Reading Guide for Topic 2A

I think we will not actually start Topic 2A until next Thursday. I already assigned the Hindiusm portion to Topic 1A. I should not have done that. I have included the Hinduism part here, so if you haven't read it, you should do so. I have also included the Buddhism part. There are also some problems with how Murphey talks about religions and I have discussed those here as well.

Topic 2A

Textbook
Hinduism
Pages 21-25
What is the relationship between dharma and caste/jati/duty?
What is the relationship between kharma and reincarnation?
How is karma used to explain/justify caste/jati distinctions?
How has Hinduism changed over the centuries? What were the causes of these changes?
Murphey tries to separate Hindu religion from Indian culture when talking about caste/jasti. Do you think his is correct in making this separation?
What is Murphey’s attitude towards Hinduism?

Problems
There are several here. One of the big ones is on page 22. Murphey emphasizes “ahisma” (non-violence) in Indian tradition and is critical of violent aspects. However, we saw violence in the early Vedas. These Vedas are considered “shruti” and so I think it is difficult to downplay the violent aspect too much. It should be remembered that Indra used violence to protect weak priests and to punish sin, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!

Buddhism
25-30
How did social and political factors contribute to the beginning of Buddhism?
How did Buddhism reject hierarchy and caste distinctions? How did it maintain them?
How and why did Prince Siddartha (personal name Gautama) begin his journey that transformed him into the Buddha (enlightened one)/Sakyamuni?
What are the Four Noble truths?
What happened to Buddhism in India and why?
What is Theravada/Hinayana Buddhism? What countries was it transmitted to?What is meant by “merit”?
What is Mahayana Buddhism? What countries was it transmitted to?
What are bodhisattvas?
What is the tension between existence in this world and seeking release from this world in Buddhism?
How does Murphey see Mahayana Buddhism is departing from early/original Buddhism? How might Mahayana Buddhists disagree with Murphey?


Problems
On page 26, Murphey writes “(Buddhism) rejected the folk panoply of Hindu gods but reaffirmed Hinduism’s basic monotheism, its nonpersonalized worship of the infinite and the great chain of being.”? This is highly problematic. The vast majority of Buddhists are not monotheists. In addition, I’m not sure if we can speak of worship in Buddhism in the same way as we do in other religions. It means something else.


On page 27, Murphey states that Buddhists following the sermon on the Four Noble truths could “achieve blissful reabsorption of their souls into the spiritual infinite, as the Buddha did on his death.” This is one school of thought. Others took it to mean annihilation. The other big problem is that traditionally Buddhism has not taught the existence of self/soul (atman) but rather has taught that self/soul does not exist (anatman). We will talk about this in lecture. You will also see it discussed in the sourcebook.

On page 28, and 29-30 Murphey talks about Buddhists “worshipping” relics (he also says some Christians do). I don’t think the respect Buddhists (or Christians) pay to relics could properly be called worship.

Murphey follows a kind of “decline” theory of Buddhism and Christianity. That is, he sees Buddhism and Christianity as being pure in their earliest forms and then declining and moving away from these forms over time. I think this is problematic. Christians and Buddhists typically see themselves as following the traditions their respective founders established. Even when there are changes, these are often understood as positive development, not negative decline.

A final major problem is what is missing. There is no section focusing only on Christianity in Asia. There are ancient Christian communities that have been around for a long time in Asia. For example, the Catholic and Orthodox communities have been in existence longer than some of their European counterparts.

Sourcebook, Chapter 2: India
India
The Upanishads

The permanent soul
Is the soul being spoken of an individual soul or another kind of soul?
What does it mean that “this Soul” holds everything together? What does that say about the relationship amongst the things that are held together?

The meaning of “aum” (om)How does the importance of this syllable relate to the duties of the priests?
In the last line, what is meant by “He who knows this, with his self enters the Self”?

Buddhism

Impermanence and renunciation
Under what conditions was the Buddha raised?What does he mean by being “beyond disease” (or old age)?

The first sermon
What is the Middle Way?
What causes pain/suffering and how do we free ourselves from it?
In the last two paragraphs, what is it that finally brings enlightenment?

The doctrine of non-soul, anatman
How does this challenge what we think about “I”?
Why are monks to loath “the body”, “feeling” and “perception”?

The ‘great liberation’: the death of the Buddha
What is meant by “exoteric” and “esoteric”?
What is meant by “be lamps unto yourselves”?
What is meant by “Decay is inherent in all component things”? How does this relate to the “doctrine of non-soul, anatman”?

A nun’s poem
Why did the author of this poem become a nun?

Dharma (this reading, and I think the ones following it have to do with Hinduism)

The four stages of life and renunciation
Why would a priest have four different stages of life? How does this relate to the priest’s dharma?

The duties of a woman?
How would you summarize the duties of women?
It appears that girls married very young? Why would they do so?
Why are people allowed to steal from a Shudra?

Eight kinds of marriage
What benefits do the first four types of marriage bring? What does this say about the individual and his or her relation to family?

Sexual error
What sorts of sexual errors are there?

Pages for Reading Guide, China

I apologize, I forgot to give the pages for the reading guide for China. You should read 89-97.

Discussion

Next week in discussion section we will be reviewing and discussing Topic 1A and the associated readings. Have a good weekend!

Reading Guide 1B China

We will be starting Topic 1B next week. Here is the reading guide for it:

Reading Guide 1B
The Shang dynasty was once thought to be mythical. However, archaeological findings later proved its existence. How does this relate to the Xia dynasty?
Did Chinese civilization rise independently or did it have other influences?
How did animal and human sacrifice relate to Shang religion? What did the Shang believe about the afterlife and ancestors?
What is an aristocracy?
What factors led to the downfall of the Shang dynasty?
How did the Zhou explain their overthrow of the Shang? How is this is similar to what we see in the Vedas?
What is Feudalism?
What led to the weakening of the Zhou dynasty? How did its accomplishments help lead to its weakened state? Why do you think the Shang dynasty was overthrown by the Zhou but the Zhou dynasty officially continued even though it had very little power?
Can we call any of the various Warring States “China”? What were they like?
How did aristocracy become weaker during the Warring States period?
How did Confucius react to this chaos? What sort of society did he want to establish? How did he think this could be done?

Sourcebook
King and State

Duties of a King
What is the relationship between personal suffering and being a good kingdom?
What is the relationship between morality and being a king?
How do the “small people” react to the morality of the king? What does this say about the king’s responsibility?

The Authority of a King
What is the relationship between the King, Heaven, and obedience?

The Chou King
What are the virtues of a good king? What is the king’s relationship to his ancestors?

Warriors and Battles
How does this poem make you feel? What does it say about the emotions of the soldiers?
Why is it that the Chinese commaner Nan-chung is called “terrible”?

Sacrifice
At the bottom of number 3, why does “He who by whom all under the sky was held” sacrifice to all spirits but the princes sacrifice only to those in their own territories? Who is “He who by…”?
What parts of this text seem “feudal”?

People and Life
Agriculture
How is age viewed in this (both of people and the way things are done)?
What is wine used for? Why would people offer wine to their ancestors?
In the second part, why do you think they killed the bull?

Courtship and Marriage
What sort of emotions are displayed in these poems?
How do these songs show how men and women should relate to each other?

Assignment One

The first assignment will be handed out in discussion section this week. We'll spend some time going over it and the rest we will spend on discussing some of the issues Professor Harlow raised last week in lecture on defining Asia. Next week I will hand out some supplementary paper guidelines in class as well.

The first assignment will be due in my mailbox in the Asian Studies office (room 403) in the Asian Studies Centre by 3:30 pm, October 13th (that's Friday the 13th! Spooky!). You have to get your assignment stamped with the date by the office secretary before you put it in my mailbox.

I will most likely be in my office and available to review papers before you turn them in on Wednseday October 11th. I'll probably have office hours from 10-12 and 1-4 on that day (I'll have to confirm this when we get a bit closer to the deadline). I can also briefly look over papers during lecture but won't be able to give many comments (basically you give me your paper during lecture, I skim it and then give it back with a few comments. I may not be able to talk long though).

Our midterm will be on October 26th (in class). I will probably hold a review session on Tuesday the 24th at 7pm. It will be somewhere in Buchanan B block. I still have to check and see what rooms are empty at that time.

Late posting

I'm sorry to have posted the reading guide so late. I actually typed it up Friday morning, but as I'm not quite used to blogging instead of posting it I just saved it as a draft and didn't realize it until Saturday night.

Reading Guide for Topic 1A

I've decided that instead of trying to post reading guides by week I will post them by topic as that is how Professor Harlow has things organized. This way it is easier for you to do the readings before the lecture. I will still try and announce what we will go over in discussion. There will be some overlap between readings/lecture/discussion but there will also be things that we cover in only one.

Here is the reading Gudie for Topic 1A. We started this in the last five minutes on Thursday the 14th and will continue it next week:
Topic 1A India

Textbook (Murphey)
Pages 21-25
What is the relationship between dharma and caste/jati/duty?
What is the relationship between kharma and reincarnation?
How is karma used to explain/justify caste/jati distinctions?
How has Hinduism changed over the centuries? What were the causes of these changes?
Murphey tries to separate Hindu religion from Indian culture when talking about caste/jasti. Do you think his is correct in making this separation?
What is Murphey’s attitude towards Hinduism?

I have a lot of problems with the way Murphey talks about religion and will address those in a later post. For now, try and be aware of things that Murphey says that might not be quite right.

Pages 64-72
How does Murphey define civilization (page 64)? How does this relate to Professor Harlow’s view on history as given in the Introduction to Topic One?
What is the importance of division of labor and the rise of civilization? How is agricultural production related to this?
What is the relationship between agriculture and geography and the rise of the Indus Valley Civilization?
Why did the Indus Valley Civilization decline?
Who were the Aryans? What are the Vedas? When was the Vedic period culture and where did its culture come from?
Was Aryan domination something that happened quickly or slowly?
How did the Aryan Vedas portray the people of the Indus Valley Civilization that the Aryans conquered?
What is the relationship between Northern and Southern India?
What are some of the accomplishments of the Vedic period?

Sourcebook (my page numbers are different from yours so I will give the title of the reading rather than the pages)

Chapter One
What is the importance of memory?
How do Chinese and Indian views of history differ?
How are texts used differently in China and India?

Gods and Myths
Indra
What are some of the characteristics attributed to Indra?
Who does Indra protect and who does he punish?

Soma
What does soma do for the one who partakes of it?

Goddess Earth
How do Indra and the Goddess Earth reflect gender roles?

Speculations and Rituals
Creation
What is the relationship between creation and the gods?
What is known of the “He” who is “the first origin of this creation”? Would it be possible to say “It” instead of “He”?

Agni
What is Agni the god of?
What is the relationship between Agni and sacrifice?

Sacrifice: acts and words
What is the purpose of the first part of this reading (labeled 1)?
What is the importance of “speech” in the second part (labeled 7)?

Reading Guide for Week Three Discussion

For discussion for week three (Sept 19th or 20th) you want to make sure you have done the readings and can answer the questions listed under the post "Week 2 Reading Guide". This is the first time for me to do the reading guides in this way so I'm still working the bugs out. If there is some confusion about what to read, please make a comment here or email me. I will try and put up a reading guide for the week three lectures either late Thursday night or by Friday afternoon. Have a good weekend!

Two Corrections

It would seem that some of the old topic notes are still up on webct. Go on ahead and print off the topic 1 stuff, but don't print off anything above that for now.

In addition, on my course handout I put the wrong time and place for section 09. Section 09 meets on Wednesday from 1-2pm in Buchanan B230.

Week 2 Reading Guide

Every week, usually on Thursday I will post the readings that should be done before discussion section of the following week. I will also post reading guides. This will mostly consist of questions that you should be able to answer after having read the week’s assignment. This week will be a little weird because you won’t know the blog address until after discussion.

Here is the reading guide for Week 2 discussion sections (which will be on the 12th and 13th)

Pages 1-9 in Murphey, A History of Asia
What are the characteristics that define Asia?
What is the problem with seeing these as defining characteristics of Asia?
Are they unique to Asia? Does only Asia possess them?
What do we mean by Monsoon Asia?

Look closely at pages 8 and 9. What sort of perspective does the author have? How could this affect how he presents Asia? Who are you? How does who you are affect how you see Asia?

I will also sometimes include questions that are based not on readings but on lecture, as well as some which should encourage us to think:
What do we mean by traditional Asia?
Can there be new traditions? Can traditions change and still be considered traditional?

One last thing, you can do more reading than what I have mentioned in the reading guide but please don't do less!

My Absence on Tuesday

I have to apologize for not being at discussion or lecture on Tuesday. I am very thankful to Professor Harlow for filling in for me in discussion. I owe you all an explanation for my absence. I am an American citizen and my wife is a Filipino citizen. We are in the midst of applying for her American permanent residency. She was assigned September 12th as her interview date. Since her petition is based on our marriage I also have to go to the interview (if I don't, she will be turned down). So again, I'm sorry to be absent. I'm looking forward to meeting with my Tuesday discussion for the first time in week 3!

Welcome to the A100 Blog!

Greetings! This is your TA Frank Rausch. I TAed A100 and A101 last semester. I ran a blog for A101 and it seemed to work pretty well so I'm doing it again.

On this blog I will post course announcements, reading assignments, questions for the readings, and other useful information. Please feel free to make comments. I'm hoping to update at least once a week.

I should say a bit about my philosophy for A100. I think this is a great course. We cover a lot of information so unfortunately more time than I would like has to be directed to review during sections. However, as much as possible I like to have discussion in class. It's much more interesting for us to hear what you students have to say than for me just to talk the whole time. So make sure to come to lecture and do the readings and we'll have a good time in section. Good luck and I'm looking forward to our semester together!