HRS 178
GE Area C2
Religions of India
M/W 1:30-2:45 PM
Medocino Hall 1024
Dr. Layne R. Little
Fall 2016
Religions of India
Dr. Layne R. Little
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: M 4:30-6:00 PM; Mendocino 2012; ext. 278-5040.
University Catalogue Course Description:
An introduction to the diversity of Indian religions, relating religious practices & ideas
to broader cultural developments, including visual arts and literature. Focuses on the
way Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh traditions address the concept of karma in
distinctive ways, paying special attention to the way words and intentions are said to
influence the consequences of a person’s deeds. 3 units.
Broader Course Description:
This course offers a comprehensive study of the various religious traditions of India
from
ancient times to the present. It examines not only the basic theological content of
these religious beliefs but also how the context of residing in the complex theological
world of India transforms these many religious traditions both from within and
without. Exploring religion through myth, ritual, philosophy, literature, poetry, art,
and performance this course presents a rich cultural tapestry. But it also traces in
detail the historical, social and political factors that have shaped and reshaped the
vast cultural landscape of religion in India.
Learning Objectives:
Students will gain a comprehensive knowledge of the essential doctrines
and beliefs of the major religions of India, as well as the important history,
myth, ritual, spiritual practice, literature, art, and sacred geography
associated with each of these traditions. Students will gain a keen
understanding of the cultural diversity of India, and the complex social and
political forces that have effected religious change across time in addition
to the social forces influencing these faiths today. Students will learn how
to analyze and describe cultural practices and to precisely note the
significance and function of said practices for a given community. In
addition they will be able to distinguish important regional and communal
variations with an understanding of why and how cultural practices change
over time to suit the needs of a given community. This class will explore the
diversity of viewpoints that shape culture, communal values and religion in
India by applying useful scholarly methodologies for better understanding
the contexts and forces that have given rise to them.
GE Area C2 Learning Outcomes:
Students who have completed a GE subarea C2 course should be able to:
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demonstrate knowledge of the conventions and methods of the study of the
humanities;
investigate, describe, and analyze the roles and effects of human culture and
understanding in the development of human societies;
compare and analyze various conceptions of humankind;
demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the historical development of cultures
and civilizations, including their animating ideas and values.
Required Texts:
Pechilis, Karen and Selva J. Raj. Ed. South Asian Religions: Tradition and Today.
New York: Routledge, 2013.
+ Assorted readings available for download from the class website.
Assignments & Grading:
Grades are determined by 4 exams and one short research paper. Three of
the exams will be in class and the fourth during finals. NOTE: If you do not
attend class you will miss crucial information that will be on the exams. The
research paper will be 5 pages in length, double spaced, in a 12 point font,
and should have proper MLA or Chicago style citations. Each paper must
have an original argument or thesis statement. Each student must choose a
topic themselves that reflects a specific aspect of one of the religious
traditions studied in this class that is of personal interest to them. At least
two academic sources (not included among course readings) must be cited.
Grade Breakdown:
Exam 1: 20%
Exam 2: 20%
Exam 3: 20%
Exam 4: 20%
Research Paper: 20%
Special Considerations & Class Policies:
Unexcused absences will affect your grade (-3% off your final grade per unexcused absence
beyond the first one). Inappropriate use of technology in class (such as texting and web
surfing) will count as an absence. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. See the campus
policy on academic dishonesty at www.csus.edu/admbus/umanual/UMA00150.htm. Any
plagiarism will result in an automatic “F” in the class and referral to the campus disciplinary
committee. Make-up exams may be scheduled only for compelling and documented reasons.
Special concessions will be made for all students with handicaps or students who did not
attend an English medium high school (or its equivalent). Students who require special
arrangements or concessions should contact me during the first week of the semester.
Week One: Introduction
Class One (Monday, 8/29/16): Ganesha & South Asian Cultural Diversity
In class film: The Story of India, “The Beginnings.” (2009), 0:55.
Class Two: (Wednesday, 8/31/16): Along the Indus
Week Two: Indus Valley Civilization & The Vedic Age
Class One (Monday, 9/5/16): Labor Day, No class
Class Two: (Wednesday, 9/7/16): Vedic Gods
Online Reading: Flood, Gavin. “Ancient Origins.” An Introduction to
Hinduism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. pp. 23-50.
Week Three: Upanisads, Karma & Reincarnation
Class One (Monday, 9/12/16): New Secret Knowledge
Online Reading: Basham, A.L. “The Development of Philosophy and the Origin
of the Doctrine of Transmigration.” The Origins and Development of Classical
Hinduism. Boston: Beacon Press, 1980. pp. 36-50.
Class Two: (Wednesday, 9/14/16): Ascetic Wisdom
Online Reading: Flood, Gavin. “Yoga and Renunciation.” An Introduction to
Hinduism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. pp. 75-102.
Week Four: Jainism- Cosmology & Mahavira
Class One (Monday, 9/19/16): Mahavira
Textbook: Pechilis, Karen and Selva J. Raj. Ed. South Asian Religions: Tradition
and Today. New York: Routledge, 2013. pp. 73-98.
Class Two: (Wednesday, 9/21/16): Ahimsa and the Cosmos
Online Reading: Chapple, Christopher Key. “The Living Cosmos of Jainism: A
Traditional Science Grounded in Environmental Ethics.” Daedalus. Vol. 130,
No. 4, “Religion and Ecology: Can the Climate Change?” (Fall, 2001), pp. 207224.
Exam 1
Week Five: Jainism- Saints & Stories
Class One (Monday, 9/26/16): Tirthankaras
Online Reading: JAINA Education Committee. Jain Story Book. 3rd Ed. Raleigh,
N.C.: Federation of Jain Associations in North America, 2005. pp. 15-34.
Class Two: (Wednesday, 9/28/16): Saints & Sadhus
Online Reading: JAINA Education Committee. Jain Story Book. 3rd Ed. Raleigh,
N.C.: Federation of Jain Associations in North America, 2005. pp. 35-69.
In class film: Ahimsa (Non-violence); a PBS documentary by Michael Tobias.
Week Six: Life of the Buddha
Class One (Monday, 10/3/16): Siddhartha Gautama
Online Reading: Robinson, Richard & Willard Johnson. The Buddhist Religion: A
Historical Introduction. Fourth Edition. London: Wadworth Pub., 1997. pp. 729.
In class film: The Buddha – PBS Documentary (Narrated by Richard Gere),
1:54. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIfXlfsbYOw
Class Two: (Wednesday, 10/5/16): Existence and Enlightenment
Textbook: Pechilis, Karen and Selva J. Raj. Ed. South Asian Religions: Tradition
and Today. New York: Routledge, 2013. pp. 101-140.
Week Seven: Theravada Buddhism
Class One (Monday, 10/10/16): Jataka Tales
Online Reading: Lopez, Donald S. The Norton Anthology of World Religions:
Buddhism. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2015. p. 100-119.
Class Two: (Wednesday, 10/12/16): Monasticism
Online Reading: Robinson, Richard & Willard Johnson. The Buddhist Religion: A
Historical Introduction. Fourth Edition. London: Wadworth Pub., 1997. pp. 5181.
Week Eight: Mahayana Buddhism
Class One (Monday, 10/17/16): Bodhisattvas & Buddha Lands
Online Reading: Robinson, Richard & Willard Johnson. The Buddhist Religion: A
Historical Introduction. Fourth Edition. London: Wadworth Pub., 1997. pp. 8298.
Class Two: (Wednesday, 10/19/16): Buddha-nature & Zen
Online Reading: Lopez, Donald S. The Norton Anthology of World Religions:
Buddhism. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2015. p. 304-325.
Exam 2
Week Nine: Theistic Hinduism
Class One (Monday, 10/24/16): Shiva
Textbook: Pechilis, Karen and Selva J. Raj. Ed. South Asian Religions: Tradition
and Today. New York: Routledge, 2013. pp. 39-70.
Class Two: (Wednesday, 10/26/16): Devi
Online Reading: Erndl, Kathleen. “Possession by Durga: The Mother Who
Possesses.” The Life of Hinduism. pp. 158-172.
Week Ten: Epic Hinduism
Class One (Monday, 10/31/16): Loving Krishna
Online Reading: Juergensmeyer and Hawley. “Mirabai.” Songs of the Saints of
India. New Delhi: OUP, 2004. pp. 118-140.
Class Two: (Wednesday, 11/2/16): Rāmāyaṇa
Watch at Home: Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama
In class film: Rāmāyaṇa (select scenes).
Week Eleven: Tribal Religion & Folk Hinduism
Class One (Monday, 11/7/16): Adivasis
Textbook: Pechilis, Karen and Selva J. Raj. Ed. South Asian Religions: Tradition
and Today. New York: Routledge, 2013. pp. 21-37.
Class Two: (Wednesday, 11/9/16): White and Black Gods
Online Reading: Valk, Ülo and S. Lourdusamy. “Village Deities of Tamil Nadu in
Myths and Legends: The Narrated Experience.”
Asian Folklore Studies. Vol. 66,
No. 1/2, Narratives and Rituals in Asian Folk Religion and Culture (2007), pp.
179-199.
In class film: Bearing the Heat.
Week Twelve: Hindu Bhakti & the Origins of Sikhism
Class One (Monday, 11/14/16): Nir-guna Bhakti
Online Reading: Hawley, John S. and Mark Juergensmeyer. “Kabir” & “A Dalit
Poet-Saint: Ravidas.” Songs of the Saints of India. Delhi: Oxford University
Press, 2006.; pp. 34-61, pp. 199-217.
Class Two: (Wednesday, 11/16/16): Guru Nanak
Online Reading: Hawley & Jurgensmeyer. “Nanak” Hawley and Narayanan. The
Life of Hinduism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006. pp. 63-88.
Exam 3
Week Thirteen: Sikhism- Early History & Ideas
Class One (Monday, 11/21/16): Origins and Development of Sikhism
Textbook: Pechilis, Karen and Selva J. Raj. Ed. South Asian Religions: Tradition
and Today. New York: Routledge, 2013. pp. 223-249.
In class film: Revealed: The Golden Temple.
Paper Abstract & Sources Due
Class Two: (Wednesday, 11/23/16): Sikh Synthesis
Online Reading: Smith, Marian W. “Synthesis and Other Processes in Sikhism.”
American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 50, No. 3, Part 1 (Jul. - Sep., 1948),
pp. 457-462.
Week Fourteen: Sikhism- Texts & Contexts
Class One (Monday, 11/28/16): Lives of the 10 Gurus
Online Reading: Gächter, Othmar. “Sikhism: An Indian Religion in
Addition to Hinduism and Islam.” Anthropos. Bd. 105, H. 1. (2010), pp.
213-222.
Class Two: (Wednesday, 11/30/16): Sikh Women & Ritual
Online Reading: Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur. “Why Did I Not Light the Fire?
The Refeminization of Ritual in Sikhism.” Journal of Feminist Studies in
Religion, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Spring, 2000), pp. 63-85.
In class film: Dastaar: Defending Sikh Identity. (2012), 0:14.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odUXxeP3EHI
Exam 4
Week Fifteen: Special Topics
Class One (Monday, 12/5/16): TBD-Student’s choice
Class Two: (Wednesday, 12/7/16): Class Party
Research Paper Due