Indian Religions and Philosophies: The History of Hinduism

REL 252–01

Dr. Matthew Sayers
sayers@lvc.edu
Office: (717) 867–6133

Monday/Wednesday 3:00 – 4:20 p.m. / Lynch 182
Office Hours: M/W/F 10–12 / Humanities 307–D

Description

This class will introduce students to the history, textual traditions, and religious practices of Hinduism. We will examine the historical development of classical Hinduism in India, the development of the Hindu tradition over time, the changes wrought by its encounters with the west, and, finally, elements of modern Hindu thought. Our primary goal will be to gain a preliminary overview of Hindu traditions and some sense of the traditions’ diversity through time and across geographic regions. The student will become familiar with basic terminology, literature, beliefs, practices, and history of the Hindu tradition. Religious Studies is an interdisciplinary enterprise and we will examine the Hindu tradition from several perspectives, to include: literary, philosophical, art historical, anthropological, sociological, historical, philological, and phenomenological.
This class has a Foreign Studies designation with respect to the General Education curriculum. As such this course intends to increase students’ global awareness by introducing them to an important aspect of Asian culture in order to foster an understanding of cultural, social, political, religious, and/or economic systems outside the European tradition.

Required Texts

Other Class Readings are available on Blackboard.

Evaluation

Class Attendence and Participation are crucial to your success in this class. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class. You will be allowed three absences throughout the semester. Any absences in excess of this will directly affect your grade. You will be expected not only to have read all assigned readings by the class period, but also to have reflected upon them. Participation can be as easy as asking for clarification on a concept, or as challenging as trying to engage the instructor directly on the relevance of the material to your everyday life. Participation is the best way to ensure you understand the material, and that is the best way to ensure you do well in the class.
At the end of the second week of class there will be a Map Quiz. In the first two weeks of class you will be introduced to the map of India. For the quiz you will need to label a blank map demonstrating your knowledge of the general features of Indian geography and the cities from throughout India history. The Map Quiz will be on September 3rd.
There will be one Short Quiz, which will assess your knowledge of a smaller section of the course. The quiz will be composed of multiple choice and short answer questions. This will be the best indicator for how well you are absorbing the material, and how well you will do on the exams and essays. The Short Quiz will be on September 15th.
Essay One will give you the opportunity to develop the ability to express the ideas you have learned in class in writing. This assignment is to be two pages in length. (Two normal size sheets with default Word margins with 12 pt font.) For this essay you must describe the history of the development of the term karma in the Hindu tradition. Essay One will be due at the beginning of class on October 1st.
The Mid-term Examination will assess your knowledge of the material covered in the first half of the class. The Exam will be mainly short answer with one or two short essays. The Mid-Term Exam will be on October 8th.
In Essay Two you will need to demonstrate your ability to present an argument. This assignment is five pages in length. (Five normal size sheets with default Word margins with 12 pt font.) Essay Two will be due at the beginning of class on November 24th. You will be able to select topics from a list provided by the instructor after the mid-term examination.
The Final Examination will assess your knowledge of all the material covered in class. The Exam will be short answer and short essays. The Final Exam will be on December 13th from 2:00–5:00 p.m.
Various aspects of performance will be weighted as listed below: