UNIT 1:  HINDUISM

Hinduism in India

            India before the Vedas (Thu Jan 10)

            The Vedas:  Bresnan, chapters 1-2 (Tue Jan 15)

            The Upanishads:  Bresnan, chapter 3 (Thu Jan 17)

            The Bhagavad Gita:  Bresnan, chapter 4 (Tue Jan 22)

            The Devotional Movement:  Bresnan, chapter 6 (Thu Jan 24)

            Modern Hinduism:  Bresnan, chapter 7 (Tue Jan 29)

Review and discussion:  4 Log 1 due on Hinduism and The Ramayana (Thu Jan 31)

            Review program:  www.ehcweb.ehc.edu/faculty/fkellogg/212u1.htm 

Test 1 – no map (Tue Feb 5)

                                                           UNIT 2:  BUDDHISM

Buddhism in Asia

            The life of the Buddha:  Bresnan, chapter 8 (Thu Feb 7 – Tue Feb 12)

            Teachings of the Buddha:  Bresnan, chapter 9 (Thu Feb 14)

            Theravada, Mahayana, and Tibetan Buddhism:  Bresnan, chapters 10-11 (Tue Feb 19 – Thu Feb 21)

             [Spring break Mon Feb 25 – Fri Feb 29]

Review and discussion:  4 Log 2 due on Buddhism and Siddhartha (Tue Mar 4)

            Review program:  www.ehcweb.ehc.edu/faculty/fkellogg/212u2.htm 

Test 2, including map of India (Thu Mar 6)
 

UNIT 3:  CHINA 

Chinese religions

            Early religion (Tue Mar 11 and Tue Mar 18)

            [Winter Forum Thu Mar 13 – no classes]

            Confucianism:  Bresnan, chapter 12 (Thu Mar 20)

            [Easter break Fri Mar 21 – Mon Mar 24]

            Daoism:  Bresnan, chapter 13 (Tue Mar 25)

            [Charter Day Thu Mar 27 – no 11 o’clock classes]

            Chinese Buddhism, Marxism, and Christianity (Tue Apr 1)

Review and discussion:  4 Log 3 due on Daoism and the Tao Te Ching (Thu Apr 3)

            Review program:  www.ehcweb.ehc.edu/faculty/fkellogg/212u3.htm 

Test 3 – no map (Tue Apr 8)

UNIT 4:  JAPAN

Japanese religions

            Shinto:  Bresnan, chapter 16 (Thu Apr 10 – Tue Apr 15)

            Pure Land and Nichiren Buddhism:  Bresnan, chapter 14 (Thu Apr 17)

            Zen, Christianity, and New Religions:  Bresnan, chapters 15 and 17 (Tue Apr 22)

Review and discussion:  4 Log 4 due on Zen and Illusions (Thu Apr 24)

            Review program:  www.ehcweb.ehc.edu/faculty/fkellogg/212u4.htm 

Final exam (Tue Apr 29, 1:30-4:30)

            (1) maps of China and Japan, 

            (2) short-answer questions on unit 4,

            (3) essay on unit 4, and 

            (4) comprehensive essay over the whole course 

TEXTBOOKS

Bresnan, Patrick S.  Awakening:  An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought.  3^rd ed.

            Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:  Prentice Hall, 2007.

The Ramayana.  Edited by R. K. Narayan.  New York:  Penguin, 2006.

Hesse, Hermann.  Siddhartha.  Trans. Hilda Rosner.  New York:  Bantam, 1982.

Lao Tzu.  Tao Te Ching.  Trans. Ursula K. Le Guin.  Boston:  Shambhala, 1998.

Bach, Richard.  Illusions:  The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.  New York:  Dell, 1994.

& Please bring your Bresnan textbook to class each day, so that you can relate the information from the lectures and discussions to appropriate sections of the readings. {                                              

THE STUDY OF ASIAN RELIGIONS

             The religions of Asia are living religions, with insights and rituals going back for millennia.  Often their concepts are much more ancient and complex than Christian theology!  We have time in this course to explore Asian beliefs and practices in depth.  We'll approach the religions with openness, in the hope that they will speak to our own religious longings. 

            An academic study does not advocate conversion or adoption of Asian concepts.  But we should find that our understandings of God, of ultimate questions, and of our own cultural heritage are deepened through our study.  Taking these ideas seriously will increase our awareness of other persons and of the world.  Religion is one of the basic factors in human experience, and ‑‑ although our learning in this course is primarily "intellectual" ‑‑ religion has the power to add to our experience of all life!

COURSE GOALS

             In this course, you will understand the historical foundations of religion in south Asia (the area of the modern nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka) and east Asia (China, Tibet, and Japan).

            You will identify ways in which Hinduism and Buddhism originated and developed in India.

            You will understand the rituals, scriptures, and principal deities in India from the Vedic Age to today.

            You will compare and contrast the religious teachings and ethical principles of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism.

            You will learn about the interactions of early religious traditions, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and Marxism in China.

            You will learn about the interactions of Bon and Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet.

            You will learn about the interactions of Shinto, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and the New Religions in Japan.

            You will locate on maps a number of key places in Asian religious history and know why each place is significant.

            You will refine your understanding of Asian religions by reading three supplementary books and reflecting on main ideas that you recognize in each book.

            You will develop your ability to express your interpretations and reflections in clear and grammatically correct writing.

            You will have the opportunity to relate what you have been learning in this class to experiences outside class, further developing your understanding of Asian religions.

LOGS

             Short writing assignments will give you opportunities to reflect on ideas which you encounter.  These “logs” will also give you ways to express your reflections in writing.  These papers will be based on the four supplementary books listed above.  You will write three logs:  log 1, plus your choice of any two of the other logs:  logs 2 and 3, or logs 3 and 4, or logs 2 and 4.

Here are the requirements for your logs; please follow them carefully.

1. At the top of the first page, put your name, log number, and date.  If it is a final draft rather than a first draft, put the current date, not the date of the first draft. 

2. In your own words give a brief summary of one or more sections of the assigned reading. Normally this will be a chapter of the Ramayana or Siddhartha or Illusions, or a few chapters of the Tao Te Ching.  Identify the specific chapter(s) that you are summarizing.

3. Now to one of the most important and most difficult parts of this writing assignment:  At the end of your summary, write a thesis statement, identifying the main point of the section that you have chosen, in your own words. 

A thesis statement is not a topic or concept (“kindness” or “truth”), and not the purpose of the chapter (“to show…” or “to help…”) but a real thesis (“the point is that…”) which can be debated or discussed.  You should be able to argue that the main point is just as meaningful today as it was long ago. 

If you’re not sure how to write a thesis statement, study carefully section C2-a in Diana Hacker, A Writer’s Reference, 6^th ed. (Boston:  Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007).  Make it easy for me to find your thesis statement by starting it with something like “The main point is that . . .”  Here’s an example:

 The main point in this chapter of the Ramayana is that all human beings are really monkeys at heart, with similar rivalries and pleasures.

4. Interpret the chapter fully, and relate it to Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese, or Japanese beliefs and practices, including relevant information from the textbook and/or your class notes.  Do not use the Internet or other sources, such as library books.  Show relationships of this chapter to other sections of the book. 

5. Apply the chapter to the modern world.  Discuss how the ideas in the chapter relate to your own life experiences.  Or reflect on how the ideas in the chapter address specific, real-life concerns and situations of people today, especially people living in Asia.

6. Do not evaluate the book!  Your assignment is not to show that the Ramayana, Siddhartha, the Tao Te Ching, or Illusions is wonderful, or contradictory, or wrong.  Instead, share with your reader your insights into the book.  As a part of your interpretation, you will naturally agree or disagree with the way that the author advocates each main idea that you have chosen to discuss, and you may offer alternative insights or approaches – after you have given a fair, clear treatment of the way that the issue is presented in the chapter and in Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese, or Japanese religion.

7. Don’t draw on outside sources such as the Internet or library materials.  Base your paper entirely on your own insights and what you have learned from the book, the textbook, and the class.

8. Since this is a brief interpretive paper rather than a research paper, you don’t need to include a bibliography or documentation.  In fact, you should use few if any quotations – most of your paper should be in your own words.  But if you would like to refer to a specific insight or brief quotation from one of your sources, please use simple parenthetical documentation:  put the last name of the author and the page number in parentheses.  For example:  “Daoism is founded on a deep love of nature, a love of the harmony and organic wholeness of nature.”  (Bresnan 156)

9. If you quote or paraphrase a passage from the Tao Te Ching, give the book and stanza number, instead of the page number, so that your reader can look up the stanza in any translation.  For example:  “People who cut the great carpenter’s wood seldom get off with their hands unhurt.”  (Tao Te Ching 74)

10. Your log should not be emailed but printed neatly with your computer set for double spacing (to give me plenty of room for comments and suggestions), a 12-point font, and one-inch margins.  It must be at least 500 words long.  An excellent (A) paper will normally be significantly longer than the bare minimum of 500 words. 

11. Backup, backup, backup!  < Save each draft of your paper on a flash drive or floppy disk, so that it’s not lost if your computer crashes.  L   

12. Fold the pages together lengthwise (unstapled), write “Pledged” on the outside, and sign your name.  Whether or not you remember to write “Pledged,” I expect the paper to be entirely your own work, in accordance with the Honor Code.   

13. Please meet the deadline for each paper; late papers will receive reduced grades, and a paper that is significantly late may receive a zero. 

14. I'll return your first draft promptly, together with a checklist and suggestions to help you improve your paper.  I’ll keep your final draft for evaluation of your group of three logs – or, in rare cases, I’ll keep your first draft if it is so good that it doesn’t need to be rewritten.  If you choose    log 4 as one of your three logs, since it is due on the last day of class, you will submit only one draft of that log.  The evaluation of your three papers will count as 1/5 of your course grade. 

STUDY METHODS

            You'll understand Asian religions best if you spend about two hours in study for every class session.  Here are my recommendations for success in this course. 

            Take about an hour before class to study the assigned readings, so that you’ll have a head start on understanding the lecture.  Note any questions that you’d like to ask during the session.

            Take another hour, soon after the class session, to study the sections in the textbook to which I have referred.  Put your class notes in a clear form that you can use later.  Give the date at the beginning of each day’s notes; that way you can refer to them easily when studying for tests.  You may want to store your notes on a flash drive or disk so that you can revise them easily, filling in gaps or making corrections.  In the years ahead, you’ll remember the information that you’ve learned day by day much better than what you’ve crammed the night before a test. 

            Before each test, go through the computer review of the unit.  You may use any computer; type into your Web browser either the address for the individual review or for my Home Page, which has links to all the review programs.  Type the Web address carefully:  for example, 212u1 stands for Religion 212, unit 1. 

            If you have any questions, please call me at extension 6150, send e-mail  to me at fkellogg@ehc.edu, or talk with me in my office, just across the hall from Wiley Auditorium.  I enjoy discussing religious questions!

CLASS PARTICIPATION

             Base grade.  If you come to class faithfully and on time, remain alert, and take careful notes on the lectures, you should learn the information well.  If your cell phone rings during class time, your base grade will be lowered by 1 point for every such disruption of the class.  In the very rare circumstance that the college is on a Delayed Opening schedule, announced on area radio and TV stations, this class and all other 11 o’clock T H classes will meet from 11:40 to 12:25.

            Every once in a while throughout the semester, I’ll give a short quiz, providing you an opportunity to share what you’ve learned from studying the assignment before class.  Each quiz will be evaluated on a simple scale:  +, P,  – , or 0.

            You may also participate actively in discussion, expressing your understandings of Asian religions which will help the rest of us.  You may have an interpretation or insight that I haven’t considered.  Feel free to come by my office any time during my office hours and talk with me about issues in your study of Asian religions which interest you. 

            Attendance.  I value faithful attendance highly, as an indication of your commitment to the course goals.  But I don’t want you to come to class when you’re sick, for your own sake and for the sake of your fellow students.  I’ll give you an absence form if you miss a class session; you do not need to let me know about your absence by email or by phone. 

            You should normally expect to write a makeup paper for any absence, regardless of the reason, to learn what you missed.  The paper must be turned in within two weeks of an absence.  It should summarize the content of the class session that you missed, thoroughly and precisely, in your own words.  Base your summary on notes from someone who was present.  Include readings referred to in the class session.  Your paper must be at least 500 words long, double-spaced, unstapled, printed clearly – not an email attachment.  A satisfactory makeup paper will mean that your absence is excused.

            I recommend that you do the makeup work – whatever the reason is for your absence – so that I can identify for you any major gaps or errors in your summary.  But if you prefer not to submit a makeup paper to me, here are the conditions:

• You may have up to three excused absences with no makeup work, because of  appropriate reasons such as sickness, college-sponsored trips or athletic events, or dangerous driving conditions because of severe weather.  Please don’t ask for an excused absence to deal with personal matters or family matters. 

•  If you would like for me to consider excusing an absence with no makeup work, please write your reason on the absence form that I will give you after any absence.

•  If you choose the option of an excused absence with no makeup paper, you’ll get someone's notes, study the assigned reading, and ask me about anything that needs explanation.  I want you to keep up with the rest of the group. 

• You may count one absence as a personal absence, with no need to give me an explanation, no makeup work required, and no penalty.  Reasons for a personal absence include such things as finishing a test in another class, attending a wedding, helping a friend, participating in a workshop or seminar related to your major, going home to take care of a family matter, or getting lost while taking a detour to class by hiking along the Appalachian Trail in the hope of obtaining enlightenment.

• Any unexcused absence will reduce your base participation grade by 5 points.

             Extra credit.  Here are a few possibilities to boost your class participation grade: 

            1. You may attend a lyceum event this semester which relates to what you’ve been studying.  I especially encourage you to attend the Winter Forum.

            2. If you have been involved in a community service project this semester, you may reflect on how your service project relates to a specific story or teaching from Asian religions which you have studied in this course.

            3. You may watch a full-length video relevant to Asian religions.  (Watching a TV program would not earn extra credit.)  You may view it any time in the semester, not only when we’re studying that particular topic.  I recommend from our library collection any of these:

The Joy Luck Club [based on an Amy Tan novel about Chinese culture, video PN1997.J694]

Little Buddha [Keanu Reeves and reincarnation, video PN1997.L5629]

Requiem for a Faith [Tibetan Buddhism, video BQ7604.R46 1997]

Seven Years in Tibet [video DS785.S49 1998]

The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Part 1 only [video BQ4490.T52 1999]

            If you want me to consider awarding extra credit for any of these three options, write a brief paper (about one page), showing how the activity relates to Religion 212.  Please don’t evaluate the program or movie; I don’t need to know what you liked or disliked about it.  Instead:

·        Give the title and date of the program or the date you watched the video.

·        Write a brief summary.

·        Relate it to specific things that you’ve been learning about Asian religions in this course. 

·        Set your computer printer for double spacing and a 12-point font. 

·        Do not email your paper to me; give me a hard copy. 

·        Turn it in within a week after the event or viewing, while it is still fresh on your mind.

·        You may submit one or two extra credit papers.  Each acceptable paper will add 5 points to your base grade, up to 10 extra points or a maximum class participation grade of A = 95.

EVALUATION

2/5:      the best two grades from tests 1, 2, and 3.  I’ll drop your lowest test grade.  If you

            miss a test for any reason, I’ll count that as your lowest grade and drop it; you won’t

            have to take a makeup test.

 1/5:      final exam

1/5:      the quality and timeliness of your three logs

1/5:      class participation, including any extra credit

            % Please note that our final exam is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29, from 1:30 to 4:30. 

Make your Q plans in advance to be here then for the exam unless you have a really serious last-minute family emergency or illness.

A = 95 (90‑99) 

B = 85 (80‑89)

C = 75 (70‑79)

D = 65 (60‑69)

F = 50 (0-59) 

          Your own evaluation of your work should be based on how fully you are able at the end of the course to identify with members of Asian religions.  Can you now share in their hopes, their problems, their central religious stories, their search for purpose in their lives?  Has your own religious quest been enriched, strengthened, or clarified?  I pledge to do my best in working with you this semester toward a recognition of some paths which can lead to Truth.

                                                                                    Fred Kellogg

A good collection of information and scripture texts from Asian religions has been compiled by David Wiley. I've also found helpful Web sites on Hinduism and Shin Buddhism.

If you would like, you can send me e-mail: fkellogg@ehc.edu

To look at one of my other review programs or syllabi, go to my Home Page, or go directly to one of the following:  

    Unit 1, Hinduism
    Unit 2, Buddhism
    Unit 3, China
    Unit 4, Japan

If you prefer, you may return to the Emory & Henry College Home Page.

Last updated:  December 11, 2007