1
Religions of China and Japan (REL 3224, 97195)
Spring 2014 MW 2:30-3:45PM HUTCH 207
Instructor: Dr. Zhange Ni; 204 Major Williams; (540) 231-5805; [email protected]
Course Description:
This course introduces major religions of China and Japan through exploring myths and
legends; rites, rituals, and festivals; and contemporary popular culture. Particular
attention will be paid to the complexities and contingencies in shifting categories such as
“religion” and “culture” in East Asia. In sum, we will work with translated primary
sources, scholarly surveys and analyses, and literary and artistic pieces. Our goal is to
practice close reading, critical thinking, and effective communication.
Required Texts:
All Reading Materials will be available on Scholar in PDF format.
Course Etiquette
Classroom: You may eat and drink in class, as long as it isn’t a distraction to others.
Please be sure to turn off all cell phones, PDAs, iPods, etc. before class begins. Also, you
may use your computer to take notes but please mute the volume. What you do with VT’s
wireless network is up to you. You’re all adults. Be aware, however, that if I determine
that your actions are becoming a distraction to your fellow students – for any reason – I
will ask you to leave the classroom.
Email: Email is an essential component of this course and one of the primary means by
which I’ll communicate with you during the semester. Email, however, is not IM, nor is it
Facebook. It’s a more formal method of communication. Be sure the message you’re
composing is appropriate to the person receiving it. If you have any questions, please ask
us or take a look at Shipley and Schwalbe’s Send: The Essential Guide to Email for
Office and Home (http://www.thinkbeforeyousend.com/).
Attendance and Participation (2*25=50):
Attendance is mandatory and will be taken at each class. You are permitted 3 unexcused
absences. However, if you miss more than 3 classes, points (the number of classes
missed*2) will be taken off from the A&P grade accordingly. You are expected to come
to class prepared for the day’s lecture and discussion. Read the required text for the day
BEFORE class. Participate if you want to receive full points. You should plan on talking
– asking questions, responding to prompts, etc. – in this class. Feel free to disagree with
anything either your classmates or professors say, but be respectful in your tone.
Assignments:
13 On-Line Quizzes on Scholar (5*10=50):
Time: Open right after class till midnight the following day.
Format: 5*1 questions; multiple choice, T/F, and identification questions based on the
previous readings, lectures, and discussions.
Grading: 3 lowest grades dropped. However, if you miss 1 quiz, you automatically lose
5 points.
2
3 Reflection Papers; 2 Assessment Papers (50*3+25*2=200):
Dates: Reflection due on Feb. 19; Mar. 24; Apr. 23 (end of each unit). Assessment due
on Mar. 5; May 5 (midterm and final class).
Format: Requirements, sample and grading rubric will be distributed in class. 3
reflection papers: 2-3 pages, 50 points each. Summarize what you have learned in
this unit; raise your questions and concerns. 2 assessment papers: 1-2 pages, 25
points each. Assess your own performance and plan how to improve in the future.
1 Research Paper, Peer Review, and Presentation (100):
Dates: Research proposal (1 page) due March 26; first draft due April 16; present draft in
class Apr. 28, 30, May 5; final revision due May 14.
Format: 8-10 pages; pick a topic, raise a research question, read relevant scholarship,
and respond to your own question by presenting an argument. I am open to any
topic related to religion and culture of China and Japan, but make sure you talk to
me first.
Peer evaluation and group presentation: When I return the first draft of your paper, I
will pair you with a fellow student who has written on the same, similar, or
relevant topic. I will also assign you to present on a certain date. You two are
supposed to schedule a time to meet after class, discuss your papers, and plan on
how to present as a team. You also respond to each other’s paper in formal
writing (1 page comments meant to help your partner improve his/her paper; due
on your presentation day; bring to class two copies, one for your partner and one
submitted to me).
Grading: Proposal 10; 1st draft 20; comments 10; presentation 10; final version 50.
Final Exam: May 14th 10:05am-12:05pm
Go over all the quiz questions and our 3 review sheets.
III. Grading:
Attendance and Participation: 50
On-line Quizzes: 50
Short Papers: 200
Research Paper: 100
Final Exam: 100
Final grades (500*2) will be calculated according to the following chart:
A: 920-1000
A-: 890-919
B+: 860-889
B: 830-859
B-: 800-829
C+: 770-799
C: 730-769
C-: 700-729
D+: 670-699
D: 630-699
D: 600-629
F: below 599
IV. Schedule of Reading and Other Assignments
Jan. 22: Welcome and Introduction
3
UNIT 1: Myth and Ritual
Date
Jan. 27
Stories of Nuwa and Dayu
Primary Reading
Yuan Ke, selected and
translated by Kim Echlin
& Nie Zhixiong, Dragons
and Dynasties: --An
Introduction to Chinese
Mythology (London; New
York: Penguin Books,
1993), selections.
Assignments
Jan. 29
The Concepts of “Myth”
and “Chinese Mythology”
Robin Mcneal,
“Constructing Myth in
Modern China,” The
Journal of Asian Studies,
71 (2012), pp 679-704.
(In-class) Mock Quiz 1
Feb. 3
Stories from
Kojiki and Nihong-shoki
Feb. 5
“Japanese Mythology”
and Its Interpretations
Sources of Japanese
Tradition, selections
Junʼichi Isomae, Japanese
Mythology: Hermeneutics
on Scripture, trans.
Mukund Subramanian
(London; Oakville:
Equinox Pub. 2009),
selections.
(In-class) Mock Quiz 2
Feb. 10
Rites of Passage
Gene Cooper, “Life-Cycle
Rituals in Dongyang
County: Time, Affinity,
and Exchange in Rural
China,” Ethnology, Vol.
37, No. 4 (Autumn, 1998),
pp. 373-394.
Myron L. Cohen, “Lineage
Organization in North
China,” The Journal of
Asian Studies, Vol. 49, No.
3 (Aug., 1990), pp. 509534.
Alsace Yen, “"Shang-ssu"
Festival and Its Myths in
China and Japan,” Asian
Quiz 1
Feb. 12
Lineage and Festivals
Feb. 17
Purifications:
China and Japan
Tutorial I:
How to write reflection
paper?
Quiz 2
Quiz 3
4
Folklore Studies, Vol. 34,
No. 2 (1975), pp. 45-85.
Feb. 19
Review I
---------No Reading---------
Reflection Paper I Due
Review Sheet I distributed
in class
UNIT 2: Culture and Nature
Date
Feb. 24
Silk Culture
Feb. 26
Rice Culture
Mar. 3
Warrior and Tiger
Mar. 5
Understanding Martial Arts
Primary Reading
Dieter Kuhn, “Tracing a
Chinese Legend: In Search
of the Identity of the "First
Sericulturalist," T'oung
Pao, Second Series, Vol.
70, Livr. 4/5 (1984), pp.
213-245.
Peter Knecht, “Rice:
Representations and
Reality,” Asian Folklore
Studies, Volume 66
(2007), pp. 5-25.
Assignments
Quiz 4
Vibeke Børdahl, "The
Man-Hunting Tiger: From
"Wu Song Fights the
Tiger" in Chinese
Traditions," Asian
Folklore Studies 66, no. ½
(2007): 141-163.
Avron A Boretz, "Martial
Gods and Magic Swords:
Identity, Myth, and
Violence in Chinese
Popular Religion," Journal
of Popular Culture 29, no.
1 (Summer95 1995): 93109.
Quiz 6
Tutorial II:
How to write assessment
paper?
Quiz 5
Assessment Paper I Due
No Quiz
5
Mar. 17
Racoon Dog and Steam
Train
Michael Dylan Foster,
"Haunting Modernity:
Tanuki, Trains, and
Transformation in Japan,"
Asian Ethnology 71, no. 1
(April 2012): 3-29.
Quiz 7
Mar. 19
Anime and Religion
Mark W. MacWilliams,
“Japanese Comics and
Religion: Osamu Tezuka’s
Story of the Buddha,” in
Timothy Craig ed., Japan
Pop!: Inside the World of
Japanese Popular Culture
(Armonk, N.Y. : M.E.
Sharpe, 2000), p.109-137.
Tutorial III:
How to plan your research
paper?
Mar. 24
Review II
Quiz 8
Reflection Paper II Due
---------No Reading--------Review Sheet II distributed
in class
Unit 3: “Religions” of China and Japan
Date
Mar. 26
Three Teachings I:
Confucianism
Primary Reading
Keith Knapp, “The
Confucian Tradition in
China,” in Randall L.
Nadeau ed., The WileyBlackwell Companion to
Chinese Religions
(Chichester, West Sussex;
Malden, MA: WileyBlackwell, 2012), p.147170.
Assignments
Research Proposal Due
Mar. 31
Three Teachings II:
Daoism
Louis Komjathy, “The
Proposal returned with
Daoist Tradition in China,” comments
in The Wiley-Blackwell
Companion to Chinese
Quiz 10
Religions, p.171-196.
Apr. 2
Three Teachings III:
Chinese Buddhism
Mario Poceski, “Chinese
Buddhism,” in The WileyBlackwell Companion to
Quiz 9
Quiz 11
6
Chinese Religions, p.197218.
Joseph M. Kitagawa,
“Shinto,” in On
Understanding Japanese
Religion (Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press,
1987), p.139-155.
Tutorial IV:
How to write your research
paper?
Apr. 14
Shinto-Buddhism II
Joseph M. Kitagawa,
“Stages of the Japanese
‘Religious Universe,’” in
On Understanding
Japanese Religion, p.6982.
Quiz 13
Apr. 16
Inventing “Religion” in
Japan
Jason Ānanda Josephson,
"The Invention of Japanese
Religions," Religion
Compass 5, no. 10
(October 2011): 589-597.
Vincent Goossaert, "1898:
The Beginning of the End
for Chinese Religion?,"
Journal Of Asian Studies
65, no. 2 (May 2006): 307335.
Research Paper Drat 1 Due
Apr. 9
Shinto-Buddhism I
Apr. 21
End of “Chinese
Religions?”
Quiz 12
No Quiz
Draft returned with
comments (and pairing
information)
Tutorial V:
How to revise your research
paper?
No Quiz
Apr. 23
Review III
Reflection Paper III Due
---------No Reading--------Review Sheet III distributed
in class
Student Research Presentations
Apr. 28, 30
May 5
May 14: Final Exam
Research Paper Final Draft Due
Assessment Paper II Due