LARTS 248 Eastern Religions
This introductory course in the academic study of religion overviews the religious beliefs and practices of five central eastern traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese and Korean religions, and Japanese religions. The course covers basic methods in the academic study of religion, and it invites students to explore a number of general questions: What are the fundamental concepts and practices of these traditions? What patterns and differences can be observed across the major eastern religious traditions? In exploring these questions, the course examines the basic historical developments, significant texts, rituals, philosophical dimensions, cultural expressions, and central religious practices of these eastern religious traditions from their historical beginnings to the present.