Asian Religions in Film: Knowledge of the Other

Catalog description

Through analyzing films and historical cases, this course asks fundamental questions about religion in global age: How do we understand religions that seem very different from our own? How do we relate to people from different religious traditions, often treated as the 'Other'? To answer these questions, we address various conceptualizations of the so-called 'Other.' Hegel, de Beauvoir, Said, and Iwamura lead the way in theoretical discussion, touching on issues in philosophy, feminist theory, and postcolonial theory. Films are examined to show the diverse ways Asian religions are lived and transformed in encounters with the West. This course aims to reach a new understanding of not only Asian religions, but also of religion itself as ever-changing categories of knowledge and experience.