Oliver Freiberger

This course is designed to provide the student with a structural and historical overview of Buddhism through the examination of various schools, doctrines, and religious practices. We will begin our study in India and look at the ways in which the contexts of post-Vedic civilization and orthodox Hinduism made Buddhism possible, and ask the following questions about Buddhism's founder: Who was the "historical Buddha?" What were the factors that led to his enlightenment? What did the Buddha teach, and what didn't he? How was the early Buddhist community structured? We will examine the developments in Theravada (also termed Orthodox or Southern) and Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism and the spread of these two distinctive schools into Southeast and East Asia respectively. We will also study Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle) Buddhism as it manifested in Tibet. Finally, we will examine the peculiar relationship that Buddhism has had with the West and explore the various ways in which European and American societies have embraced Buddhism and made it their own.

Grading:

Attendance/participation: 20% Three quizzes: 10% ea.Oral presentation: 20%Final exam: 30%

Texts:

C. S. Prebish / D. Keown, Introducing Buddhism (or: Buddhism - the eBook)J. Strong, The Experience of Buddhism, 3rd ed.

Asceticism, as a concept and a way of life, exists in many religious traditions. Ascetics commit to bodily restraints that can be manifold and are practiced at various levels of intensity. From specific food restraints (for example, vegetarianism) to fasting to death; from celibacy to self-castration; from wearing simple robes to going naked; from shaving one’s head to severe self-mutilation; from living in a monastic community to locking one-self in a cell to constant wandering. Using case studies from various religions, this course discusses the concepts, practices, and goals associated with this radical way of life. It also introduces students to scholarly approaches to asceticism, which includes theories of the body and of culture more generally. Other topics discussed in class are the social status of the ascetic; asceticism and gender; asceticism and devotion; and asceticism and violence. Historical examples will be taken primarily from India (Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism) and Mediterranean late antiquity (Greek/Roman religions, Christianity, Judaism).

Texts:

TBD

Grading:

TBD

This course offers a survey of the major religious traditions of Asia (Hinduism, Buddhism in South and East Asia, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto). It focuses on the historical development of their beliefs, practices, rituals, and customs in social context. The course will combine lectures with class discussions on readings.

This course introduces students to the institutional, social, economic, and doctrinal history of Buddhism in India. Emerging in the 5th century B.C.E., Buddhism spread quickly across South Asia. For more than 1500 years it had a significant impact on Indian culture, philosophy, art, architecture, and politics. The course discusses Buddhist teachings, from their earliest formulations to later developments, the spread of Buddhist institutions, and resulting social, political, and economic issues. Finally, we will take a look at the revival of Buddhism in India in the 20th century and its impact on society.

Readings:
Paul Williams, Buddhist Thought
Rupert Gethin, Sayings of the Buddha
Course Packet

Grading
Attendance/participation: 20%
Weekly reading responses: 20%
Oral presentation: 15%
Article for class encyclopedia: 15%
Midterm exam: 15%
Final exam: 15%

This course discusses key scholarly works on and major approaches to religion in Asia. Its main focus is on pre-modern South Asia and contemporary Japan, but other regions will be considered too. By discussing major groundbreaking works the seminar will familiarize students with the current scholarly discourse, its most pressing questions, a selection of commonly studied areas and topics, and major theoretical and methodological challenges of the field.

This course is designed to provide the student with a structural and historical overview of Buddhism through the examination of various schools, doctrines, and religious practices. We will begin our study in India and look at the ways in which the contexts of post-Vedic civilization and orthodox Hinduism made Buddhism possible, and ask the following questions about Buddhism's founder: Who was the "historical Buddha?" What were the factors that led to his enlightenment? What did the Buddha teach, and what didn't he? How was the early Buddhist community structured? We will examine the developments in Theravada and Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism and the spread of these two distinctive schools into Southeast and East Asia respectively. We will also study Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle) Buddhism as it manifested in Tibet. Finally, we will examine the peculiar relationship that Buddhism has had with the West and explore the various ways in which European and American societies have embraced Buddhism and made it their own.

Texts

C. S. Prebish / D. Keown, Introducing Buddhism (or: Buddhism - the eBook)
J. Strong, The Experience of Buddhism, 3rd ed.

Grading

Attendance/participation: 20% Three quizzes: 10% ea.Oral presentation: 20%Final exam: 30%

This course introduces and discusses major comparative approaches in the study of religion. The act of comparison is as old as religion is. Religious individuals and groups have often compared their beliefs and practices with those of their neighbors, sometimes with a sincere religious interest, sometimes merely to demonstrate the superiority of their own religion. Since the end of the 19th century, scholars of religion sought to develop methods of comparison that were not religiously biased. They asked: What are the differences and the similarities in the religions of the world? Why do religions have the same - or completely different - answers to the same existential questions? Why do they express their beliefs by developing very different - or strikingly similar - practices? This course surveys classical and current approaches to the comparison of religions. The guiding questions are: What are the respective goals of the comparative enterprises? What specific methods are advocated and actually carried out? Should we adopt those goals and methods for our own reflections on religion? The introduction to these issues will be illustrated by numerous examples from the history of religions. Many examples will be taken from Asian religions, but depending on the interests of students in class, we may extend our scope into any direction. In the course of the semester, students will develop individual comparative projects in study groups.

Texts

Course packet

Grading

Attendance/participation: 20%, oral presentation: 20%,  project development: 30%, and a final exam: 30%.

This course introduces students to the institutional, social, economic, and doctrinal history of Buddhism in India. Emerging in the 5^th century B.C.E. Buddhism spread quickly across South Asia. For more than 1500 years it had a significant impact on Indian culture, philosophy, art, architecture, and politics. The course discusses Buddhist teachings, from their earliest formulations to later developments, the spread of Buddhist institutions, and resulting social, political, and economic issues. Finally, we will take a look at the revival of Buddhism in India in the 20^th century and its impact on society.

TEXTS

1. Paul Williams, Anthony Tribe. Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition. London: Routledge, 2000.
2. Sayings of the Buddha: A Selection of Suttas from the Pali Nikāyas. Transl. by Rupert Gethin. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
3. Course packet. 
4. Optional: Śāntideva, The Bodhicāryāvatāra. A New Translation by Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996.

GRADING

Attendance/participation 20%
Reading responses 20%
Oral presentation 15%
Article for class encyclopedia 15%
Midterm exam 15%
Final exam 15%

This graduate seminar examines the construction of religious identity in premodern South Asia. We will discuss how individuals and communities defined their identities as ‘Buddhists’, ‘Brahmins’, ‘Jains’, ‘Muslims’, etc. (or particular variants of such traditions) in certain moments in history. Key questions are: How do the actors cope with the existence of truth-claims and religious practices different from their own? How do they draw boundaries between ‘us’ and ‘them’? What rhetorical methods do they employ in defining insider-outsider relations (rational arguments, polemics, negotiations, etc.)? Are categories such as ‘missionary activity’, ‘religious market’ or ‘conversion’ useful for the analysis of South Asian religions? What types of motivation (religious, economical, political, etc.) for drawing boundaries exist in one particular situation? How does a person’s (or group’s) religious identity relate to their other identities (class, gender, ethnic, linguistic, etc.)? Class readings include primary and secondary texts related to case studies and theoretical works on (religious) identity and alterity.

This course is designed to provide the student with a structural and historical overview of Buddhism through the examination of various schools, doctrines, and religious practices. We will begin our study in India and look at the ways in which the contexts of post-Vedic civilization and orthodox Hinduism made Buddhism possible, and ask the following questions about Buddhism’s founder: Who was the “historical Buddha?” What were the factors that led to his “enlightenment”? What did the Buddha teach, and what didn’t he? How was the early Buddhist community structured? We will examine the developments in Theravada (also termed “Orthodox” or “Southern”) and Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle”) Buddhism and the spread of these two distinctive schools into Southeast and East Asia respectively. We will also study Vajrayana (“Diamond Vehicle”) Buddhism as it manifested in Tibet. Finally, we will examine the peculiar relationship that Buddhism has had with the West and explore the various ways in which European and American societies have embraced Buddhism and made it their own.

TEXTS:

C. S. Prebish / D. Keown, Introducing Buddhism (or: Buddhism – the eBook)
J. Strong, The Experience of Buddhism, 3rd ed.

GRADING:

Attendance/participation: 20%
Three quizzes: 10% ea.
Oral presentation: 20%
Final exam: 30%

HISTORY OF RELIGIONS OF ASIA

ANS 301R / R S 302 · Spring 2010 · MWF 11–12 · JGB 2.102

Instructor: Dr. Oliver Freiberger

Office hours: W 2–5pm · Office: WCH 5.110 · E-mail: ofreiberger@mail.utexas.edu

Teaching Assistant: Maeri Megumi

Office hours: T 11–12; W 12–1pm · Office: WMB 1.114 · E-mail: mmegumi@mail.utexas.edu  

This course offers a survey of the major religious traditions of Asia (Hinduism, Buddhism in South and East Asia, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto). It focuses on the historical development of their beliefs, practices, rituals, and customs in social context. The course will combine lectures with class discussions on readings.

Course materials:

1. Theodore M. Ludwig. The Sacred Paths of the East. 3^rd ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006.
2. R. K. Narayan, The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000.
3. Zhuangzi: Basic Writings, translated by Burton Watson. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003.
4. Readings provided as PDF files on Blackboard.

Grading
Attendance/participation: 20%
Two quizzes: 20% (10% each)
Two short essays: 20% (10% each)
Midterm exam: 20%
Final exam: 20%

Grading scale: 93–100: A. 90–92: A-. 87–89: B+. 83–86: B. 80–82: B-. 77–79: C+. 73–76: C. 70–72 C- etc.

Scholastic dishonesty

Students who violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. Since such dishonesty harms the individual, all students, and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced. “Scholastic dishonesty” includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsifying academic records, and any act designed to give unfair academic advantage to the student (such as, but not limited to, submission of essentially the same written assignment for two courses without the prior permission of the instructor, providing false or misleading information in an effort to receive a postponement or an extension on a test, quiz, or other assignment), or the attempt to commit such an act. For further information please visit the Student Judicial Services Web site: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/.

Students with disabilities

The Faculty Council's Educational Policy Committee states, "Providing a quality educational experience for all students includes adapting the instructional environment to accommodate the educational needs of students with information about Services for Students with Disabilities through the course syllabus." At the beginning of the semester, students should contact the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) Office (phone 471-6259), which will prepare an appropriate letter to the instructor to guide you. See also the SSD website at http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/ssd/.

SCHEDULE

Week 1: Introduction

Week 2: Hinduism: Sanskrit, Indus Valley civilization, Vedic religion, social order, epics

Week 3: Hinduism: Shiva, Vishnu, the Goddess

Week 4: Hinduism: Philosophy, ritual, reform movements

Week 5: Indian Buddhism: Historical background, the Buddha

Week 6: Indian Buddhism: Dharma, Sangha, Theravada

Week 7: Indian Buddhism: Mahayana and Vajrayana

Week 8: Indian Buddhism: Ritual and ethics

Week 9: Chinese Traditions: Introduction, ancient traditions, Confucianism

Week 10: Chinese Traditions: Later Confucianism, Daoism

Week 11: Chinese Traditions: Buddhism

Week 12: Chinese Traditions: Interactions between traditions, ritual and ethics

Week 13: Japanese Traditions: Ancient traditions, Shinto

Week 14: Japanese Traditions: Buddhism, ritual and ethics

Week 15: Review

Study of various aspects and periods of South Asian culture and society.  Specific offerings are listed in the Course Schedule.  Prerequisite: Graduate standing; additional prerequisites vary with the topic and are given in the Course Schedule.

Topics in the religions and mythologies of the peoples of Asia.  Specific offerings are listed in the Course Schedule.  Prerequisite: Varies with the topic and is given in the Course Schedule.

Discussion of various problems involving language, history, and culture in Asia.  Specific offerings are listed in the Course Schedule.  Some topics partially fulfill legislative requirement for American history.

Study of various aspects and periods of South Asian culture and society.  Specific offerings are listed in the Course Schedule.  Prerequisite: Graduate standing; additional prerequisites vary with the topic and are given in the Course Schedule.