This class will look at the Indian Rebellion of 1857 as a critical event in the history of British colonial rule in India. Topics will include the rise of the British East India Company, the negotiation of sovereignty between the East India Company and the declining Mughal Empire, the trial of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II, and the formal assumption of rule in India by the British Crown in 1858.

A brief history of the Mughal Empire, which ruled in India from the 16th to the 19th century. The class will discuss issues of religion, conquest, society and politics, and art and architecture in Mughal India, as well as modern narratives of Mughal rule in contemporary South Asia.