
Magnolia blossoms behind Building 530, Stanford. Photo credit: Linda A. Cicero
Spring
RELIGST 1: Religion Around the Globe
Monday Wednesday Friday
10:30 AM -
11:50 AM
This course surveys major religious traditions of the world in all of their complexity, in relation to philosophy and politics; liturgy and literature; identity and social hierarchies; art, community, and emotion. Through examination of a variety of materials, including scriptures and other spiritual writings, religious objects and artifacts, and modern documentary, fiction and film, we explore Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Daoism as rich historical and living traditions.
RELIGST 8N: Gardens and Sacred Space in Japan
Tuesday Thursday
1:30 PM -
2:50 PM
This seminar will explore gardens and sacred spaces in Japan. We will study the development of Japanese garden design from the earliest records to contemporary Japan. We will especially focus on the religious, aesthetic, and social dimensions of gardens and sacred spaces. This seminar features a field trip to a Japanese garden in the area, in order to study how Japanese garden design was adapted in North America.
RELIGST 55: Exploring Zen Buddhism
Tuesday Thursday
10:30 AM -
11:50 AM
This course is an introduction to Chan/Zen Buddhism. We will study the historical and doctrinal development of this tradition in China and Japan and examine various facets of Zen, such as the philosophy, practices, rituals, culture, and institution. For this aim, we will read and discuss classical Zen texts in translation and important secondary literature. This class will further feature a visit of a Zen teacher, who will give an introduction to sitting meditation.
RELIGST 314: Seminar in Buddhist Historiography
Tuesday Thursday
1:30 PM -
2:50 PM
The focus of this course is on approaches to the past from within Buddhist traditions rather than modern academic writing on Buddhist history. We will briefly examine research on religious conceptions of the past in other religions before turning to the full range of Buddhist historiography, including writings from India, Ceylon, China, Tibet and Japan. The first half of the class will be dedicated to reading and discussing scholarship as well as some primary sources in translation. In the second half of the course, students will develop projects based on their interests, culminating in presentations and a research paper.
RELIGST 333X: Workshop in Religion and Education (EDUC 412)
Wednesday
9:30 AM -
10:20 AM
This 1-unit workshop will explore the intersection of religion and education across a variety of learning environments and demographics. It invites an ongoing conversation of the relationships between schools, congregations, religious bodies, learners, seekers, philanthropy, and public education. Advanced students and visiting scholars will have an opportunity to present their work for discussion. May be repeat for credit
RELIGST 385: Research in Buddhist Studies
Independent study in Buddhism. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
RELIGST 389: Individual Work for Graduate Students
May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.