Please note: this course description might still undergo some minor alterations.
Admission requirements
Admission to the MA Asian Studies (research) or the MA Arts and Culture (research) or the MA Religious Studies and having an academic interest in Asia and art history. Students of other MA programmes are kindly referred to the regular MA course
Description & Goals
The first part of this course focuses on religious narratives in Asian art. Religious stories in Asia are, as elsewhere, continuously retold, reworked, and adapted to new contexts, not only by way of words, but also by way of the visual medium. Stories, such as the Ramayana, a famous Indian epic that spread to Southeast Asia and beyond, and the Jatakas, pan-Asian stories about the previous lives of the Buddha, have various textual versions, but also as many visual versions, dating from ancient times to the present. Starting from Gombrich’s ‘theory of decorum’ we discuss the great flexibility of the visual medium in adapting such religious narratives to new contexts (domestic, religious, political) and the ways in which their meanings were manipulated in the course of this process. In class we examine a number of case studies (Jatakas and Ramayana) within various different Southeast Asian contexts, but your paper may focus on other religious stories in other Asian contexts.
The second part of the series focuses on the importance of symbols and symbolic visual vocabulary in giving meaning to the religious art of Asia. The literature discussed studies symbols as signifiers of beliefs and concepts in the iconography of Asia (with case studies mostly taken from South Asia and Tibet).We will come across the use of symbols and symbol groups as surprisingly long-lived bearers of auspiciousness. And as smart and surprisingly persistent means to express how the divine and the human interact and connect. We also explore how cosmological visions of the universe get expressed in monumental art, manuscript illustrations and Tibetan scroll paintings. The symbolism of multiplicity (the representation of divine powers through multiplication of e.g. body parts), which is such a strong signifier in Asian sacred language, is another topic on our list. And finally we examine how Asian arts developed new visual vocabularies for expressing and representing divine power. Case studies are taken from various religious contexts offered by Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism.
Course objectives
Knowledge of the religious art and material culture of South and Southeast Asia.
Insight in the function of religous art in its art historical and cultural context.
Insight in the art historical discipline as applied to Asian art.
Insight into some of the problems and debates in the study of Asian art
Academic skills to describe and analyse religious themes in Asian art and interpret them in their art historical context
Timetable
Check the timetable on the departmental website.
Mode of instruction
Seminar combined with individual research of source materials
Attendance and active participation are mandatory.
Courseload
10 EC = 280 hours
Block 1:
Meetings: 2 × 6 h = 12 hours
Weekly written reports of readings: 5 × 7 h = 35 hours
Paper: 80 hours
Block 2:
Meetings: 2 × 6 h = 12 hours
Weekly written reports of readings: 5 × 7 h = 35 hours
Paper: 80 hours
Extra tutorial meetings for ResMA students: 6 hours
Preparation for extra meetings: 20 hours
Assessment
10 written reports of readings (40%) during the course (block 1 and 2)
2 papers (4,000 words each), one at the end of each block (60%)
The papers are written in two stages: a first version, which will be commented on, and a final version. Students who do not meet the deadline for the first version will lose the right to get comments and will only be graded based on their final version. Students who do not meet the deadline for the final version, will get a failing grade.
In order to pass the course, students must obtain an overall mark of 5.50 (=6) or higher. A new version of the papers may be written if the overall mark for the course is “5.49” (=5) or lower. If students take this option, they must choose an alternative topic. They will not be permitted to resubmit the same paper(s). The deadline for this version / these versions will be determined in consultation.
The course is an integrated whole. All categories must be completed in the same academic year. No partial marks can be carried over into following years.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used. Students are requested to register on Blackboard for this course.
Note: there is no separate Blackboard page available for this ResMa course. Please subscribe to the Blackboard page of the regular MA course.
Reading List
Reading materials will be made available in Blackboard, if possible.
Readings for the first meeting to be announced in Blackboard.
Additional reading for the ResMA students will be determined by the convener at a later stage taking into account the students’ field(s) of interest. This extra literature will be discussed during the (extra) tutorial sessions.
Registration
Students are required to register through uSis. To avoid mistakes and problems, students are strongly advised to register in uSis through the activity number which can be found in the timetable in the column under the heading “Act.nbr.”.
Not being registered, means no permission to attend this course. See also the ‘Registration procedures for classes and examinations’ for registration deadlines and more information on how to register.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable.