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 will consider Buddhism in India and its spread to the rest of Asia, especially China and Japan. The analysis will be broken down into four main areas of study: history, doctrine, monastic organization and material culture, which will be addressed by reviewing and discussing selected topics and terminology and the latest historical, philological and archaeological research. The aim is to provide students with the tools required to approach the technical literature in the various fields with confidence and develop an independent critical stance in their own research. 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 "Insegnamenti OnLine" platform.

From MONDAY 9th November 2020

Readings/Bibliography

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

1. Robin Coningham, “The Archaeology of Buddhism”, in T. Insoll (a cura di), Archaeology and World Religion, London and New York, Routledge, 2001, pp. 61-95.

2. Lars Fogelin, An Archaeological History of Indian Buddhism, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2015, pp. 70-103.

3. G. Schopen, “Mahayana” e “Vinaya” in R.E. Buswell (a cura di), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Macmillan, 2004, pp. 492-499 e 885-889.

4. J. Nattier, “Central Asia”, in R.E. Buswell (a cura di), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Macmillan, 2004, pp. 120-122.

5. Tansen Sen, “Introduction”, in T. Sen (a cura di), Buddhism Across Asia, Singapore, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2014, pp. xi-xxx.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. J. Kieschnick, “Introduction”, in The Impact of Buddhism On Chinese Material Culture, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2003, pp. 1-23.

9. J. Shaw, “Archaeologies of Buddhist propagation in ancient India: ‘ritual’ and ‘practical’ models of religious change”, World Archaeology, Vol. 45, 1, 2013, pp. 83-108.

10. W.E. Deal e B. Ruppert, A Cultural History of Japanese Buddhism, Chichester, Wiley, 2015, pp. 13-37 e pp. 45-82.

11. 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 'Insegnamenti OnLine' platform.

Office hours

See the website of Nicoletta Celli