Bachelor's in South Asian Studies

The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn or, simply, University of Bonn is an elite public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the Rhein-Universität (English: Rhine University) on 18 October 1818 by Frederick William III, as the linear successor of the Kurkölnische Akademie Bonn (English: Academy of the Prince-elector of Cologne) which was founded in 1777. Since 2019, the University of Bonn is one of only 11 German Universities of Excellence and the only German university with six Clusters of Excellence. With a strong record of disciplinary excellence and a number of Transdisciplinary Research Areas, the University of Bonn supports the achievement of excellence - since 1818.

The main goal of the bachelor's degree program South Asian Studies in the dual-subject option is to provide students with in-depth knowledge of current developments in South Asia. Is it especially important to realize that in order to understand this “other” region, its current developments in society, culture, politics, religion, and economics, we must leave preconceived notions and stereotypes “at the door” and dig deep into every aspect of life there. What is to be avoided is a fixation on working out supposed commonalities and differences as well as solely relying on case studies from South Asia that were undertaken to confirm theories of European and North American provenance: That which is “other” should be taken seriously and made comprehensible as “other.” In addition to exploring philological and sociological questions and methodologies, a central aspect of this program is that students learn at least one of the languages of the region (for Bonn’s South Asian Studies program they must learn either Bengali or Hindi), to enable them not only to make themselves understood in the region, but also, more importantly, to follow the local socio-political discourse. In addition to South Asian studies content per se, students also acquire intercultural competence and in general the ability to work through questions scientifically and methodically, with critical thinking and reflection.