The History of India Scholarship at UW-Madison

UW-Madison has a long tradition of scholarship on India dating as far back as the 1880s, when the Department of Ancient Languages taught Sanskrit. The tradition continued into the 20th century, when the Department of Comparative Literature offered courses on the study of Indian classics in translation.

In the 1950s, faculty members from several departments conducted field research in India, developing technical assistance programs in applied fields such as engineering, education, medicine and urban welfare. Following these enterprises, UW-Madison established the Department of Indian Studies in 1958. While still newly formed, the Department of Indian Studies succeeded in acquiring one of the first U.S. Department of Education grants for area studies, which included language teaching, library acquisitions and outreach support, as well as graduate student fellowships for study on India.

The Department of Indian Studies was later renamed the Department of South Asian Studies and a distinct Center for South Asia was established in 1990. Academic study on India, and outreach to the K-12 community, businesses, and the media on India, continue to flourish through the efforts of the Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia, which provides learning opportunities beyond UW-Madison’s campus, and the Center for South Asia.

In 1962, UW-Madison’s undergraduate College Year in India program began to send students to study abroad in India. Under the auspices of the UW-Madison Office of International Academic Programs, the College Year in India program continues to thrive with academic yearlong programs in Varanasi and Madurai, plus a summer program in Kerala.

In 1996, the Center for South Asia joined the newly established International Institute, a joint collaborative of the College of Letters & Science and the Division of International Studies. Through the International Institute, the Division and the Center for South Asia have been mutually successful in advancing the study of India through the support of faculty and graduate student research, special study initiatives in the form of symposia and workshops, and outreach activities.

Learn more about the history of the Center for South Asia at UW-Madison.

Learn more about India's former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's visit to Madison.