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The Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations offers a program
leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. We consider the intellectual
foundations that constitute the disciplinary identity of South Asian languages
and civilizations—the set of scholarly concerns, methods, and practices
that define a Ph.D. degree in this department as opposed to one in history,
for example, or anthropology—to be the following:
- skilled use of South Asian languages, seen as a primary goal of study
and research (as opposed to viewing language as a “tool” for
research);
- the primacy of texts, which in turn comprises two features: close
acquaintance with a wide range of major South Asian texts, and theoretical
reflection on the conditions of our understanding them;
- familiarity with both the pasts and presents—the cultural, social,
and other pasts and presents—constituted by these languages and
texts.
Program of Study
To receive the degree of Ph.D. in South Asian Languages and Civilizations,
a student must complete at least eighteen courses. These will include
the necessary language courses, two courses in South Asian texts and critical
practices, one course in South Asian languages and civilizations as a
unit of study, and six quarter units of course work relevant to the student’s
chosen specialty. Students with previous graduate work in the field of
South Asian languages and civilizations may upon application receive credit
for work done elsewhere.
Language Requirements
The department encourages varied research devoted to the ancient, medieval,
modern, and contemporary cultures of South Asia. All research in the department
has as its main prerequisite suitable advancement in the primary languages
appropriate to a student’s chosen field of specialization. The languages
in which the department offers concentrations are Bangla, Hindi, Pali,
Sanskrit, Tamil, Tibetan, and Urdu. Persian and Arabic are also available
through the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Courses
may occasionally be offered in other languages; special arrangements must
be made in advance with the instructors of these languages, and the students
must petition the department in order to count these languages for their
requirements.
Three languages are required: (A) the South Asian language of concentration;
(B) a second South Asian language relevant to the student’s program
of study; and (C) a language of scholarship (French, German, Hindi, Japanese,
etc.).
Students are required to achieve proficiency in the language of concentration
(language A) equivalent to at least four years of study at the University
of Chicago, and in the second South Asian language (language B) equivalent
to at least two years of study at the University. Students may satisfy
the requirement for proficiency at the fourth-year level by writing a
substantial research paper that makes use of sources written in that language
and is approved by their adviser; they may satisfy the requirement for
proficiency at the second-year level by an examination. Students are expected
to demonstrate satisfactory progress in required language courses.
Judgments of proficiency in reading the language of scholarship (language
C) will be based on an examination administered by the University Office
of Test Administration or by the Department of South Asian Languages and
Civilizations, as appropriate to the language in question. A “high
pass” is required.
Students are strongly discouraged from taking two first-year language
sequences during the year in which they enter the program. It is highly
desirable for students with little or no language training to plan to
study a South Asian language in the summer prior to beginning their studies
at Chicago.
Required Seminars
Since competence in the discipline of South Asian languages and civilizations
is demonstrated in part by close familiarity with major South Asian texts
and by conscious reflection on strategies for understanding them, the
Ph.D. program includes among its requirements two courses in South Asian
Texts and Critical Practices (SALC 40100, 40200). In addition, one seminar
on the unit of study—the history and theory of “South Asian
languages and civilizations” as a field of inquiry—will be required
(SALC 40000).
Electives
Prior to admission to Ph.D. candidacy, students are expected to have
completed at least six quarter-units of course work relevant to their
area of specialization. Students should consult carefully with their advisors
in order to choose appropriate courses to fulfill their elective requirement.
Seminar Paper
Students must submit a paper at the end of their first year. In most
cases this will be a paper already submitted to a seminar course. A faculty
member from SALC will be appointed to read it, who will be different from
the person who gave the seminar course. This procedure is designed to
ensure that all students have a chance to get feedback on their writing
skills at an early stage of the program.
Qualifying Paper
Students submit a qualifying paper in the fifth week of the spring quarter
of their second year of study. This paper may address any particular theme
of the student’s choosing. It is expected to embody substantial research;
it is not to exceed 40 double-spaced pages in length. A first draft of
the paper must be submitted to the adviser by the end of the winter quarter
of the second year. Pass, high pass, or no pass are the grades awarded
for the paper. If the qualifying paper is deemed unsatisfactory, the student
is required to rewrite the paper; if the rewritten paper is not acceptable,
the student is asked to withdraw from the program.
Upon successful completion of the qualifying paper, at least two years
of the language of concentration, and the removal of all outstanding “incompletes,”
a student may apply for the A.M. degree.
Bibliographies and Oral Examinations
Students are required to prepare themselves for oral examinations in
the literary, cultural, or other histories of South Asia through the independent
study of individually prepared bibliographies. Students in consultation
with their adviser design two bibliographies, and in the spring quarter
of their second year they enroll in an ungraded seminar/discussion course
which will provide a forum for discussing their bibliographies-in-progress
with other students and with a member of the SALC faculty. The first must
deal with the literary, cultural, or other history associated with their
language of concentration. The second may be of their own choosing. Bibliographies
are submitted and approved by the student’s adviser by the end of
the spring quarter of the second year in the program; the oral examination
must be taken during the third year. The examination addresses both bibliographies
together, and a single grade—pass, high pass, or no pass—is
awarded.
Dissertation Proposal and Admission to Candidacy
Before being admitted to candidacy, Ph.D. students must (i) complete
at least 18 courses; (ii) meet general language requirements; (iii) complete
the second-year qualifying paper. At that point the student will write
and orally defend a detailed dissertation proposal prepared under the
supervision of the dissertation chair. Students may also choose to work
on a preliminary draft of the dissertation proposal in the context of
the seminar/discussion course given during spring quarter of their second
year in the program. Students must have completed all requirements, and
have removed all “incompletes,” by the end of the quarter in
which the proposal is defended. This will usually occur near the end of
a student’s third year of graduate study. With successful completion
of the dissertation proposal defense, the student is admitted to Ph.D.
candidacy.
The Dissertation
Upon completion of the dissertation, the student will defend it orally
before the members of the dissertation committee and the department.
The above is a synopsis of material contained in the Graduate Student
Handbook of the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations.
Copies of the Handbook may be obtained by contacting the department by
mail: 1130 East 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, telephone: (773) 702-8373,
fax: (773) 834-3254, or e-mail: salc@humanities.uchicago.edu.
Last updated: 9/09/2003
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