REL 499: Special Topics, Hinduism and Ecology
Section Number: 60159
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will examine the resources—conceptual and practical—available within
Hindu traditions for engaging the environmental crisis. Our study will begin with
contemporary writings on ecological philosophy and then examine recent thought on
Hindu systems of thought and practice regarding the environment, with selections from
Hindu primary texts. Research on contemporary activist movements will be then explored
from the viewpoint of the cross-cultural study of religion and its applications to
environmental concerns.
COURSE MEETINGS
Day and Time: Mondays and Wednesdays, 2pm-3:20pm
Final Exam: final research paper due in lieu of final exam, Monday, May 13.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
*To examine the critical connection between religious ideology and attitudes towards the
environment.
* To identify both common and divergent themes, insights, practices, and philosophies of
nature in in Western thought and Hindu traditions.
* To provide a general understanding of environmental issues form the viewpoint of
Hindu traditions.
* To create awareness of resources for engaging the ecological crisis exist in traditions
both familiar and unfamiliar.
* To explore the ecological side of feminist theory and its application to non-Western
traditions.
* To encourage reflection on the impact of globalization not only on the natural
environment of India but on Hindu religious culture.
* To enhance critical thinking through analysis of the difference in content and tenor
between scholars of religion who write on ecology and environmental activists speaking
out of a specific tradition.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Discussion Facilitation (10 %): Student teams will be asked to briefly summarize two
assigned readings, (1-2 pages) paying close attention to the critical lens used and the
resources within the tradition mentioned by the author(s).
2. Reflection on Readings (15%). Reflection (critical and constructive thought) on the
week’s readings of 1/2 to 1 page to be read in class will be part of the basis of our
discussions.
3. Class Attendance (10%) Missed classes (unless the cause is a critical reason) will
affect student understanding and participation and will impact the grade.
4. Evaluative Paper on Religion and Ecology (15%): With classroom readings and
recommended texts as your guides, write an evaluative essay (3-5 pages) that provides an
overview of the concerns and solutions suggested or documented by one of the books in
the required or recommended list.
5. Hindu Ecological Activism Research Paper, Mid-Term (25%):
Using the recommended reading list, and news sources, press releases, interviews, and
web-based material, write a research paper on one environmental movement that is
religiously oriented and based on the Hindu tradition (seeks its inspiration in Hindu
thought and practice).
Be sure to document any political affiliations or activism on the part of the movement,
their ideological underpinnings.
Examples of such movements will be discussed in class.
Topic and sources must be first approved by the instructor.
6. Term Paper on Environmental Thought and Hinduism (25%):
Write a well-researched paper (10-12 pages, 12-pt. font, Times Roman, doubled spaced,
with footnotes and an annotated bibliography) on a topic or theme that pertains to
religious environmental philosophy in dialog with Hindu thought.
Choose an ecological perspective such as Deep Ecology, Ecotheology, Ecofeminism,
Biophilia, and Ecopsychology and examine it specifically from the perspective of the
Hindu systems of thought and religious practice, applying the insights of the primary and
secondary texts in the required and suggested readings.
You may use either sources that speak from within and outside the tradition, but be aware
of, and document the authors’ standpoint.
Your grade for this part will be based on whether and to what extent you have fulfilled
the following requirements: The paper should exhibit:
a) careful and comprehensive understanding of the readings being used
b) critical and thoughtful approach to the subject
c) reasoned questions about the issues being addressed by the paper
d) effective responses to the questions you have raised
e) clarity and sufficient textual evidence
NOTE: Your references must include at least two scholarly books. Do not paste directly
from the website and be careful about your source origins. “Research” means you
discover new points aside from our class readings and textbooks and that your paper
demonstrates serious theoretical reflections and research from other sources.
REQUIRED TEXTS
1. Mary E. Tucker and John A. Grim, eds. 1994. Worldviews and Ecology: Religion,
Philosophy, and the Environment. Maryknoll: Orbis Books.
2. Dale Jamieson. 2003. A Companion to Environmental Philosophy. Malden, MA:
Blackwell Publishing.
3. Lance Nelson, ed. 1998. Purifying the Earthly Body of God: Religion and Ecology in
Hindu India. Albany: SUNY Press.
4. Christopher K. Chapple and Mary E. Tucker editors. 2000. Hinduism and Ecology:
The Intersection of Earth, Sky, and Water. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Required: On reserve:
5. Rana P.B. Singh. 2009. Uprooting Geographic Thoughts in India: Toward Ecology
and Culture in 21st Century. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press.
6. A. Whitney Sanford. 2011. Growing Stories from India: Religion and the Fate of
Agriculture. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky.
7. Pankaj Jain. 2011. Dharma and Ecology of Hindu Communities: Sustenance and
Sustainability. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing.
8. Marta Vannucci. 1999. Human Ecology in the Vedas. New Delhi: D.K. Printworld
Publishing.
9. Graham Schweig. 2007. Bhagavad Gita: The Beloved Lord's Secret Love Song. New
York: Harper Collins.
10. O. P. Dwivedi and Christopher Key Chapple, trans. 2011. In Praise of Mother Earth:
The Pṛ thivī Sukta of the Atharva Veda. Los Angeles: Marymount Institute Press.
COURSE PACKET
1. Holmes Rolston III. 2010. “Science and Religion in the Face of the Environmental
Crisis.” In The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology, edited by Roger S. Gottlieb,
376-397. New York: Oxford University Press, USA.
2. Daniel C. Maguire. (2010). “Population, Religion and Ecology.” In The Oxford
Handbook of Religion and Ecology, edited by Roger S. Gottlieb, 313-325. New York:
Oxford University Press, USA.
3. Stephen R. Kellert and Edward O. Wilson eds. 1995. “Part One: Clarifying the
Concept.” In The Biophilia Hypothesis. Washington, DC: Island Press.
3. Lester R. Brown. 1995. “Ecopsychology and the Environmental Revolution: An
Environmental Foreword.” Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind,
edited by Theodore Rozak, Mary Gomez, and Allen D. Kanner. San Francisco: Sierra
Club Books.
4. Christopher K. Chapple. 2001. “Hinduism and Deep Ecology.” In Deep Ecology and
World Religions: New Essays on Sacred Ground, edited by David Landis Barnhill and
Roger S. Gottlieb, 59-76. Albany: SUNY Press.
5. Vandana Shiva. 1989. “Women in Nature.” In Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and
Development, 38-54. London: Zed Books. 3
6. O. P. Dwivedi. 2003. “Satyagraha for Conservation: Awakening the Spirit of
Hinduism.” In This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment, edited by Roger
Gottlieb, 145-157. New York: Routledge
7. Visakha Dasi. 2011. “Harmony with the Earth and Her Creatures.” Harmony and the
Bhagavad-Gita, 43-90. Badger: Torchlight Publishing.
8. David L Gosling. 2001. “Ecology and Hindu Tradition.” In Religion and Ecology in
India and Southeast Asia, 16-33. New York: Routledge.
9. Sachidananda Padhy. 2008. “Pancha Yajnya (Five Sacrifices): The Philosophy of
Tantra and the Religious Ecology of India.” Journal of Human Ecology, 23(4): 339-44.
10. Knut A. Jacobsen. 1996. “Bhagavadgītā, Ecosophy T, and Deep Ecology.” Inquiry:
An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy, vol. 39, no. 2: 219-38.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
Recommended Books
1. Theodore Rozak, Mary Gomez, and Allen D. Kanner, eds. 1995. Ecopsychology:
Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.
2. Vandana Shiva. 1989. Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development. London: Zed
Books.
3. Christopher Key Chapple. 2009. Yoga and Ecology: Dharma for the Earth. Hampton:
A. Deepak Publishing.
4. Carol J. Adams, ed. 1993. Ecofeminism and the Sacred. New York: Continuum.
5. Vandana Shiva. 1997. Biopiracy: The Plunder of Nature and Knowledge. Cambridge,
MA: South End Press
6. Stephen R. Kellert and Edward O. Wilson eds. 1995. The Biophilia Hypothesis.
Washington, DC: Island Press.
7. David R. Kinsley. 1994. Ecology and Religion: Ecological Spirituality in CrossCultural Perspective. Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
8. David L Gosling. 2001. Religion and Ecology in India and Southeast Asia. London:
Routledge.
WEB RESOURCES
1. http://news.iskcon.com/node/3371
The News Agency of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness with a archives
of articles on Hinduism and the environment.
2. http://fore.research.yale.edu/religion/hinduism/projects/index.html
The Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology website provides a wide variety of resources
for religion and ecology. 4
3. http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Gandhi/Gandhian_ecology.html
Gandhi’s environmentalism and its impact on deep ecological and other arenas.
4. http://edugreen.teri.res.in/explore/forestry/chipko.htm
The Chipko Movement’s history.
5. http://greenfaith.org/media/press-releases/greenfaith-announces-partnershipwith-hindu-america-seva-charities Information on the new partnership between
Greenfaith and Hindu American Seva Charities, to provide a range of environmental
resources to support Hindu environmental leadership in the US.
6. http://www.localfutures.org/multimedia/our-films/our-films “The International
Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the
revitalization of cultural and biological diversity, and the strengthening of local
communities and economies worldwide.”
Required Reading Schedule
Introduction to Religion and Ecology:
Identifying the relationship between religious worldviews and ecology:
What is the relationship between religious worldviews and ecology?
Why is it important?
How can it orient us to the greater meaning of our actions?
What are the major perspectives in ecological thought?
How do other fields and disciplines affect the environment?
How does religion impact environmental ethics?
Week 1
January 14 Introduction to the course.
January 16 Class Lecture.
Week 2
January 21 Martin Luther King Holiday
January 23 Reflection papers and discussion on readings:
Tucker and Grim, eds. Worldviews and Ecology, pp. 11-40
Course Packet: (a) Holmes Rolston III. “Science and Religion in the Face of the
Environmental Crisis,” The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology
Dale Jamieson. A Companion to Environmental Philosophy, chapters 12 & 13
Further Reading: David R. Kinsley. Ecology and Religion: Ecological Spirituality in
Cross-Cultural Perspective
Week 3
January 28
Reflection papers and discussion on readings:
Tucker and Grim, eds. Worldviews and Ecology, pp. 163-80.
Course Packet: (a) Lester R. Brown. “Ecopsychology and the Environmental Revolution:
An Environmental Foreword.” Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind;
(b) Daniel C. Maguire. “Population, Religion and Ecology,” The Oxford Handbook of
Religion and Ecology;
Further reading: Theodore Rozak, et al. Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the
Mind.
January 30 Continue reflection papers and discussion
Week 4
February 4
Reflection papers and discussion on readings:
Dale Jamieson. A Companion to Environmental Philosophy, chapters 14, 15, & 16.
Tucker and Grim, eds. Worldviews and Ecology, pp. 181-227.
Course Packet: Kellert and Wilson “Part One: Clarifying the Concept,” The Biophilia
Hypothesis.
Further reading: Carol Adams, ed. Ecofeminism and the Sacred.
February 6 Continue reflection papers and discussion
Week 5
February 11
Reflection papers and discussion on readings:
Dale Jamieson. A Companion to Environmental Philosophy, chapters 19, 21, 27, & 28
Tucker and Grim, eds. Worldviews and Ecology, pp. 228-42
Rana Singh. Uprooting Geographic Thoughts in India, chapter 4
Further reading: Kellert and Wilson. The Biophilia Hypothesis
Environmental Ethics and Hinduism:
Environmental ethics in conversation with the Hindu traditions of thought and practice:
In what ways do environmental ethics intersect with Hindu traditions?
What are Western environmental perspectives that are in harmony with Hindu traditions?
Which Hindu insights, principles, or schools of thought and practice lend themselves well
to ecological interpretation?
What are the major sacred texts and narratives that can be or are being used to foster
ecological affinity?
February 13 Continue reflection papers and discussion
Week 6
February 18 President’s Day Holiday
February 20
Guest Speaker: Environmental Resources in the Hindu Traditions
Reflection papers and discussion on readings:
Lance Nelson ed., Purifying the Earthly Body of God. Chapter 5
Course Packet: (a) Christopher Chapple. “Hinduism and Deep Ecology,” Deep Ecology
and World Religions: New Essays on Sacred Ground; (b) Vandana Shiva. “Women in
Nature,” Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development
Further Reading: Vandana Shiva. Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development.
Week 7
February 25
Film: Earth Pilgrim
Turn in reflection papers on readings:
Christopher Chapple. “Hindu Environmentalism,” Tucker and Grim, Worldviews and
Ecology
Lance Nelson ed., Purifying the Earthly Body of God, chapters 1, 2, & 3
Class Readings from the Bhagavad Gita
Further reading: Christopher Key Chapple. Yoga and Ecology: Dharma for the Earth.
February 27 Reflection papers and discussion
Week 8
March 4
Reflection papers and discussion on readings:
Lance Nelson ed., Purifying the Earthly Body of God, chapters 4 & 6
Course Packet: O. P. Dwivedi. “Satyagraha for Conservation: Awakening the Spirit of
Hinduism,” This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment
Pankaj Jain. Dharma and Ecology of Hindu Communities, chapter 2
Further reading: The Pṛ thivī Sukta
March 6 Continue reflection papers and discussion
Week 9
March 11
Reflection papers and discussion on readings:
Chapple and Tucker eds. Hinduism and Ecology, pp. 3-58
Course Packet: Visakha Dasi. 2011. “Harmony with the Earth and Her Creatures,”
Harmony and the Bhagavad-Gita
Pankaj Jain. Dharma and Ecology of Hindu Communities, chapter 7
Class Readings from the Nature Hymns of the Vedas
Further reading: David L Gosling. Religion and Ecology in India and Southeast Asia.
March 13 Continue reflection papers and discussion
Week 10
March 18 and March 20 – Spring Recess
Week 11
March 25
Reflection papers and discussion on readings:
Chapple and Tucker eds. Hinduism and Ecology, pp. 127-82
Rana Singh. Uprooting Geographic Thoughts in India, chapter 3
Course Packet: David L Gosling. 2001. “Ecology and Hindu Tradition.” In Religion and
Ecology in India and Southeast Asia
March 27
Reflection papers and discussion on readings:
Chapple and Tucker eds. Hinduism and Ecology, pp. 183-269
Rana Singh. Uprooting Geographic Thoughts in India, chapter 4
Class Readings from the Pṛ thivī Sukta of the Atharva Veda
India, Hinduism, and Ecology
The intersection of geography, religion, and environmental action:
What are the some of the significant resources within the Hindu tradition for developing
environmental perspectives?
What are the major environmental problems that India faces, and how is the Hindu
tradition responding to them?
How are the principles of the Hindu traditions being applied to ecological thought and
action in India? Which indigenous Indian religious perspectives on ecology have been
most helpful in engaging the ecological crisis?
Week 12
April 1
Film: Harvesting Hunger
Turn in reflection papers on readings:
Chapple and Tucker eds. Hinduism and Ecology, pp. 317-88
Lance Nelson ed., Purifying the Earthly Body of God, chapters 9 & 10
April 3 Reflection papers and discussion
Week 13
April 8
Reflection papers and discussion on readings:
Rana Singh. Uprooting Geographic Thoughts in India, chapter 6
Pankaj Jain. Dharma and Ecology of Hindu Communities, chapters 3 & 4
Chapple and Tucker eds. Hinduism and Ecology, pp. 389 – 400
April 10
Class Readings from the Pṛ thivī Sukta of the Atharva Veda
Week 14
April 15
Reflection papers and discussion on readings:
Pankaj Jain. Dharma and Ecology of Hindu Communities, chapters 5 & 6
Chapple and Tucker eds. Hinduism and Ecology, pp. 401-52
Whitney Sanford: Growing Stories from India, Introduction & chapter 1
April 17 Continue reflection papers and discussion
Week 15
April 22
Reflection papers and discussion on readings:
Chapple and Tucker eds. Hinduism and Ecology, pp. 453-527
Whitney Sanford. Growing Stories from India, chapters 3 & 5
Lance Nelson ed., Purifying the Earthly Body of God, chapter 11
April 24 Continue reflection papers and discussion
Week 16
April 29
Reflection papers and discussion on readings:
Yogananda. Autobiography of a Yogi, chapters 39-49, pp. 401-535
Sri Ramana Maharshi. Be as You Are, Part VI: Theory
Mircea Eliade. Yoga, Immortality and Freedom. Part IV, The Triumph of Yoga
Further reading: Swami Rama. Living with the Himalayan Masters: Spiritual
Experiences of Swami Rama
May 1 Continue reflection papers and discussion
Final Exam: final research paper due in lieu of final exam, Monday, May 13.
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