Course Description

This course is an introductory survey of some of the major religious traditions of Asia, focusing on those indigenous to India and China. We will examine the origins and development of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism, as well as investigate how these religious traditions are impacting certain contemporary issues, such as the relevancy of Gandhian non-violent political activism, the Westernization of Asian traditions in the American cultural marketplace (e.g., the commodification of yoga and mindfulness meditation by the self-help industry), the decline of ritualizing in communal American life compared with Confucian cultures, and the confluence of traditional medicine and global economies (e.g., the appropriation of traditional Chinese medicine by the alternative medicine and healing market).

This course will utilize the following disciplines: Philosophy, Religion, and History

Course Objectives

The purpose of this course is to train students to think critically and empathetically about cultural and religious difference. We begin by questioning the everyday concept of “religion,” its history in Western thought and its role in Western colonialism, and how it conceptually distorts non-Western traditions. But we also investigate ways of remedying such distortions through applying critical analysis and self-reflection.

To this aim, students will examine the history and function of the major religious traditions of India and China, focusing on how these traditions bind together diverse communities with common values and worldviews, while giving definition, meaning, purpose, and power to individual lives.

We will arrive at a critical definition of “religion,” apply it to the major traditions of Asia, then use the definition to understand contemporary issues, such as the continuing relevance of non-violent political activism from a Gandhian perspective, the Western transformation of yoga, the cultural appropriation of Buddhist mindfulness meditation, the decline of social and communal ritualizing in American culture compared to Confucian societies, the impact of traditional Chinese medicine on the global black-market trade of endangered species, and so on.

Ultimately, we are concerned with how to better and more empathetically interpret and analyze cultural and religious difference through paying attention to the preconceptions and prejudices we impose unwittingly when analyzing and interpreting non-Western traditions.

General Education Objectives

As the portal of entry to the inter-disciplinary General Education program at ASU, the purpose of this course is to introduce students to the goals, outcomes, and processes of general education and life at Appalachian. To that end, this course will teach students to think critically & creatively, communicate effectively and understand the responsibilities of community membership. More specifically, this course will meet the following Gen Ed program outcomes:

Goal 1A: Recognize, differentiate, and effectively employ appropriate and increasingly sophisticated strategies to collect and interpret information

Goal 1B: Successfully integrate disparate concepts and information when interpreting, solving problems, evaluating, creating, and making decisions

Goal 1C. Examine and evaluate how their own personal, historical, and cultural perspectives affect the discovery and generation of knowledge

Goal 2 A: Articulate and comprehend effectively, using verbal or non-verbal communication suitable to topic, purpose, and audience

Goal 2 B: Use writing effectively to discover and develop ideas and to articulate positions in contexts of increasing complexity

Goal 3: Cultivate intercultural competencies, specifically analyze a single issue from multiple perspectives.