School of Letters Department of Humanities

(Credit 2)

Intended Year:
Intended School:
Humanities (Japan and East Asia) in English(Seminar II)
Humanities (Japan and East Asia) in English(Seminar II)
Sub Title@ Introduction to Buddhism
Assistant Professor Caleb CARTER
Numbering Code: LET-HUM3104E
Course Code:
2018 SpringTerm
weekly Tue3
Ito Classroom
EȖ (English, English)
Course Overview Buddhism encompasses a vast array of communities, practices, philosophies, and technologies spanning roughly twenty-five hundred years and covering diverse regions across Asia and more recently, the West. Buddhists themselves often describe their practice as a path. In a similar vein, we will take a journey traveling through many of the practices, communities, and movements that developed over the course of its history. Our investigations will closely consult firsthand sources, authored by Buddhists, themselves. By reading and analyzing primary texts, you will confront cultural practices and ways of thinking that expose you to unfamiliar terrain—an experience that, in turn, will shed light on your present circumstances, values, and beliefs.
The course is divided thematically into three sections: Buddhist foundations, Buddhist divisions and philosophies, and Buddhist practices.

GOALS FOR THIS COURSE
1) Learn key Buddhist terminology, concepts, and practices. Consider both continuities among traditions as well as variations and issues of historical and regional context.
2) Develop analytical skills that allow you to critically read primary sources (within Buddhist traditions) and secondary sources (written by scholars).
3) Engage in open discourse, especially in an English-language setting. In addition, you will gain practice in asking questions, making comments, and writing about the ideas, practices, and vested interests embedded in the sources we study.
4) Step into the unfamiliar by encountering beliefs, practices and ways of understanding the world outside of your own.
Last updated : 2018/4/2 (15:15)