This class investigates the link between desire and death in classical and modern Hindu thought. In the most elementary formulation, this link is expressed as follows: Human beings are subject to death because they have desires; by controlling desire, human beings can escape death. This correlation between desire and death holds true for men and women alike, but it leads to disparate constructions of gender. Men are expected to practice self-control, while women are expected to submit themselves to the control of men.
To tease out the many cultural and intellectual dimensions of desire/death, this class treats the following topics: the relationship between the sexes; the construction of gender identities; practices associated with the reduction of sexual desire; practices associated with the arousal of sexual pleasure; practices associated with the harnessing of desire for the attainment of immortality (i.e., Tantra). We will investigate these issues by looking at stories of the Hindu gods (especially Rama, Krishna, and Shiva), as well as by looking at the lives of contemporary South Asian men and women, in literature and film.