About this course: Join us as we explore India - the fastest growing economy in the world and one of the most diverse places on earth. India is an important player in the human story and is making a rapid return to centre stage. Learning about India has never been more relevant to our lives and possibly our careers. This course, developed through a grant from the U.S. Department of State’s Passport to India initiative, is designed to introduce people of all backgrounds and ages to India and its potential as a destination for study, research, work and entrepreneurship. Whatever your interests, this course will help you develop a more informed perspective on the importance of India. The sheer diversity and scale of India are reasons enough for making India not just important but fascinating too. Many agree that two of the rising trends of the coming decades are the re-emergence of Asia and technological change. India is at the heart of both trends and shares much in common with the United States. At the current pace of change, we may see: • Within 10 years, India is likely to overtake China and have the world’s largest population • In 20 years, New Delhi overtaking Tokyo as the world’s largest city • In 30 years, India could overtake China and the US as the world’s largest economy By the time a current college student is the same age as their parents are today – the world will have changed dramatically. India’s importance is growing by the day and could very well have far-reaching implications for your life and career. Each week of this interactive course explores one major theme related to India’s importance in an interdisciplinary way. This course is brought to you by the U.S. Department of State’s Passport to India initiative and is developed through a partnership between The Ohio State University and IndoGenius.
Created by: The Ohio State University
Taught by: Brian D. Joseph, PhD, Distinguished University Professor of Linguistics, and Kenneth E. Naylor Professor of South Slavic Languages and Linguistics
Department of Linguistics
Taught by: Nick Booker, Executive Director
Passport to India
| Commitment | 6 weeks of study, 1-3 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Why India? Why Now?
India is now the fastest growing major economy in the world. It is also home to one-sixth of the world's population. After introducing the course - we explore reasons why it is important to learn more about, from, with, and in India.
We then demonstrate the scale of India's population and economy - including considering projections which show India might well become the largest economy in the world at some point in the 21st Century.
In our final part we share some reasons why India might be the most "interesting" country in the world because of the simultaneity of the changes it is undergoing and the digital age context in which these are occurring.
15 videos
- Video: Course Introduction
- Video: Course Overview
- Video: Course Policies
- Video: Why India? Why Now?
- Discussion Prompt: Introduce Yourself!
- Video: Defining India
- Video: Foreign Interest in India
- Video: Learning About, From, With and In India
- Discussion Prompt: Contemporary Approaches to India
- Video: The Youngest Population on Earth
- Video: How Big is the Indian economy?
- Video: Will India Become the World's Largest Economy Again?
- Discussion Prompt: Scale: Challenge or Opportunity?
- Video: The Transformative Context
- Video: The "Most Interesting" Country in the World
- Video: The Digital Impact on India’s Urban and Industrial Revolutions
- Video: The Digital Impact on India’s National, Democratic and Social Revolutions
- Discussion Prompt: India's Digital Transformation
- Video: Conclusion
- Discussion Prompt: Why India? Why Now?
Graded: Week 1 Why India? Why Now? Quiz
WEEK 2
Influence
This module has us embarking on a tour of history showing how India has been a much more influential player in the human story than is widely recognized.
13 videos
- Video: Introduction
- Video: India’s Influence on the Birth of the Modern World (Part A)
- Video: India's Influence on the Birth of the Modern World (Part B)
- Video: Early migrations to and from India
- Video: The Indian Diaspora
- Video: The Golden Bird
- Video: Did All Roman Roads Lead to India?
- Video: When India was the Richest Country on Earth
- Video: From Richer to Poorer and Back Again
- Discussion Prompt: The Evolution of India’s Trade Relationships
- Video: Indian Worldviews
- Video: The Italian Renaissance
- Video: An Inspiration: From Romantics to Physicists
- Discussion Prompt: Indian Ideas in Your Field
- Video: Conclusion
- Discussion Prompt: Top Indian Influences
Graded: Week 2 Influence Quiz
WEEK 3
Diversity
Across the Indian subcontinent from the Himalayas in the North to the Rainforests in the South, in this module we will explore and see how geology and the Monsoon weather system have shaped the most diverse country in the world.
16 videos
- Video: Introduction
- Video: The Most Diverse Place on Earth?
- Video: Did India kill the dinosaurs?
- Video: The Monsoon Miracle
- Video: Celebrating Diversity
- Video: Anekantavad
- Video: Pluralism and Context Sensitivity
- Video: Out of Many, One vs. Out of One, Many
- Video: Languages
- Video: Religion
- Video: Politics
- Video: Internal Migration
- Video: The Social in Socio-economic Pyramid
- Video: Gender and Sexuality
- Video: Film, Fashion, and Food
- Discussion Prompt: Diversity Pros and Cons
- Video: Conclusion
- Discussion Prompt: Post-Week 3 Poll
Graded: Week 3 Diversity Quiz
WEEK 4
Complexity
In this module, we demonstrate the complexity of India by considering the interplay of politics, socio-economics and belief using the vast range of secular and religious events, festivals and nationally observed holidays as our starting point.
9 videos, 1 reading
- Video: Is India Chaotic?
- Reading: Devdutt Pattanaik on India's Chaos
- Video: Independence Day: Drawing India's Borders
- Video: Gandhi Jayanti: Contested Ideas of India
- Video: Republic Day: Understanding India's Constitution
- Discussion Prompt: Civic Complexity
- Video: National, State and Local Elections
- Discussion Prompt: Electoral Complexity
- Video: Important Birthdays
- Video: The Complexity of Defining India’s Middle Class
- Video: Urban vs. Rural India
- Discussion Prompt: India’s Growth vs. Distribution Paradox
- Video: Conclusion
- Discussion Prompt: Define your own complex issue.
Graded: Week 4 Complexity Quiz
WEEK 5
Creativity
The birthplace of modern mathematics, meditation and yoga is now a hotbed of 21st Century innovation and home to the world’s fastest growing startup ecosystem. Let's explore some of India's monumental creativity before considering if India is innovative today. How is the Government of India using technology to solve the country's challenges
6 videos, 1 reading
- Video: Introduction
- Video: Monumental India
- Video: 5 Types of Indian Innovation
- Reading: 5 TED Talks on Innovation in India
- Discussion Prompt: Your Examples of Innovation in India
- Video: JAM Trinity & India Stack: The Context for Leapfrog
- Video: Applications to Overcome India's Grand Challenges
- Discussion Prompt: Finding Creative Solutions in India
- Video: Conclusion
- Discussion Prompt: Does India “need” to innovate?
Graded: Week 5 Creativity Quiz
Graded: Week 5 Peer Review
WEEK 6
Opportunity
We introduce the fastest growing startup ecosystem in the world and look at a number of opportunities for India. We then consider the U.S.-India relationship and how India is increasingly engaging with the rest of the world. Finally we look at opportunities for young Americans in India - over 4,000 come to study and intern in India each year. We share their experiences and explain ways that you can get involved too.
9 videos
- Video: Introducing our theme of the week: Opportunity
- Video: The Startup Ecosystem
- Video: New Government Initiatives
- Video: Brain Drain to Brain Circulation
- Video: The US-India Relationship
- Video: India Engages
- Discussion Prompt: Documenting US-India collaborations
- Video: Institutional and Faculty Collaboration in Higher Education
- Video: US Student and Graduate Opportunities in India
- Video: American Student Experience in India
- Discussion Prompt: American Experiences in India
Graded: Week 6 Opportunity Quiz
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Ratings and Reviews
I had never looked at India with these optimistic perspectives. This course measured all the length and breadth of India in every dimension and its nature. Surely it will help me in building mankind and my career.
Great course, very valuable, interesting too, not just talking by himself the whole time, great speaker, truthful content, good resources, best course I've taken on coursera!
Absolutely fascinating! Loved learning about the very many facets of India and the course presenter did a great job.
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Very comprehensive and detailed. An eye-opener to even a fairly well-informed Indian like yours truly!