E 379R

Slumdogs and Millionaires
Instructor: Shingavi, S
Unique #: 36010
Semester: Fall 2013
Cross-lists: ANS 320
Areas: VI
Flags: Independent Inquiry, Writing
Restrictions: N/A
Computer Instruction: N
Prerequisites: Six semester hours of upper-division coursework in English
Description: The recent success of Slumdog Millionaire (2008) has reopened discussions about the representation of class and
poverty in India. The reactions to the film have been intensely partisan: some of have praised the humanizing of the poor while
others have remarked that the fantastic rags-to-riches romance hinders any serious investigation of poverty. At every occasion,
though, this discussion of class and poverty has been irrigated by the ideological streams of the middle and upper-classes, especially
when it comes to their own solutions to and strategies for dealing with the persistence of poverty. Still, this representation of the
poor, the underclass, the peasant, is shrouded in a patina of authenticity: this is how the poor really survive and imagine their life
worlds. These aesthetic moves have become even more important in recent years as ruling parties in India have sought to
demonstrate the country’s viability as a major world economic power. In the 2009 elections, for instance, the Indian National
Congress Party ran television ads touting its economic policy credentials, set to the tune of “Jai Ho!” (the final song-and-dance
sequence of the film). At the heart of all discussions of poverty are questions of blame, and this course will interrogate how
aesthetic strategies intersect with certain ideological moves in the representation of Indian poverty. We will begin the course with
Vikas Swarup’s Q&A (the novel on which Slumdog Millionaire was based) and examine alternative representations of poverty from
the banal (Behind the Beautiful Forevers) to the mysterious (An Outline of the Republic), from the gritty (How to Get Filthy Rich in
Rising Asia) to the witty (White Tiger), in order to map out the range of strategies used to aestheticize and politicize poverty.
Texts:
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Adiga, The White Tiger
Boo, Behind the Beautiful Forevers
Deb, An Outline of the Republic
Davis, Planet of Slums
Hamid, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
Roy, Poverty Capital
Sinha, Animal’s People
Swarup, Q&A
Requirements & Grading:
 Paper proposal, 2-3 pages (10%)
 Rough draft, 8-10 pages (20%)
 Annotated Bibliography, at least ten sources (15%)
 Final Paper, 15-20 pages (30%)
 Blog posts, every week (15%)
 Participation (10%)
Annotated Bibliography:
Part of the goal of this class is to familiarize students with research methods in underrepresented literatures. Students will be asked
to produce a bibliography of works relevant to their final paper topics. Sources can include literary criticism, newspapers, journal
articles, books, and primary source materials. Annotations should be approximately 100 to 150 words in length.
Paper:
There is one research paper in this class divided up into two parts (a rough-draft and a final). The paper should cover at least one of
the texts covered in class and should be relevant to the themes of a course on poverty and South Asia. Other than those limits,
students are free to choose topics of their own liking. Students wishing for more direction will be provided with prompts for final
papers. All papers should be one-sided, with 1” margins, double-spaced, proofread, page-numbered, with consistent MLA style, and
in your best academic prose.
Course Blog:
You will be asked to contribute to the course blog at least once a week. Your contributions will include both an original post (200250 words) and a response to a classmate’s post (50-100 words). Topics for posts can be: issues not raised by class, alternative
directions that a question raised in class could have gone, passages from texts (with commentary) that are intriguing but not raised
in class, and disagreements born out of class discussion. The course blog should be seen as a way to continue the discussion in class,
especially those ideas and issues that are left underdeveloped in classroom conversations. I will also pick one person each class to
post notes from the class discussion to the blog in lieu of his/her post for that week. IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you use the
blog to test out ideas related to your final paper. Students will have access to the course’s blog through Canvas.
Independent Inquiry
This course carries the Independent Inquiry flag. Independent Inquiry courses are designed to engage you in the process of inquiry
over the course of a semester, providing you with the opportunity for independent investigation of a question, problem, or project
related to your major. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from the independent investigation
and presentation of your own work.
Writing
This course carries the Writing Flag. Writing Flag courses are designed to give students experience with writing in an academic
discipline. In this class, you can expect to write regularly during the semester, complete substantial writing projects, and receive
feedback from your instructor to help you improve your writing. You will also have the opportunity to revise one or more
assignments, and you may be asked to read and discuss your peers’ work. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your
grade to come from your written work. Writing Flag classes meet the Core Communications objectives of Critical Thinking,
Communication, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility, established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Grading Policy:
Final grades will be determined on the basis of the following rubric.Please note: to ensure fairness, all final grades will be rounded to
the nearest whole number (so 89.5 is an A- while an 89.499 is a B+). The University of Texas does not recognize the grade of A+
A= 94-100
A- = 90-93
B+ = 87-89
B = 84-86
B- = 80-83
C+ =77-79
C = 74-76
C- = 70-73
D+ = 67-69
D = 64-66
D- = 60-63
F = 0-59
Schedule:
Th
T
Th
T
Th
T
Th
T
Th
8/29
9/3
9/5
9/10
9/12
9/17
9/19
9/24
9/26
T
Th
T
Th
T
10/1
10/3
10/8
10/10
10/15
Introductions
Slumdog Millionaire, Q&A (pgs 1-72)
Slumdog Millionaire, Q&A (pgs 73-165)
Slumdog Millionaire, Q&A (pgs 166-237)
Slumdog Millionaire, Q&A (Pgs. 238-end)
Davis (pgs 1-49)
Davis (pgs 50-120)
Davis (pgs 151-end)
No class
PAPER PROPOSALS DUE 9/27 (electronically to my email by 5pm)
Boo (parts 1 and 2)
Boo (parts 3 and 4)
Adiga
Adiga
Adiga
Th
T
Th
T
Th
10/17
10/22
10/24
10/29
10/31
T
Th
T
Th
T
Th
T
Th
T
Th
11/5
11/7
11/12
11/14
11/19
11/21
11/26
11/28
12/3
12/5
Adiga
Hamid (pgs 1-74)
Hamid (pgs. 75-156)
Hamid (pgs 157-end)
Roy (chapter 1)
ROUGH DRAFT DUE 11/1 (electronically to my email by 5pm)
Roy (chapters 2 and 3)
Roy (chapter 5)
Deb (pgs 1-80)
Deb (pgs 81-161)
Deb (pgs. 162-241)
Deb (pgs 242-end)
Sinha (pgs 1-91)
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Sinha (pgs 92-204)
Sinha (pgs 204-end)
FINAL PAPER AND BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE 12/6 (electronically to my email by 5pm)
Policies:
Documented Disability Statement: The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations
for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 471-6259 (voice) or
232-2937 (video phone), or visit http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd.
Honor Code: The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual
opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust,
fairness, and respect toward peers and community.
Academic Integrity: Any work submitted by a student in this course for academic credit will be the student's own work. For
additional information on Academic Integrity, see http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acadint.php.
Religious Holy Days: By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of a pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of
observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a
religious holy day, I will give you an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence.
Web Site: Canvas
Instructors: Shingavi, S.