiring into the origins of the universe, human beings have produced innumerable cosmologies and originary myths for thousands of years. Such diverse accounts have not only provided numerous ways of accessing and explaining the past, but have also imbued popular consciousness and public discourse with perceptions of the history of places, practices and beliefs. Such historical narratives are complex and politically contested terrains, requiring careful analysis. Amidst such accounts, we situate History as an academic discipline of studying the past, with its own epistemology (theory of knowledge) and methodology.
The Approach
The History curriculum at Krea will include required and elective courses. Required courses will focus on themes from South Asian and World history as well as the nature of historical reasoning and the practice of historian’s craft. Students will be required to take at least one course outside their time period and region of specialisation. Elective courses will explore themes in social, economic, political, religious and military history as well as emerging fields such as climate, urban, digital and public history. Each theme will be introduced through historiographical debates, thus critically evaluating how questions have been asked thus far and what themes as well as questions have been ignored. Students will also be introduced to the historical archive and the analysis of historical sources, including written, aural and visual. On the basis of an understanding of scholarship and use of primary sources, a History student will apply their knowledge as well as research and writing skills to produce an independently-researched thesis in their final year. This research project will pertain to a subject selected by the student with a focused theme and time-period and will be supervised by a faculty member.
A Krea History student will have understood the nature of historical truth; learnt the basics of how historical knowledge is produced and revised; gained a broad empirical understanding of South Asian and World History; realised the role played by History in contemporary society and in fashioning human futures. The capacity for critical thinking fostered by studying History at the undergraduate level can be applied in a large range of professional settings, some of which are academic research, work in heritage and museum studies, journalism, civil services, international relations, economic and political think-tanks, policy-related research and advocacy organisations.
Programme Details
Graduation Requirements
Courses
Faculty
Careers
Graduation Requirements
Minimum credits required for graduation
Credits needed to earn a single Major in History
Credits necessary to earn a double Major in History
Credits needed to earn a Minor in History
Credits needed to earn a Concentration in History
3-year programme
120
60 from HIST40 (R) & 20 (E)
48 from HIST40 (R) & 8 (E)
24 from HIST20 (R) & 4* (E)
16 from HIST
4-year programme
160
80 from HIST40 (R) & 40* (E)
64 from HIST40 (R) & 24 (E)
32 from HIST20 (R) & 12** (E)
16 from HIST
(R) Required & (E) Elective Courses
*Includes capstone ** These credits can also be earned by taking additional required courses
Major: To earn a Major in History, a student is required to complete:
1. Twelve courses and earn 48 credits, among which six will be from required courses and six from electives.
2. Among the required courses, two courses each will be in Methodology, Indian History and from World History.
3. A Capstone thesis/project or two additional electives to be completed (8 credits)
Minor:
To earn a Minor in History, a student is required to complete:
1. Six courses and earn 24 credits, among which three will be from required courses and three from electives.
2. Among the required courses, one course each will be in Methodology, Indian History and World History.
Concentration:
In order to qualify for a Concentration in History, a student is required to complete any three History courses and earn 12 credits.
Courses
Required Courses
Sample Electives
Methodology (Any two of the following)
The Historian’s Craft: Primary Sources and their Interpretations
Historical Reasoning: Thinking through Chronology, Causality, Continuity and Change over Time and Space.
The New Science
World History (Any three of the following)
Ancient World
How We Became Modern: World History from 1500 to the Present
Winds of Change: Anticolonial movements in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Anthropocene* (to be cross listed with Economics)
Urban Emergence* (to be cross listed with Environmental Studies)
Indian History (Any two of the following)
The Rise of Civilizations in India.
Sources of the Self: India in the Second Millennium A.D.
From Mughaliyah Saltanat to Sovereign Republic: India in Transition
India and the World
Is there an Indian way of Thinking?
Ramayana
Religiosity, Spirituality and Ethics in Indian Religions
Power and Powerlessness: Caste, Class and Gender in Indian History (To be cross listed with Social Studies and Politics)
Contemporary India – A History of India After Independence (To be cross listed with Politics)
Religious and Political Identities in Modern India (cross-listed with Politics)
Maritime History
The Market in History: Evolution of Indian Business (To be cross listed with Economics and Business Studies Minor)
Movements and Migrations* Bullock Carts, Cars, Trains and Planes
History of War – Specific case study: The Raj at War (Upper Division Seminar)
From Kalinga to Kargil: War and Ethics in South Asia
Revolutions (To be cross listed with Politics)
History of Science, Technology and Medicine
The Rise of Modern Science
The History of Darwinian Evolution
Digital History and Public History
Environmental History (Cross listed with Environmental Studies)
International Security (To be cross listed with Politics)
A Secret History of the 20th century
Making History: Video Games, Pedagogy and Historiography
The Age of the Aeroplane (Upper Division Seminar)
Science, History and Theatre (Upper Division Seminar)
History of Capitalism* (to be cross listed with Economics)
Urban History, Society and Environments* (to be cross listed with Environmental Studies)
Faculty
Dr Preeti Gulati
Assistant Professor, History DISCIPLINE COORDINATOR FOR HISTORY
Dr Preeti Gulati
Assistant Professor, History DISCIPLINE COORDINATOR FOR HISTORY
PhD, Centre for Historical Studies
Dr Aashique Ahmed Iqbal
Assistant Professor, History
Dr Aashique Ahmed Iqbal
Assistant Professor, History
DPhil, Oxford University
Dr Prithvi Datta Chandra Shobhi
Associate Professor, History & Dean - SIAS
Dr Prithvi Datta Chandra Shobhi
Associate Professor, History & Dean - SIAS
PhD, University of Chicago
Professor Ramachandra Guha
Distinguished University Professor
Professor Ramachandra Guha
Distinguished University Professor
PhD IIM Calcutta
Professor Shanti Pappu
Visiting Professor, Archeology and History
Professor Shanti Pappu
Visiting Professor, Archeology and History
PhD, Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute
Careers
A scholar learning history at Krea will understand the nature of historical truth; learn the basics of how historical knowledge is produced and revised; gain a broad, empirical understanding of South Asian and world history; realise the role played by history in contemporary society and fashioning human futures; and acquire the critical thinking skills necessary for a future in academia as well as a variety of professional contexts such as journalism, civil services, museum studies, and careers in the digital world.