(Offered as HIST 471 [AS/TC/TS/P] and ASLC 471.) China’s successful market reforms and recent rise as an economic superpower has led to increasing scholarly interests in the historical roots of China’s commercial prowess. In this research seminar, we will study China’s time-honored entrepreneurial tradition and the making of market and business institutions between the mid-sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries when China experienced explosive commercial development.
(Offered as ASLC 360 and RELI 360) What does it entail, and feel like, to embrace the modern world from a Buddhist perspective? The course examines key issues that have shaped the development of modern Buddhism across East Asia, while fostering a critical assessment of some fundamental assumptions in the making of the modern age.
(Offered as RELI-285, ASLC-285, and ENGL-301) An exploration of several salient questions concerning the Qur’ān, the Islamic Revealed Book. How have Muslims explained the Qur’ān’s own proclamation of its supernatural origin and its miraculous quality? How does the Qur’ān engage with and respond to the Hebrew Bible and Christian scriptures? Who has the authority to interpret the Qur’ān and why? These are just a few of the tantalizing questions that will occupy us over the course of the semester.
(Offered as HIST 273 [AS/TC/TE/TR/TS/P/C] and ASLC 273 [SA]) Are myth and history related? Do scholars interpret literature to write history? What happens when stories travel through time and across oceans? Do epics migrate with people? We answer these questions through the Ramayana, one of the most famous epics in the world.
(Offered as RELI 255 and ASLC 256) A systematic exploration of the place of ethics and moral reasoning in Buddhist thought and practice. The scope of the course is wide, with examples drawn from the whole Buddhist world, but emphasis is on the particularity of different Buddhist visions of the ideal human life. Attention is given to the problems of the proper description of Buddhist ethics in a comparative perspective.
Fall semester. Professor M. Heim
How to handle overenrollment: null
(Offered as HIST 173 [AS/TC/TE/TR/TS/P/C] and ASLC 173 [SA])
(Offered as HIST 171 [AS/TC/TE/P] and ASLC 171.)
This course surveys the literary and cultural milestones in late 19th-century to 21st-century China. We will explore a wide range of works from mainland China and the Sinophone world, including critically acclaimed films and theatrical productions. The course highlights the capacity of literature as a form of historical engagement and a vehicle for ethical reasoning as modern Chinese intellectuals braved a violent and perplexing age. Furthermore, it unpacks the multivalence of Chinese literary modernity as well as that of the very term “China.” All readings are in English.
(Offered as RELI 143 and ASLC 143) This course explores central ideas and practices in the religious and intellectual traditions of India up until the medieval period. We consider the range of available archeological, art historical, and textual evidence for religion in this period, though the course focuses mostly on texts. We will read the classic religious and philosophical literature of the traditions we now call Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
Fall semester. Professor M. Heim
How to handle overenrollment: null
Preparation of a thesis or completion of a studio project which may be submitted to the Department for consideration for Honors.
Open to seniors with consent of the Department. Fall semester. The Department.
How to handle overenrollment: null
Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Not applicable
