East Asian Studies Pro-Seminar (EAST201):
A Multi-Disciplinary Inquiry into “Religion” in East Asia
Spring 2012
Class: Tues. & Thurs.: 2:40-4:00
Office Hours: Wed. 1:10-2:00
Thurs. 10:00-12:00
William Johnston
Office: PAC 135
wjohnston@wesleyan.edu
Overview
This course is required for all East Asian Studies Majors. It is designed to
give students a sense of the diversity available within the major as well as
concrete experience studying an important aspect of East Asia. It does this
through an intensive study of a single broad theme, in this case religion, from the
perspective of a wide variety of disciplines inquiring into a range of different
aspects of the study of East Asia. The course will also incorporate panels
organized around themes related to the experience of being an EAST major (e.g.,
study abroad, senior projects).
The seminar is loosely divided into three sections grouped by theme
rather than country, although every effort will be made for balance among the
different countries of East Asia. The first section will examine some of the
assumptions that underlie concepts of “Asia” and of “religion.” The second
section will discuss a range of religious practices and beliefs in East Asia,
including some we do no usually associate with religion, generally in historical
context. The third section will look specifically at ways in which religion is
manifest today in East Asian countries. By the end of the semester, you will,
hopefully, see the ideas of Asia and religion in a very different light than when
you started.
When possible, classes start with members of the Wesleyan faculty
making presentations followed by a period for questions. After about one hour
the visiting faculty member will leave, and the class will continue discussing the
topic for the day, making connections to other topics discussed over the course of
the semester. In most cases, at the end of each section, there will be a full class
period with no visitors in order for the class to have a chance to digest all of the
material within the particular section and spend time peer critiquing analytic
papers.
A number of the classes will focus on issues related to the major (study
abroad, senior projects, alumni careers). The last few sessions will consist of
student presentations of their final collaborative projects.
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Objectives
There are six primary learning goals for this class:
 Gain an understanding of what it means to be an EAST major at
Wesleyan
 Gain a broad overview of perspectives within East Asian Studies
and examine the assumptions on which the field is based
 Experience the benefits of a multi-disciplinary inquiry
 Improve academic writing skills
 Improve oral presentation skills
 Improve group collaboration skills
Expectations
This is an upper-division seminar that requires a high level of student
involvement. The course will involve in-class discussions of the readings, three
4-5 page papers, and a final project that will be presented in class. I expect each
student to come to class prepared and to participate actively while in seminar.
Grading
There are four types of assignments in this course on which your grade
will be based: reading comments submitted on Moodle, class participation,
analytic papers, and a final project and presentation. This is a writing intensive
course, and we will be focusing on writing throughout the course. Students will
be responsible for giving and receiving feedback on their analytic essays before
final drafts are turned in for grading.
Reading comments submitted on Moodle:
Comments are to be submitted on Moodle by 9:00 am on the day of class.
They should consist of a statement expressing what you find to be the most
important point of the chapter, essay, or other reading, and any “ah ha
(discovery) moments” or “hmm (profound question) moments.” Students are
asked to read the comments of others before coming to class.
Analytic papers:
You will write three analytic papers (one for each section). They will be 4
to 5 pages in length and will be an intensive investigation of two works (either
within a particular section or between sections). The papers will utilize the
theoretical and methodological perspectives that we have been discussing
throughout the semester. Students will engage in a peer critique of their
colleagues’ papers before turning in a final product to be graded.
Final Project
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The final project will be a collaborative effort by small groups of 3-4
students. The form and nature of the project is open to allow for maximum
flexibility and creativity. The project may be a performance, an artwork, or a
research paper. This is an opportunity to use your imaginations and explore
themes and methods to which you feel personally drawn. The only requirement
is that there be something physical that is handed in to assist in evaluation, and
that each group present their project to their peers during the last two weeks of
class. You will choose topics and group partners early in the semester. The
expectation is that the groups work on their project throughout the entire
semester and that the final product represents a culmination of the course. In
addition to the final product, each group will need to submit a document
accounting for the contribution of the various members of the group.
Breakdown of grade:
The breakdown of the course grade is as follows:
Participation
In class discussion
Comments
Analytic Papers (20% x 3)
Final Project
5%
15%
60%
20%
Academic Integrity
All of you have signed a statement that you will maintain the guidelines
of Wesleyan’s Honor System. If you are unclear on any aspect of this, see the
Student Handbook’s section on the Honor System for an explanation of student
responsibilities, the process involved in prosecuting an Honor System violation,
and an essay on plagiarism.
http://www.wesleyan.edu/studenthandbook/3_honorsystem.ctt.
If you have questions about the appropriate way to use or cite a source, please do
not hesitate to ask me before handing in your paper. If in doubt, you are better
off citing sources to an excess rather than to risk a violation of the Honor Code.
Readings
Most readings will be made available on Moodle, sent directly as PDFs, or
be available on JStor or other electronic source.
Course Schedule
Thursday, Jan. 26
Introduction: East Asia and Religion
Tuesday, Jan. 31
What Is East Asian Studies at Wesleyan?
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Review EAST web page specifying requirements; post questions you have
about the Program on Moodle.
Thursday, Feb. 2
Thinking about Categories
Jorge Luis Borges, “John Wilkins’ Analytical Language”
Tuesday, Feb. 7
What Is Asia? What Is East Asia? Part I
Prasenjit Duara, “Asia Recux: Conceptualizing a Region for our Times.”
Wang Hui, “The Idea of Asia and Its Ambiguities.”
Tansen Sen, “The Intricacies of Premodern Asian Connections.”
Chas Freeman, “The Challenge of Asia.” (Web resource)
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Thursday, Feb. 9
What Is Asia? What Is East Asia? Part II
Amitav Acharya, “Asia Is Not One.”
Barbara Andaya, “Response to Prasenjit Duara, ‘Asia Redux.”
Rudolf Mrazek, “floating. No gears shifiting.”
Prasenjit Duara, “Response to Comments on ‘Asia Redux.”
John K. Fairbank, “Preliminary Framework,” in The Chinese World Order.
Tuesday, Feb. 14
What Is Religion?
Ioan P. Couliano, “Introduction”
Clifford Geertz, “Religion As a Cultural System”
William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, pp. 26-31.
Thursday, Feb. 16 What Are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam?
Louis Jacobs, “Judaism,” in Encyclopaedia Judaica.
Jaraslov Pelikan, “Christianity, An Overview,” in Encyclopedia of Religion.
Various authors, selected sections from “Islam” in Encyclopedia Britannica.
Tuesday, Feb. 21
What Is World Religion?
Tomoko Masuzawa, The Invention of World Religion, pp. ix-xv, 1-71.
Thursday, Feb. 23 How Did Buddhism Become a World Religion?
Tomoko Masuzawa, The Invention of World Religion, 107-120.
Monday, Feb. 27
Submit Drafts of First Analytic Paper by 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Peer Critiques of First Analytic Papers
Thursday, Mar. 1 What Is Daoism?
Benjamin Schwartz, The World of Thought in Ancient China, pp. 186-254.
Russell Kirkland, Taoism: The Enduring Tradition, pp.
Friday, Mar. 2
Submit Revised Paper by 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Mar. 6
More Daoism; What Is Confucianism?
Special Guest: Prof. Steve Angle
Herbert Fingarette, Confucius: The Secular as Sacred, pp. vii-xi, 1-79.
Thursday, Mar. 8 Confucianism, con’t.; Final Project Discussion
Submit final project theme by Wed., Mar. 7 by 10:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Mar. 27 What Is Buddhism?
Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught, pp. xv-xvi, 1-75.
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Thursday, Mar. 29 What Are Pure Land and Zen Buddhism?
John McRae, “Schools of Buddhism: Chinese Buddhism.”
Wm. Theodore de Bary, et. al., Sources of Japanese Tradition, Volume 1, From
earliest times to 1600. Section on Pure Land Buddhism, pp. 211-230; section
on Zen Buddhism, pp. 306-335.
Ebook: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/wesleyan/Doc?id=10183340
Tuesday, Apr. 3
What is Shinto?
John Breen and Mark Teeuwen, A New History of Shinto, pp. 1-65.
Sources of Japanese Tradition, pp. 19-21, 23-25, 31-32.
Ebook: http://site.ebrary.com/lib/wesleyan/Doc?id=10183340
Thursday, Apr. 5
Religion in East Asian Politics
Special Guest: Prof. Mary Alice Haddad
Robert Weller, Alternate Civilities: Democracy and Culture in China and
Taiwan (Colorado, 1999), ch. 5.
See-Jae Lee, “Social Education for Environment and Environmental NGO
in Korea” working paper.
Adam Yuet Chau, “The Politics of Legitimation and the Revival of
Popular Religion in Shaanbei, North-Central China” Modern China 31:2
(Apr. 2005) pp. 236-278.
Monday, Apr. 9
Second Paper Due
Tuesday, Apr. 10
Issues in Korean Christianity,
Special Guest: Dr. Fred Carriere
Don Baker, “The Religious Revolution in Modern Korean History.”
Donald N. Clark, Missionary Photography in Korea.
Look closely at the photographs.
Thursday, Apr. 12 What is Korean Shamanism?
Mircea Eliade, “Shamanism, An Overview” (with addendum)
Chang Chu-kun, “An Introduction to Korean Shamanism.”
Ibid., “A Correlation of Ancient Religions of Japan and Korea.”
Chongho Kim, Korean Shamanism: The Cultural Paradox, pp. 1-40.
Tuesday, Apr. 17
Religion and the Cultural Revolution
Special Guest: Prof. Shengqing Wu
A Cheng, The Chess Master.
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Thursday, Apr. 19 A New & Old Chinese Religion: Falun Gong
Special Guest: Prof. Su Zheng
David Ownby, “A History for Falun Gong: Popular Religion and the
Chinese State Since the Ming Dynasty.”
Noah Porter, Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study,
pp. 27-67.
Tuesday, Apr. 24 Buddhism Goes to War for Modern Japan
Christopher Ives, Imperial Way Buddhism, pp. 1-53.
Shaku Soen, Sermons of a Buddhist Abbot, pp. 193-214.
Thursday, Apr. 26
Special Guest: Prof. Patrick Dowdey
Monday, April 30
Third paper due.
This paper will allow you to write on the most important academic and
intellectual challenges and leaps you have made during the semester. The
assignment will be explained in greater detail in a separate document.
Tuesday, May 1
Open Discussion: Semester in Review
Thursday, May 3
Class Presentations of Final Projects
Tuesday, May 8
Class Presentations of Final Projects
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