The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the vast scope of Hindu religious traditions in the South Asian Sub-continent, from the earliest time until the present. We will approach our task of becoming familiar with this subject primarily through an examination of the history of several major strands of Hindu thought and practice, and through study of the major doctrines, institutions and rituals of the Hindu world, by means of lectures, reading of secondary works, and examinations of various primary materials in translation.
Objectives
Method of instruction
**http://www.library.ucla.edu/bruinsuccesshttp://www.canterbury.ac.nz/student/wass/plagiarism_excerise.shtml
Class Schedule
Topics**: Objectives**: Blackboard Reading**:
Topics**: is; caste
Gain familiarity with the basic background upon which Hindu traditions are built.
Blackboard Reading:
Topics**:
Objectives
**:
**
3.1 Atharvaveda hymns
3.2 Funeral sacrifice
3.3 Oblation
Textbook Reading: IH: 51-74.
_
To think about for class_: Can ritual be meaningful even if you don’t believe its mythology?
IV 29 Internal Fires: The Upani
ṣsāra, Karma and Liberation
**Philosophical reflections on, and extensions of, Vedic tradition
**Become familiar with the basic ideology of the Upaniṣ
**
4.1 Br
̥yaka Upaniṣadic ideas of the relation between human and god make sense to outsiders?
October
V 6 Challenges to Orthodoxy: Renunciant Traditions and the ÒStages of LifeÓ
Yoga; non-traditional forms of religious practice; interaction with the substrateUnderstand alternative modes of practice and cultivation
Blackboard Reading**:
a
_
**Epic mythology; Rāma; the place of the epics
**Learn the outlines of the Epic stories and their importance
**
6.1 Mahābhārata Summary
6.2 Rāmāya
ṇTopics**: Objectives**: Blackboard Reading**:
ic Hinduism: The Divine Incarnations of Viṣṇa Legends
Avatāras; the transformation of Kr̥ṣṇObjectives: u and Kr̥ṣṇBlackboard Reading**:
Topics**: Objectives**: Blackboard Reading**:
eśa
Textbook Reading: IH: 148-197; CF 83-105.
_
To think about for class_: What does it mean to ‘convert’ from one religion to another?
X 17 Religion in the Village and Temple
**Caste; temple worship; holy days; domestic rituals
**Learn about non-elite religious practices
Textbook Reading: IH: 198-223; CF: 128-154, 253-261, 291-294.
_
To think about for class_: Is there such a thing as high and low religion?
XI 24 Diaspora Hinduism: To the Netherlands
**Hindoeïsme in Nederland
**
**
Dit artikel is te downloaden via de site van de UB
**
Brahmanism Abroad: On Caribbean Hinduism as an Ethnic Religion
**
Peter van der Veer and Steven Vertovec
_
Ethnology_, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Apr., 1991), pp. 149-166
Published by:
University of Pittsburgh- Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education
December
XII 1 The Modern Fate of Hinduism, and a Summing Up
**Political Hinduism; BJP and RSS; Islam in India today;
**Appreciate the role of religion in Modern India
**
12.1 ÒThe Rise of Hindu NationalismÓ
Textbook Reading: IH: 250-273. CF: 262-289.
_
To think about for class_: What is the place of religion in politics?
Examination
Course Requirements and Procedures:
There are two components of the grade for this class, one dependent upon the other:
1) Final Examination. The date for the exam is December 15, 2008, 14:00-17:00. The re-sit will take place January 19, 2009, 14:00-17:00. We will discuss the format at the appropriate time, but the exam will consist of essays and must be written in English, the language of instruction.
2) There will be 11 (eleven) weekly very short quizzes. [No quiz week one.] These will take place sometime during each lecture. You must hand in at least 9 (nine) of these quizzes, _or _you will not be permitted to take the final examination. The quizzes will constitute 10% of your grade, and will be evaluated either + or – (= +: you are basically right, or -: you have no idea what you are talking about). I will calculate this 10% counting + as 10 and – as 5. (If you complete more than 9 quizzes I will drop the one or two low scores.) These quizzes will assume that you are doing the required reading, but will not require detailed knowledge or mastery of the material.
Required reading
Readings are listed under each week, and include materials from (mostly) primary sources in translation, found posted on the Blackboard site, and in the following two required books:
*1) Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism (Cambridge University Press): IH *2) C. J. Fuller, The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism & Society in India (Princeton University Press): CF
Please download the Blackboard readings and bring them to class on the day for which they are assigned — having first read them of course! ### Admission
No prerequisites
Comments
Informatie is te verkrijgen in eerste instantie bij de studiecoördinator, de heer van Baardewijk (F.G.van.Baardewijk@let.leidenuniv.nl). Anders bij de docent, Prof. Dr. J. Silk (j.a.silk@let.leidenuniv.nl).