A continuation of 220. Prerequisite: JPN 220 or permission of the instructor.

A continuation of 220. Prerequisite: JPN 220 or permission of the instructor.

Case studies in the history of science are used to examine philosophical issues as they arise in scientific practice. Topics include the relative importance of theories, models and experiments; realism; explanation; confirmation of theories and hypotheses; causes; and the role of values in science.

This course will trace early Buddhism on the Indian subcontinent and its evolution through Central Asia along the Silk Road. We will consider the emergence of the Mahayana (Great Vehicle) and Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle) Buddhist traditions and their development as they moved into Central and East Asian territories. We will examine Buddhism among the Chinese Northern Wei, Tang and Yuan dynasties, among the Turkic Uighurs and the ethnic Tibetan Tanguts, and finally the eastern and western Mongols and subgroups who practiced Buddhism within the Russian Empire. (E)

Besides a basic narrative of anticolonial nationalism in India from 1857 to 1947 (Gandhi lived from 1869 to 1948), it will also use his writings and diverse interests to introduce students to critical themes, such as history of ideas through what Gandhi read and his writings, caste and gender as embattled notions within Indian politics, history of imperial migrations through his stint in South Asia and end with his global legacy of non-violent resistance, with a special focus on MLK's use of Gandhi. (E)

Chinese society and civilization from the Tang dynasty to the Taiping rebellion. Topics include disappearance of the hereditary aristocracy and rise of the scholar-official class, civil service examination system, Neo-Confucian orthodoxy, poetry and the arts, Mongol conquest, popular beliefs, women and the family, Manchus in China, domestic rebellion, and confrontation with the West.