Unit name | Religious & Cultural Traditions of Ancient India (2500 BCE-500CE) |
---|---|
Unit code | THRS30085 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Langer |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Religion and Theology |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will focus on the religious thought and practice of ancient India beginning with the Indus civilisation and up to and including the Gupta empire (CE 540. We will explore the cultural background and religious milieu that led to the rise of three great religions: Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Topics include: historical framework (Indus civilisation, Aryan controversy, Mauryan, Kushana and Gupta empires, rise of salvific religions, etc); authoritative scriptures (Vedas, Brahmanas, Upanishads); sacrificial culture (from yajna to puja); origins of karma (different models of the after life, from ritual to ethical); social structure (classes, castes, women, urbanization); renouncer traditions (dharma, artha, kama, four stages of life, rise of Jainism and Buddhism); cosmogony and cosmology (kalpas, heavens, hells); mythology (Mahabharatha, Ramayana, Puranas, Manu, fables); art and architecture (iconography, temple, stupa, mandala).
Aims:
By the end of the unit students will be expected to have:
And additionally (specific to Level H) to:
A one-hour lecture given by the unit tutor followed by an hour seminar discussion of primary sources in smaller seminar groups with individual seminar presentation by students.
One summative coursework essay of 3000 words (50%) and one exam of 2 hours (50%).
Basham, A.L. 1967. The Wonder that was India, London: Sidgwick and Jackson.
Bryant, Edwin F. and Patton, Laurie L. (ed.) 2005. The Indo-Aryan controversy: evidence and inference in Indian history. London: Routledge.
Buitenen, J.A.B. van (trans.) 1973. The Mahabharata 1: The Book of the Beginning, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Dallapiccola, A.L. and S. Zingel-Avé Lallemant (ed.) 1980. The St•pa: Its Religious, Historical and Architectural Significance, Wiesbaden, Franz Steiner.
Doniger O'Flaherty, W. (ed.) 1980. Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions, Berkeley, University of California Press
Doniger, Wendy (trans.) 1991. The Laws of Manu, London: Penguin Books.
Doniger, Wendy and Sudhir Kakar (trans. and ed.) 2003. Vatsyayana: Kamasutra: a new, complete English translation of the Sanskrit text, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kulke, Hermann and Rothermund, Dietmar. 1998. A history of India. 3rd ed. London : Routledge.
Olivelle, Patrick (trans.) 1998. The Early Upanishads: Annotated Text and Translation, New York: Oxford University Press.