ManReligious Traditions of India REL 226 T/TH2:15PM‐4:05PMSteiner106andSeminarRoom(TBA)ProfessorDobeOfficeHours:T/TH9:30‐11:30Steiner105e‐mail:[email protected]andphone:x3228CourseDescriptionAsthecoverofthissyllabussuggests,India?sreligiousdiversity?in both breadthanddepth?isperhapswithoutparallelintheworld.Asanin‐depthintroductiontothatdiversity,thiscourseoffersabasic,historicalover‐viewofIndia?smanyfaiths?includingHinduism,Jainism,Buddhism,SikhismandIslam.Inadditiontoexploringtheoriginsandmajorcharacteristicsofthesetraditions,however,thecourseaimstoprovokestudentthinkingaboutthesignificanceofreligiouspracticeinthestudyofreligion.Tothisendthecoursehighlightsthevarietyofmodalitiesandperformancesthroughwhich thesacredhasbeenandcontinuestobeenactedandconstructedthroughoutSouthAsianhistory.Thesemodalitiesinclude,amongotherthings,theuseofsound,sacrifice,divineembodiment,asceticism,possession,violenceandpolitics.Whenviewedthroughtheseinterpretivelenses,thesolidboundariesbetweenwhatweoftenthinkofasseparate?religions?maybecomeporousormaydisappearaltogether.RequiredTexts(availableintheGrinnellBookstore)AmarCitraKathacomics,MirabaiandKabir.AnanthaMurthy.Samskara:RiteforaDeadMan.OxfordUniversityPress,1979.BhagavadGita.BarbaraStollerMiller,tr.BantamClassis,1986.Bondurant,Joan.ConquestofViolence:TheGandhianPhilosophyofConflict.PrincetonUniversityPress,1998.TheMahabharata(revisedpaperbackedition).C.V.Narasimhan,tr.ColumbiaUniversityPress,1998.Flood,Gavin.AnIntroductiontoHinduism.CambridgeUniv ersityPress,1996.RecommendedforPurchaseHawley,JohnStrattonandMarkJuergensmeyer.SongsoftheSaintsofIndia.OxfordUniversityPress,1988.Allotherreadingswillbemadeavailableonthecourse?sBlackboardsiteunderthefolder?Documents?andarrangedinorderaccordingtotheweeksofthesyllabus.Thesereadingsaremarkedwitha(B)inthereadingandclassschedulebelow.OfficeHours Tuesday&Thursday,9:30‐11:30.Ifyouwouldliketomeetwithmeduringofficehours,pleasesignupontheweeklyschedule,whichwillbepostedonmyofficedoor.Ifyouhavearegularschedulingconflictwithmyofficehours,pleaseletmeknowwithinthefirsttwoweeksofclass.CourseRequirementsThefollowingcomponentswillcomprisethefinalgradeforthiscourse.Pleaseletmeknow withinthefirstfullweekofclassesif,foranyreason,youbelievethatspecialconsiderationsneedtobetakenintoaccountinevaluatingyourperformancethissemester(e.g.,alearningdisability,medicalcondition,etc.).Iwouldbegladtotalkwithyouaboutthis.AttendanceandParticipation(20%)Studentsareexpectedtoattendtheclasspunctuallyandregularly,toaskinformedquestions,andtorespecteachother,theprofessor,andguests.Anattendancesheetwillbepassedaroundatthebeginningofeachclass;itisstudents?responsibilitytobesuretosignthissheeteveryclass.Sincelatearrivalsandearlydeparturesdisruptclass,Iwillcounttwotardies,twoearlydepartures,oranycombinationofthetwoasanabsence.Morethantwounexcusedabsencesduringthecourseofthesemesterwillhaveasignificant,adverseeffectonyourfinalgrade.Foranabsencetobe?excused?requires:ane‐mailfromyoubeforetheclassmeetsalertingmeofyourcomingabsenceandthereasonforit,aswellasdocumentationfromarelevantsource(HealthorStudentServices,etc.).Tofacilitatestudents?abilitytoactivelyjoininmorein‐depthdiscussion,theclasswillswitchtoaseminarformat(locationTBA)onThursdays.Ifthesediscussionsaretobesuccessful,studentswillneedtohavecarefullyreadtheassignedtextsandtohavetheminhand(includingthosepostedonBlackboard)inclass.Finally,attendanceisrequiredattwoextra‐classactivities:1)Friday,2/24,8p.m.inSebring‐Lewis:SufiMusicConcert2)Tuesday,3/7,7p.m.(locationTBA):Screeningofthe(3hr.long)filmversionofMahābhārataAndattendanceisencouragedbutoptionalatathirdevent:3)Friday,2/24,4:15‐5:30p.m.inFlanaganblackboxtheater(scheduletentative):SessionwithPakistanimusiciansMarkyourcalendarsnow! ShortResponsePaper(2‐3pages)(10%)Studentswillbeaskedtowriteashort,clearly‐focusedresponsepaper(duedate:2/10).Iwillcirculatealistofessayquestionsrelatedtoourreadingsfromwhichstudentsmayselect.(Studentsmaybepermittedtowriteonatopicoftheirowndesign,providedtheycometospea
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