The Importance of India

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 4.7 stars Average User Rating 4.7See what learners said 课程作业

每门课程都像是一本互动的教科书，具有预先录制的视频、测验和项目。

来自同学的帮助

与其他成千上万的学生相联系，对想法进行辩论，讨论课程材料，并寻求帮助来掌握概念。

The Ohio State University The Ohio State University is one of the largest universities in the United States. It's also home to a diverse group of the best and brightest people in the world: dedicated faculty, passionate students, and innovative researchers who make Ohio State one of the world's truly great universities.

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 expand

1. Video: Course Introduction
2. Video: Course Overview
3. Video: Course Policies
4. Video: Why India? Why Now?
5. 讨论提示: Introduce Yourself!
6. Video: Defining India
7. Video: Foreign Interest in India
8. Video: Learning About, From, With and In India
9. 讨论提示: Contemporary Approaches to India
10. Video: The Youngest Population on Earth
11. Video: How Big is the Indian economy?
12. Video: Will India Become the World's Largest Economy Again?
13. 讨论提示: Scale: Challenge or Opportunity?
14. Video: The Transformative Context
15. Video: The "Most Interesting" Country in the World
16. Video: The Digital Impact on India’s Urban and Industrial Revolutions
17. Video: The Digital Impact on India’s National, Democratic and Social Revolutions
18. 讨论提示: India's Digital Transformation
19. Video: Conclusion
20. 讨论提示: 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 expand

1. Video: Introduction
2. Video: India’s Influence on the Birth of the Modern World (Part A)
3. Video: India's Influence on the Birth of the Modern World (Part B)
4. Video: Early migrations to and from India
5. Video: The Indian Diaspora
6. Video: The Golden Bird
7. Video: Did All Roman Roads Lead to India?
8. Video: When India was the Richest Country on Earth
9. Video: From Richer to Poorer and Back Again
10. 讨论提示: The Evolution of India’s Trade Relationships
11. Video: Indian Worldviews
12. Video: The Italian Renaissance
13. Video: An Inspiration: From Romantics to Physicists
14. 讨论提示: Indian Ideas in Your Field
15. Video: Conclusion
16. 讨论提示: 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 expand

1. Video: Introduction
2. Video: The Most Diverse Place on Earth?
3. Video: Did India kill the dinosaurs?
4. Video: The Monsoon Miracle
5. Video: Celebrating Diversity
6. Video: Anekantavad
7. Video: Pluralism and Context Sensitivity
8. Video: Out of Many, One vs. Out of One, Many
9. Video: Languages
10. Video: Religion
11. Video: Politics
12. Video: Internal Migration
13. Video: The Social in Socio-economic Pyramid
14. Video: Gender and Sexuality
15. Video: Film, Fashion, and Food
16. 讨论提示: Diversity Pros and Cons
17. Video: Conclusion
18. 讨论提示: 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 expand

1. Video: Is India Chaotic?
2. 阅读: Devdutt Pattanaik on India's Chaos
3. Video: Independence Day: Drawing India's Borders
4. Video: Gandhi Jayanti: Contested Ideas of India
5. Video: Republic Day: Understanding India's Constitution
6. 讨论提示: Civic Complexity
7. Video: National, State and Local Elections
8. 讨论提示: Electoral Complexity
9. Video: Important Birthdays
10. Video: The Complexity of Defining India’s Middle Class
11. Video: Urban vs. Rural India
12. 讨论提示: India’s Growth vs. Distribution Paradox
13. Video: Conclusion
14. 讨论提示: 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 expand

1. Video: Introduction
2. Video: Monumental India
3. Video: 5 Types of Indian Innovation
4. 阅读: 5 TED Talks on Innovation in India
5. 讨论提示: Your Examples of Innovation in India
6. Video: JAM Trinity & India Stack: The Context for Leapfrog
7. Video: Applications to Overcome India's Grand Challenges
8. 讨论提示: Finding Creative Solutions in India
9. Video: Conclusion
10. 讨论提示: 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 expand

1. Video: Introducing our theme of the week: Opportunity
2. Video: The Startup Ecosystem
3. Video: New Government Initiatives
4. Video: Brain Drain to Brain Circulation
5. Video: The US-India Relationship
6. Video: India Engages
7. 讨论提示: Documenting US-India collaborations
8. Video: Institutional and Faculty Collaboration in Higher Education
9. Video: US Student and Graduate Opportunities in India
10. Video: American Student Experience in India
11. 讨论提示: American Experiences in India

Graded: Week 6 Opportunity Quiz