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RELIGIOUS STUDIES (L23)  (Dept. Info)Arts & Sciences  (Policies)FL2020
L23 Re St 311Buddhist Traditions: A Material Cultural Approach3.0 Units
Description:The ritual act of taking refuge plays an important role throughout various Buddhist traditions. In this class, we will use this idea as a helpful framework to examine Buddhist doctrines, ideas, theories, and practices. We will attempt to understand what role various forms of media and their ritualistic appropriations played in Buddhist responses to the question of "how can we end human suffering?" To do so, we will observe four different ways in which practitioners took refuge in the Buddha. In the first section "Taking Refuge in the Life of the Buddha," we will explore how practitioners attempted to emulate aspects of the Buddha's life stories (jataka). In the second section "Taking Refuge in the Body of the Buddha," we will engage in the practice of relic veneration and its relationship to the Buddha's life stories. In the third section "Taking Refuge in the Words of the Buddha," we will delve into the world of powerful scriptures and their ornamentation, production, and veneration. And in the last section "Taking Refuge in the Realms of the Buddha," we will investigate Buddhist sacred geography and various forms of ma??alas. At the end, this course will offer you many different responses to the problem of human suffering that various Buddhist communities had developed. By surveying these distinct responses, we will realize that "Buddhism" is a conglomeration of quite rich and diverse practices and ideas, offering a plethora of sometimes concurring solutions to the problem of human suffering. At the same time, however, we will recognize recurrent themes and similar ritualistic appropriations of mixed media cultural objects that obviously transcended national, congregational, and disciplinary boundaries. In that sense, the heuristic framework of taking refuge in the Buddha allows us to see some continuity in the discontinuous development of Buddhist traditions, their material culture, and ritualistic performances.
Attributes:A&S IQ: HUM, LCDArch: HUMArt: HUMBU: ETHEN: HUColl: CD
Instruction Type:Remote per COVID-19 Grade Options:C Fees:
Course Type:HomeSame As:L03 3112  L97 311Frequency:Every 1 or 2 Years / History
SecDays       TimeBuilding / RoomInstructorFinal ExamSeatsEnrollWaits
01M-W----2:30P-3:50PRemote / LA ZuernPaper/Project/TakeHome25160
Desc:Fully remote. Synchronous each meeting.
REG-DelayStart: 9/14/2020   End: 1/10/2021
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Home/Ident

A course may be either a “Home” course or an “Ident” course.

A “Home” course is a course that is created, maintained and “owned” by one academic department (aka the “Home” department). The “Home” department is primarily responsible for the decision making and logistical support for the course and instructor.

An “Ident” course is the exact same course as the “Home” (i.e. same instructor, same class time, etc), but is simply being offered to students through another department for purposes of registering under a different department and course number.

Students should, whenever possible, register for their courses under the department number toward which they intend to count the course. For example, an AFAS major should register for the course "Africa: Peoples and Cultures" under its Ident number, L90 306B, whereas an Anthropology major should register for the same course under its Home number, L48 306B.

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Q=ME Q (Medical School)

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