93442 - History of Buddhist Thought (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

he course is designed to provide students with a thorough grounding in the main Buddhist texts, doctrines and practices associated with the various historical and cultural contexts in which the religion developed and spread across Asia. At its conclusion students will be able to provide a critical appraisal of the soteriological doctrines and be aware of their implications for religious practice and art, as well as possessing the skills required to express their knowledge effectively orally and/or in writing, using the appropriate terminology and referring to the specialist bibliography.

Course contents

The course covers the history and historiography of Buddhism in India and Asia, especially China and Japan. In particular, philological, philosophical, religious and anthropological paradigms will be investigated and compared with a selection of themes and terms relevant to the study of Buddhism in order to provide the student with useful tools to orient themselves and to deepen their research in a critical and autonomous way. A detailed summary of the topics and the critical framework presented in each lecture will be provided in the first lecture and will also be available among the teaching materials on the "Virtuale" platform.

From WEDNESDAY 10th November 2021.

Readings/Bibliography

Bibliography for students attending:

All the following titles will be put on the 'Virtuale' platform at the beginning of the course:

• D. Keown, Buddhism. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1996.
• “Theravāda”; “Mahāyāna” in R.E. Buswell (a cura di), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, New York, Macmillan Reference, 2004.
• D. Lopez, Curators of the Buddha. The Study of Buddhism Under Colonialism, Chicago–London, Chicago University Press, 1995, pp. 1-29.
• E. Zürcher, “The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Culture in An Historical Perspective” in J. Silk (a cura di) Buddhism in China Collected Paper of Erik Zürcher, Leiden, Brill, 2013, pp. 339-351.
• A.F. Wright, Buddhism in Chinese History, Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1959, pp. 3-20.
• W.E. Deal e B. Ruppert, A Cultural History of Japanese Buddhism, Chichester, Wiley, 2015, pp. 1-133.
  
• The PDF course tools made available to students are required reading for the exam. They will be put on the 'Virtuale' platform.

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Bibliography for students NOT attending:

All the following titles will be put on the 'Virtuale' platform at the beginning of the course:

• D. Keown, Buddhism. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1996.
•  “Theravāda”; “Mahāyāna” in R.E. Buswell (a cura di), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, New York, Macmillan Reference, 2004.
• D. Lopez, Curators of the Buddha. The Study of Buddhism Under Colonialism, Chicago–London, Chicago University Press, 1995, pp. 1-29.
• Jason Neelis “Networks for Long-distance Transmission of Buddhism in South Asian Transit Zones” in T. Sen (a cura di), Buddhism Across Asia, Singapore, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2014, pp. 3-17.
• E. Zürcher, “The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Culture in An Historical Perspective” in J. Silk (a cura di) Buddhism in China Collected Paper of Erik Zürcher, Leiden, Brill, 2013, pp. 339-351.
• A.F. Wright, Buddhism in Chinese History, Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1959, pp. 3-20.
• W.E. Deal e B. Ruppert, A Cultural History of Japanese Buddhism, Chichester, Wiley, 2015, pp. 1-133.
• J. Kieschnick, “Introduction”, in The Impact of Buddhism On Chinese Material Culture, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2003, pp. 1-23.
• The PDF course tools made available to students are required reading for the exam. They will be put on the 'Virtuale' platform.

 

 

 

Teaching methods

Lecture

Assessment methods

This 6 CFU course can be chosen as a part of the 12 CFU Integrated Course "BUDDHIST TRADITIONS IN ASIA (C.I.) (LM)". If the student has the Integrated Course (12 CFU) in his/her study plan, the final grade will result from the arithmetic average of the marks obtained in the two parts ("History of Buddhist Art (1) (LM)" and "History of Buddhist Thought (1) (LM) ").

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending. Non-attenders may contact by email the lecturer.

The exam will take the form of an oral discussion and the student will be assessed according to the knowledge he has acquired, his ability to provide a clear summary of the topics covered and his critical handling of the material.

The assessment will concentrate particularly on the skill displayed by the student in handling the sources and material in the exam bibliography and his ability to find and use information and examples to illustrate and correlate the various themes and problems addressed in the course.

The assessment will thus examine the student's:

- factual knowledge of the subject;
- ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts;
- familiarity with the terminology associated with the subject and his ability to use it effectively.

Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology.
Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology.
A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Teaching tools

Power point presentations available to students on the 'Virtuale' platform.

Office hours

See the website of Nicoletta Celli