Cross Listing Course Form (4/9/14)
I: Criteria
To qualify for consideration for cross listing, all courses must:
- be requested by both departments or programs;
- count as credit toward an existing major, minor, or certificate program;
- not be experimental or have a reserved variable content course number (x90-X99)
- carry the same title (both parent and sibling courses) and, if possible, carry the same course
number;
- be implemented within comparable course levels, e.g., (U), (UG), or (G);
- be offered under an existing rubric.
Under no circumstances will a course have more than three crosslistings.
II: Summary of courses requested for crosslisting
Requesting Dept / Program (must be
Liberal Studies
department of parent course)
Parent Course Prefix and Number
SSEA328
Sibling Course(s) Prefix (Pre CCN) and
ENFM/WGS 328
Number
Course Title
Love in Bombay Cinema
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
Date
Requestor:
Ruth Vanita
6/3/2014
Phone/ email :
ruth.vanita@umontana.edu
Parent Program
Stewart Justman
Chair/Director:
Sibling Program Chair(s) Beverly Chin
/ Director(s)
Elizabeth Hubble
Dean(s):
Christopher Comer
Approve *
 Yes  No
 Yes  No
 Yes  No
 Yes  No
 Yes  No
*Signatory Comments (required for disapproval):
IV. Rationale
Do these courses need to be cross listed to fill an external requirement?
If YES, define external requirement and attach
documentation.
If NO, complete narrative: In 500 words or less explain why only cross-listing this course serves the
need for delivering academic content. You must identify how both the parent and sibling units
contribute to the cross-listed course’s content and how cross listing contributes to the respective
units’ missions of serving students. The narrative must also identify additional reasons for cross
listing such as a specialized need for advertising to prospective students, sharing resources across
departments (equipment, space, instructors, etc.), or mutual contribution to course content.
This is an interdisciplinary course in the interdisciplinary Liberal Studies Program. Liberal Studies focuses
on the history of ideas:
The Liberal Studies Bachelor of Arts Program offers students the opportunity to work in a
combination of disciplines in the humanities... The interdisciplinary coursework … has as its
primary focus the study of the cultural records, literary works and ideas that contribute to our
common inheritance. This course examines the history of an idea that is central to the literatures
and cinema of both Western and Asian cultures. Liberal Studies majors can take an Asian Studies
option and/or a South & South-East Asian Studies minor (I am the coordinator of the minor). India
is the largest country in the region studied in this minor. Bombay cinema is one of the best
windows into Indian society but it is also a hybrid and globalized product. Its depiction of love
draws on Indian and Western literary traditions. This course serves Liberal Studies majors, Asian
Studies optioners and SSEAS minors.
This course is an obvious choice for the Film Studies option in the English department. India has the
world’s largest cinema industry, of which Bombay cinema is the most important component. This
is the only course on campus that addresses Bombay cinema. The grammar and conventions of
Indian cinema are significantly different from those of any other cinema, for example, most Indian
mainstream films contain five to eight song sequences, which are often the most important part of
the film. Similarly, the relationships between mother and son and between male friends are as
important and often more important than that between romantic partners. Understanding the
language of Indian cinema introduces students to the Indian cultural imagination and traditions of
thought and feeling. I am an expert in the field, having published several articles on Bombay
cinema, and I am currently writing a book on the topic.
I have taught this course twice and it has always been cross-listed with Film/English and drawn
many of their students. It fulfills Film Studies upper-division requirements. Film and English
students are highly unlikely to look for it in Liberal Studies if it is not also listed as FILM.
V. Syllabus

Love in Bombay Cinema
LSH / SSEA / LIT/ WGS 328
3 credits
Fulfills requirements for the Liberal Studies major, the Asian Studies option, the South & SouthEast Asia Studies minor, the Women’s Studies option, the English major and the Film Studies
option
Dr. Vanita, Professor, Liberal Studies
Tuesday, Thursday 1.40-3.00
Room: SG303
Office: Liberal Arts 146-A. Office Phone: 243-4894.
Office Hours: Tuesday 8.30-9.30; Thursday 11.00-12.00
Email: ruth.vanita@umontana.edu
Mailbox in the Liberal Studies Program Office, LA 101
Goals & Learning Outcomes
To acquire an understanding of (a) the grammar and conventions of popular Indian cinema
(b) some patterns of representation of romantic love in Bombay cinema from the 1960s to
the present
Texts
1. Indian Popular Cinema: A Narrative of Cultural Change by K. Moti Gokulsingh and Wimal
Dissanayake.
2. Extracts from Patrick Colm Hogan, Understanding Indian Movies: Culture, Cognition and
Cinematic Imagination
3. Extract from Ashis Nandy, “Indian Popular Cinema as a Slum’s Eye View of Politics.”
4. Vinay Lal, “The Impossibility of the Outsider in the Modern Hindi Film.”
5. Ruth Vanita, “Dosti to Tamanna: Male-Male Love and Normative Indianness in Hindi
Cinema,” in Everyday Life in South Asia ed. Diane Mines and Sarah Lamb.
Films
1. Mughal-e Azam [The Mughal Emperor], 1960
2. Guide, 1965
3. Teesri Kasam [The Third Vow], 1966
4. Amar Prem [Immortal Love], 1971
5. Aandhi [Storm], 1975
6. Kabhi Kabhi [Sometimes], 1976
7. Ek Duuje ke Liye [For One Another’s Sake], 1981
8. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge [The True Lover will Take Away the Bride], 1995
9. Ghar [Home], 1978
10. Dostana [Friendship], 2008
10. Love, Sex aur Dhokha [Love, Sex and Betrayal], 2010
11. Vicky Donor, 2012
12. Fire, 1998
Clips from other films will be shown in class
Requirements
Students are required to
(a) attend classes regularly. More than three absences not explained to my satisfaction will
result in halving your grade for attendance and class participation, and more than five
absences will result in a zero for attendance; leaving early or coming late without
explanation will be treated as an absence. Explanations (preferably in advance of the
absence) must be backed up with documentation, communicated to me in writing and
accepted by me.
(b) keep up with the assigned reading, bring the text to class, and participate in discussion
(c) view the prescribed film each week in the library. At least one copy of each film is
available. In some cases, I have put my own copies in as well so more than one copy is
available. All the films are on 2.5-hour reserve and must be viewed in the library. You can
view them individually or you can view them in groups of up to 6 in the Listening and
Viewing Room in the library.
(d) once a week, write a thoughtful typed question or comment on the previous week’s film or
on the text you are reading for that week, use it in class discussion and hand it in at the end
of the class. Handwritten questions will not receive credit. Attendance may sometimes be
given on the basis of these questions. If you are ever unable to hand in a question, it is
your responsibility to tell me this and to have yourself marked present.
(e) take quizzes. Quizzes can be made up within the week (not more than twice in the
semester), but not later. To make up a quiz, contact me in person or on email to make an
appointment.
(f) take a mid-term exam
(g) Check UM email regularly, especially the day before class. I send out notifications and
changes by email. UM policy forbids me to write to you on any email address other than
the UM one. The best way to communicate with me is by email.
Grades
Class attendance and participation will be worth 25%, typed questions/comments 15%, quizzes
25%, the mid-term exam 20%, in-class tests 15%.
Essays must (a) address the topic (b) have a clear thesis/argument (c) support the argument with
textual evidence (d) and adhere to the conventions of academic writing, including correct grammar
and syntax.
Quizzes are designed to test (a) knowledge of the prescribed texts (b) assimilation of information
communicated in class and plenary lectures.
Plagiarism or academic dishonesty of any kind, in any assignment, will result in your failing
the class and may also result in other penalties such as expulsion from the University (for
further details, refer to the section on Academic Misconduct in the Student Conduct Code).
If you have any condition, such as a physical or learning disability, that will make it difficult for
you to complete the work as I have outlined it, please notify me in the first week of class.
Reading Schedule
This schedule is tentative. It is the student’s responsibility to keep up with any changes and
to obtain any hand-outs given in class in her/his absence. Readings indicated for a certain class
are to be read in advance of that class, e.g. come to class on August 29, having read Indian
Popular Cinema, pp. 9-17, and bring with you a typed comment/question on it.
August 27
Read Indian Popular Cinema, pp. xi-xiii, 9-17. Background information on Indian
society, culture, history, religion, and the cinema industry. Go through glossary.
August 29
Read Indian Popular Cinema, pp. 17-24. Background continued: the grammar and
conventions of Indian cinema; the star system; background for
Mughal-e Azam; Devdas and ideas of love.
SEE MUGHAL-E AZAM
September 3 Discussion of Mughal-e Azam. Themes: love legends; early nationalism; the
Muslim social.
September 5
Read Indian Popular Cinema, pp. 25-31. Background for Guide. Love versus
family, parents, duty; courtesans; divorce and adultery. Quiz on background.
SEE GUIDE
September 10 Quiz on materials covered so far Mughal-e Azam and Guide. Read Patrick Colm
Hogan, Understanding Indian Movies, pp. 1-8. Discussion of Guide.
Dance traditions that influence cinema.
September 12 Read Indian Popular Cinema, pp.39-44. Pluralistic culture, Hinduism and
everyday life, rural vs. urban life. Background for Teesri Kasam.
SEE TEESRI KASAM
September 17 Discussion of Teesri Kasam. Review of materials covered so far.
Cinematography, playback singing, music.
September 19 Read Indian Popular Cinema, 95-107. Background for Amar Prem. Religious
devotion, women’s status; mother and son. In-class written test.
SEE AMAR PREM
September 24 Discussion of Amar Prem. Quiz on materials and films covered since Sep. 10.
Ideas and traditions of romance and eroticism; censorship and ways of getting
around it.
September 26 Read Indian Popular Cinema, pp.44-53. Background for Indian politics, and for
Aandhi.
SEE AANDHI
October 1
Read Ashis Nandy, “Indian Popular Cinema as a Slum’s Eye View of Indian
Politics.” Discussion of Aandhi. Patterns of representing tragic love, married
love.
October 3
Read Indian Popular Cinema, pp.77-94. Background for Kabhi Kabhi. Themes:
women’s movement, women film stars and directors; the rise of Amitabh
Bachchan.
SEE KABHI KABHI
October 8
Discussion of Kabhi Kabhi. Themes: types of masculinity; challenging double
standards; generational change; male bonding.
October 10
Review
NO FILM THIS WEEK
October 15
October 17
Mid-term exam
Read Indian Popular Cinema, pp. 55-75. Background for Ek Duuje Ke Liye.
Communities, languages, regions. Love-suicide in life and cinema.
SEE EK DUUJE KE LIYE
October 22
Discussion of Ek Duuje ke Liye. The idea of the star-crossed lovers. Cp. Bobby,
Qayamat se Qayamat Tak, Veer Zaara, Ishaqzaade.
October 24
Background for Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Read Indian Popular Cinema,
pp. 109-16. Thrillers vs. family drama. New ideas of the nation. NRIs in cinema.
SEE DILWALE DULHANIYA LE JAYENGE
October 29
Read Vinay Lal, “The Impossibility of the Outsider in the Modern Hindi Film.”
Discussion of Dilwale Dulhaniya. Themes: arranged marriage & love-
marriage; parents, siblings, extended family, community. Reinventing rituals.
Clips from Hum Aap ke Hain Kaun, 1994.
October 31
Background for Ghar. Male and female stardom. Controversies about
films in the 1990s. Quiz on materials covered since mid-term exam.
SEE GHAR
November 5
Discussion of Ghar. Read Ruth Vanita, “Dosti to Tamanna: Male-Male
Love and Normative Indianness in Hindi Cinema.” New types of relationships.
Age difference, disabilities, cross-dressing, transgender, same-sex.
November 7
Background for Dostana. The Karan Johar phenomenon, LGBT movement.
Continue discussion of homosexuality in cinema. Quiz.
November 12 Screening in class of Dostana
November 14 Read Patrick Colm Hogan, Understanding Indian Movies, pp. 250-57. Continue
Dostana
November 19 Discussion of Dostana. Read Indian Popular Cinema, pp. 116-27. Background
for Love, Sex aur Dhokha and Vicky Donor. New realism; social injustice; new
media and technology; new forms of violence and of liberation; new roles for
women.
November 21 In-class written test.
SEE LOVE SEX AUR DHOKHA
November 26 No class
November 28 Thanksgiving
December 3
Read Indian Popular Cinema, pp. 141-45. Discussion of Love Sex aur Dhokha
Screening of Vicky Donor in class
December 5
Vicky Donor continues. Discussion of Vicky Donor.
Quiz on materials covered since November 19.
December 12, 3.20-5.20 Film Fire dir. Deepa Mehta
VI. Justification for third crosslisting:
In 500 words or less describe the extenuating circumstances making a third course necessary.
Since love is the theme of this course, it deals centrally with gender, sexuality, women’s roles,
status and desires, and male-female relations. Therefore it is clearly of special interest to
students specializing in Women’s and Gender Studies. It provides WGS students with insight into
women’s position in a major non-Western culture. Among the themes addressed by the films we
discuss are: women in a Goddess-worshiping culture; rape and domestic violence; women
politicians’ personal lives; homosexual love; courtesans; conflict between parent-arranged
marriage and love; love within arranged marriage. Even when the theme is cross-cultural (such
as conflict between women’s personal and professional lives), the students learn a lot by
examining the different ways this plays out in different cultures. The WGS program is technically
part of the Liberal Studies program; however, it has its own rubric therefore cross-listing is
required. I have taught this course twice, both times cross-listed with WGS and it has always
drawn WGS students. It needs to be listed as WGS for these students to be aware of it. My
appointment in Liberal Studies was with an emphasis in Women’s Studies, and the central theme
of my research and teaching is gender studies, therefore most of my upper-division courses are
cross-listed with WGS.
VII Copies and Electronic Submission. After approval, submit signed original, and electronic file
to the Faculty Senate Office, UH 221, camie.foos@mso.umt.edu.