UNIT 1:  HINDUISM

 In the first unit, we’ll study the broad scope of religion in India, from the fusion of Aryan culture with Dravidian culture, through the earliest scriptures and the great epics, up to the worship of Vishnu and Shiva today.  Please spend an hour before each class session, studying the assigned reading below. 

India before the Vedas (Tue Jan 12)

The Vedas:  Bresnan, chapters 1-2 (Thu Jan 14)

The Upanishads:  Bresnan, chapter 3 (Tue Jan 19)

The Bhagavad Gita:  Bresnan, chapter 4 (Thu Jan 21)

The Devotional Movement:  Bresnan, chapter 6 [skip chapter 5] (Tue Jan 26)

Modern Hinduism:  Bresnan, chapter 7 (Thu Jan 28)

Review:  www.ehcweb.ehc.edu/faculty/fkellogg/212u1.htm  (Tue Feb 2)

 4 Log 1 due on The Ramayana and Hinduism 

Test 1 – including The Ramayana; no map (Thu Feb 4)

UNIT 2:  BUDDHISM

The second unit will give us some insights into the enlightenment that transformed Siddhartha Gautama into the Buddha, and how his movement spread throughout Asia.

The life of the Buddha:  Bresnan, chapter 8 (Tue Feb 9 – Thu Feb 11)

Teachings of the Buddha:  Bresnan, chapter 9 (Tue Feb 16)

Theravada Buddhism:  Bresnan, chapter 10 (Thu Feb 18)

Mahayana Buddhism:  Bresnan, chapter 11 (Tue Feb 23)

Tibetan Buddhism (Thu Feb 25)

Review:  www.ehcweb.ehc.edu/faculty/fkellogg/212u2.htm  (Tue Mar 2)

 4 Log 2 due on Siddhartha and Buddhism

Test 2, including Siddhartha and a map of India (Thu Mar 4)

            [No class Tue Mar 9 – Thu Mar 11:  spring break]

UNIT 3:  CHINA

We’ll look at the foundations of early Chinese religious beliefs and practices; then we’ll study how Confucian and Daoist understandings developed on those foundations.  We’ll also see the influences of Buddhism, Christianity, and the “religion” of Marxism on China today.

Early religion:  Bresnan, pages 224-227 (Tue Mar 16 – Thu Mar 18)

Confucianism:  Bresnan, pages 227-240, 249-251 (Tue Mar 23)

            [No 11 o’clock classes Thu Mar 25:  Charter Day]

Daoism:  Bresnan, chapter 13 (Tue Mar 30)

Later Chinese history:  Bresnan, pages 243-248, 279-283 (Thu Apr 1)

Review:  www.ehcweb.ehc.edu/faculty/fkellogg/212u3.htm  (Tue Apr 6)

 4 Log 3 due on the Tao Te Ching and Daoism

Test 3 – including the Tao Te Ching; no map (Thu Apr 8)

UNIT 4:  JAPAN

 The final unit will help us to recognize the Japanese emphasis on the harmony of nature and human beings.  We’ll see the key roles of Shinto and various Buddhist groups in providing rituals for establishing the proper balance in the universe.

Shinto:  Bresnan, chapter 16 (Tue Apr 13 – Thu Apr 15)

Pure Land and Nichiren Buddhism:  Bresnan, pages 286-292, 348-352 (Tue Apr 20)

Zen, Christianity, and New Religions:  Bresnan, pages 294-318, 328-332, 364-369, 376-382 (Thu Apr 22)

Review:  www.ehcweb.ehc.edu/faculty/fkellogg/212u4.htm  (Tue Apr 27)

            4 Log 4 due on Illusions and Zen

            Final deadline for turning in any written work

Final exam – including Illusions.  Four parts: 

            (1) maps of China and Japan, (2) short-answer questions on the whole course,

            (3) essay on unit 4, and (4) comprehensive essay over the whole course

             Tests and exams are not given early.  If you have a last-minute emergency or hospitalization for illness in the final exam period, we will arrange for you to receive an Incomplete in the class and take a makeup exam at a later time.  In all other cases, plan to take the exam at the scheduled time.

TEXTBOOKS

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

            Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:  Prentice Hall, 2007.  0-13-243691-4.

The Ramayana.  Edited by R. K. Narayan.  New York:  Penguin, 2006.  0-14-303967-9.

Hesse, Hermann.  Siddhartha.  Trans. Hilda Rosner.  New York:  Bantam, 1982.  0-553-20884-5.

Lao Tzu.  Tao Te Ching.  Trans. Ursula K. Le Guin.  Boston:  Shambhala, 1998.  1-57062-395-3.

Bach, Richard.  Illusions:  The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah.  New York:  Dell, 1994. 0-440-20488-7.

& 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. {

            In the 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 Tuesday-Thursday classes will meet from 11:40 to 12:25.

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. 

            I hope you find that your understandings of God, of ultimate questions, and of your own cultural heritage are deepened through your study of Asian religions.  Taking the ideas in this course seriously will increase your awareness of other persons and of the world.  Religion is one of the basic factors in human experience, and although your learning in this course is primarily "intellectual," religion has the power to add to your experience of all life!

            This course satisfies the requirement for International Exploration (Emory Abroad).

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.

STUDY METHODS

             You'll understand Asian religions best if you spend about an hour before each class studying the assigned readings.   Soon after the class session, review your class notes and put them in a clear form.  Reread sections from the textbook that relate to your notes.  Write the date at the beginning of each day’s notes; that way you can refer to them easily when studying for tests.  In the years ahead, you’ll what you’ve learned day by day much better than what you’ve crammed just before a test.

            Every once in a while, at the beginning of the period, I will give a brief quiz on the assigned reading for that day.  These quizzes will give me insights into how well you are studying before each class session.  I’ll drop your two lowest quiz grades.

            You will have three tests, one over each unit.  I will count only the best two and drop your lowest test grade.  If you miss a test for any reason, I’ll count that as your lowest grade and drop it.  I’ll save a blank copy of the missed test for you, for study purposes.  Since I have this generous policy of counting only the highest two of the three test grades, please don’t ask me to give a makeup test for you before or after the scheduled test time; a makeup test would take hours for me to develop.  Instead, if you miss a test, plan on dropping that grade.  I’ll save a blank copy of the missed test for you, for study purposes.  No, you may not drop the final exam grade!  J

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.  Don’t start your paper until you’ve read the entire book.  You will write three logs:  log 1, plus your choice of any two of the other logs:  logs 2 and 3, or logs 2 and 4, or logs 3 and 4.  Here are the requirements for your logs; please follow them carefully.

            1. Identify the specific chapter or section from the assigned reading that you have chosen.  Normally your chosen section should be one chapter, but if it is short, you may decide to include a second closely related chapter with a common theme.

            2. At the top of your first page, put your name, course, log number, first or final draft, and the date of this draft (not the date of a previous draft).

            3. Write a brief one-paragraph summary of the passage, including only the essentials, in your own words.

            4. Identify in your own words one main point in the passage.  This is often called a thesis statement.  State it clearly in a form like this:  “The main point that I will deal with in this chapter is that . . .”  For example:  The main point that I will deal with in this chapter of The Ramayana is that all human beings are really monkeys at heart, with similar rivalries and pleasures.

            5. After the summary and main point, interpret the passage, reflecting on its meaning.   Provide background information that will help the reader to understand it, in relation to Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese, or Japanese beliefs and practices that you’ve learned from the class sessions.  What parallels or helpful information can you find in other sections of the book?  What does Bresnan say about the ideas in this passage?  Do not use other sources than these, such as the internet. 

            6. Include few if any quotations; your paper should be in your own words.  You don’t need documentation or a bibliography.  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)

            7. 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)

            8. Relate the passage to your own life experiences, and reflect on how the chapter addresses real-life concerns and situations of people living in Asia today.  Don’t just use vague generalizations; give specific examples of how the chapter helps you to understand Asian religions.

            9. Please 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.  You will naturally agree or disagree with the way that the author advocates the main point 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 religion, or Zen.

            10. I don’t accept any paper by email, because my experience is that most of us produce a better paper by printing it out and carefully proofreading the printed copy for clarity and accuracy.  Your log should be printed in a 12-point font with your computer set for double spacing, to give me plenty of room for comments and suggestions.  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, so that it’s not lost if your computer crashes or you have printer problems. L

            12. Fold the pages together lengthwise (unstapled),  and write your name on the outside.  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. 

CLASS PARTICIPATION

            Discussion.  Please come to class faithfully, remain alert, and take careful notes on the lectures.  I hope that you will participate actively in discussion, expressing your understandings of Asian religions which will help the rest of us.  When I'm lecturing, if I go too fast or introduce a name or term that you don't know, stop me and ask about it. Share your own insights into issues that I am describing.  Help me to build a lively group dynamic!

            I’ll be disappointed if I have to do all the talking in class; part of the fun of this course is the interaction we have with each other in struggling with key issues!  If your insights are especially helpful for the class throughout the semester, contributing to a good group dynamic, I will add a bonus point to your overall course grade.  Also, feel free to come by my office any time and talk with me about anything in your study of religion that interests you or challenges your own religious understandings, or email me with any questions or reflections. 

            Attendance.  During your college years, by responsible class attendance you can establish a reputation for reliability that will help your professors to write good reference letters for jobs or programs of graduate study.  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.  You may request that an absence be excused for an appropriate reason such as sickness, athletic competition, dangerous driving conditions because of  weather, or an event officially sponsored by Emory & Henry for which your absence has been authorized by an E&H faculty or staff sponsor.  An excused absence is based on an email request from you, not on a list from a coach or an oral request.  Before or right after any absence, please email me, giving the specific date and the reason that you missed class, if you want me to consider excusing the absence.

            You may request that one absence be counted as a personal absence, with no need for an explanation and no penalty.  Reasons for a personal absence include such things as oversleeping, 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.  If you want to count a missed class as your one personal absence, just email me; you don’t need to give me a reason for your absence. 

            Excessive absences (normally more than a total of four) or unexcused absences will reduce your overall course average by 2 points for each such absence.

            Extra credit.  You may boost your final course grade by either one or two points.  Write a one-page paper summarizing each program or video (including the date that you attended the program or watched the video)  and relating it to what you’ve been learning about Asian religions in this course.  The paper must be computer-printed, not emailed.  Turn in your paper within a week or so, while the event is still fresh on your mind.  One acceptable paper will add 1 bonus point to your overall course average, or two papers will add 2 points.  If you wish, you may write two extra credit papers to balance out the grade reduction for an unexcused absence.  Here are some options:

            1. You may attend a lyceum event this semester related to what you’ve been studying.  I especially encourage you to attend “Mindfulness:  A Strategy for Connecting Our Inner Wisdom” (Wednesday, February 10, at 7:30 in the Board of Visitors Lounge).

             2. 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 the following:

            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]

            Shinto:  Nature, Gods, and Man in Japan [DVD BL2220.S54]

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

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

 EVALUATION

            Your name on any test or paper means that in accordance with the Honor Code, your work is entirely your own, you have not looked at anyone else’s test or paper, and you have used only the sources identified in the guidelines – not the internet or other unapproved sources.  You pledge your personal honor that this is true.  The final deadline for submission of any written work, such as extra credit papers, is the last day of class. 

            My grading scale is:  A = 95 (90‑99), B = 85 (80‑89), C = 75 (70‑79), D = 65 (60‑69), and F = 50 (0-59).  I’ll base your overall course grade on the following:

            40%:    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.

             10%:    quizzes on daily preparation for class, dropping the two lowest quiz grades

             25%:    final exam

             25%:    the quality and timeliness of your three logs

             ±          bonus points or attendance reductions

            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 scripture texts from Asian religions can be found in http://qanda.encyclopedia.com/question/some-good-religious-texts-172672.html

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:  January 10, 2010