Asian Religions

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to the wide variety of religious beliefs, practices, and ritual technologies in Asia. These religious traditions will not be investigated in isolation. Each Asian tradition, like each Western religion, is syncretic and multiple, full of internal contradictions and presenting diverse definitions of the sacred and profane. They each “structure” and are often comfortable with “their own multiplicity.” While we will look at traditions such as Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Zen, and Shinto, we will constantly question their boundaries and integrity. Week by week the panoply (or perhaps cacophony) of types and perceptions of religious experience, ritual, knowledge, directives, motives, and aspirations as displayed in these traditions will be touched upon. We will also think hard about the ways we approach the study of religion and question the very study of “Asian Religions” and “World Religions” in general. This course seeks to generate questions, promote critical inquiry and elaborate on ways the sacred has been made and continues to be made tangible and the vicissitudes of life made meaningful in Asia.