This course focuses on various novels, short stories and films set in the excitingly chaotic and vastly diverse city of Mumbai. Formally known as Bombay, this devastatingly complex city is the commercial and entertainment capital of India and the sixth largest metropolis in the world. Probing the intricacies of Mumbai, from its thriving film industry to its urban slums, students will consider modern developments in politics, religion, crime, society and culture through a pantheon of literature and cinema. Attending to the city’s landscapes and peoples, the course will examine transitions between public and private spaces, the increasing burden of globalization and modernity, expanding class and caste gaps and differences between third world realities and first world mentalities.

Central readings will include: Serious Men by Manu Joseph, Such a Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry, Window Seat: Rush-hour Stories from the City by Janhavi Acharekar, Love and Longing in Bombay by Vikram Chandra, Breathless in Bombay by Murzban Shroff, Maximum City by Suketu Mehta, Mumbai Fables by Gyan Prakash, among others.

Films include: Dhobi Ghat, Salaam Bombay, Satya and Slumdog Millionaire,

General Method of Instruction: Discussion.

Student Responsibilities and Evaluation: Course work includes a willingness to challenge one's current aesthetic values about film and literature and keep an open mind; weekly engaged, in-person critical discussion; online research of literary and film terms via UW databases; critical written analysis of stories, films and their relevant critical work. Evaluation will include oral presentations, essays, quizzes and exams.