! !1 Humsafar: Novel, Drama, and Romance in Urdu URD 330 & URD 384 Class Time: Fall 2015, Mondays, 6.30-9.30 pm Class Location: WCH 4.118 Professor: Syed Akbar Hyder Professor’s Email: [email protected] Professor’s Office Hours: Tuesdays, 3-5, and by appointment Office Address: WCH 4.104 E Teaching Assistant: Muhammad Raza Mahboob Teaching Assistant’s Email: [email protected] Teaching Assistant’s Office: WCH 4.104,HUF office In the fall of 2011, the world of South Asian popular culture witnessed a phenomenal event: the broadcasting of Humsafar (companion) on Pakistan's Hum TV. The 23-episode serial (soap opera of sorts) is based on Farhat Ishtiaq's novel and inspired by a Nasir Turabi ghazal. Notwithstanding the craze it generated in Pakistan, the serial was broadcast to popular acclaim in India, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Humsafar's leading stars, Fawad Afzal Khan and Mahira Khan, instantly turned into mass media icons in the world beyond Pakistan. In this class we will explore how classical lyrical poetry and Urdu novel's melodrama contour the aesthetic parameters of Urdu serials in general and Humsafar in particular. We will delve into how issues of gender and sexuality in modern South Asia are tempered by women's "reformist" literature springing from the traditions of Nazir Ahmed, Ashraf Ali Thanavi, and A.R. Khatoon. We will also study theories of reception—especially the reception of Fawad Khan in India and Pakistan. In this vein, we will address the ways in which India and Pakistan share the ground of popular culture in spite of nationalist divides. Reading List: (All the readings will be posted on the course’s Canvas page.) Farhat Ishtiaq's, Hamsafar Gail Minault's Secluded Scholars Laura Ring's Zenana Course Packet !2 Assessment: Pop quizzes: 40% Class Participation: 30% Final Project: 30% (For the final projects, students will be required to perform a live skit or present a recorded one, approximately 10 minutes long. Ideally, each skit will feature three students. This skit will be based on Humsafar. It will be graded on the basis of aesthetic creativity, language usage, critical engagement with the texts that were read and viewed, and the student’s language background. The skit will be presented in the last class, November 31, 2015). Attendance Policy: With each unexcused absence, the student loses 8 points from the final semester grade. In order for an absence to count as excused, the student either needs to bring evidence of visiting a doctor or provide justification to me (in writing) before missing the class. I decide if the absence is excused. In order to receive credit for attendance and participation, the student must be present in class from the time it begins. If an early departure is unavoidable, it must also be backed with a valid excuse. If the absence is excused, the student is expected to write a 5-7 page reaction paper on the topic that was covered in the missed class. This paper is due within two weeks of the class that was missed. Students With Disability: For the University of Texas at Austin’s policies on students with disability, please consult: http://ddce.utexas.edu/disability/ !3 .