General information
| Course name | Seminar: The anthropology of Buddhist societies |
| Course number | MA: APT, STE (alt) |
| Semester | SS 2015 |
| Current number of participants | 0 |
| Home institute | Ethnologie/Kulturvergleichende Soziologie |
| Courses type | Seminar in category Offizielle Lehrveranstaltungen |
| First date | Monday, 27.04.2015 12:15 - 13:45 |
| Participants |
Known as one of the "world religions", Buddhism has been, or still is today, the dominant religious tradition in a part of the world that is home to almost one half of its population. While Buddhism experiences a decline in some Asian countries, in others such as the late or post-socialist states or in Western societies it appears to be booming. The seminar will give an introduction to the basics of Buddhist doctrine and practice and then proceed to anthropological studies of Buddhist societies. We will jointly read short texts and students presentations and papers will be based on book-length studies. Contrary to the strong textual bias of academic Buddhist studies, anthropologists have often been interested in how Buddhist norms and values are lived in actual practice, exploring in particular the interplay between the "great tradition" of monks and elite institutions and the religious life-worlds of lay believers which often include the ritual interaction with non-canonical entities such as the spirit world. Case studies will be taken from both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist countries. As the seminar involves the researchers of the new MPI group "Buddhist Temple Economies in Urban Asia", economic questions in a religion of self-proclaimed world-renouncers (who nonetheless are often rich and influential) will play a special role. |
| Performance record |
Studienleistung: Wird in der ersten Stunde bekannt gegeben Modulleistung: Hausarbeit |
| Studiengänge (für) |
MA Ethnologie 120, 45, 75 International Area Studies |
| SWS | 2 |
| Miscellanea | Besonderheiten: Dieses Seminar wird auf Englisch abgehalten. Studien- und Modulleistungen sind ebenfalls auf Englisch zu erbringen. |
