Asian Religions in the United States

Catalog description

This course introduces students to the history of Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism as religions that originated in the Indian Subcontintent (aka, South Asia; modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka)), as well as the impact that Islam had on the same. It then traces the migrations of these faiths around the world and their practitioners to the shores of the United States. Drawing on the religious traditions of South Asia, students will consider the varieties of the religious experience, historically and comparatively represented by the adherents of these religious communities. The course will focus on the lived realities of these traditions in the United States. Class period will entail a combination of discussions and lectures intended to illuminate those texts.