Religious Studies

This course examines the relationship between colonialism, decolonization, and religion globally from both historical and contemporary perspectives. This includes the ways in which secularism and colonial modernity provided a context for the remaking of religion, as well as the many different forms of colonial power and anti-colonial resistance across the world. Special attention is paid to questions around gender, class, racialization, and religious minorities. Students critically examine formative concepts, theories, and texts related to the post-colonial study of religion, as well as historical arguments from anti- and decolonial perspectives. Examples may be drawn from a variety of contexts and religious traditions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, as well as indigenous religious traditions. 

This introductory course explores the most important aspects of Islam as a religious and cultural tradition, with special emphasis on the formative period. In addition to studying the sources of Islam, it also focuses on the emergence and development of its main rituals and doctrines.  

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the history and thought of major Indian Buddhist philosophical schools. It surveys four key traditions of Buddhist philosophy in India, including Abhidharma, Madhyamika, Yogacara, and Buddhist epistemology and logic. No background in Buddhist thought is presumed on the part of the participants. 

Reading assignments will balance primary sources from key moments of Buddhist thought with recent introductory texts. Primary texts covered or sampled in the course include: Treasury of Metaphysics with its auto commentary; Treatise on the Middle Way, Introduction to the Middle Way and its auto commentary; Twenty Verses and its auto commentary; Thirty Verses, Demonstration of the Three Natures, A Compendium of Means of Knowledge, and its auto commentary. Lectures will be combined with in-class discussions, with particular attention paid to the close reading of primary texts.  

This is a beginners' course in the Sanskrit language. It introduces the most important Sanskrit grammar in one year by using M. Deshpande's Samskrta-Subodhini's A Sanskrit Primer as the textbook. The course also begins by reading Sanskrit verses from the story of Nala and Damayant in Charles Lanman's A Sanskrit Reader. The course then reviews major Indian religions and philosophical texts in Chinese translations to know the basics about Indian culture. 

This course uses a thematic approach to select relevant original texts from the Confucian classics (including the Four Books, the Five Classics, the Analects of Confucius, and Mencius, and when necessary, the broader classics - the Thirteen Classics). The course aims to gain an appreciation for the beauty of Chinese characters and a deeper understanding of Confucianism and Chinese culture through reading these works.  

The teaching and discussion scope of this course starts from the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties and then proceeds to the Tang and Song Dynasties. The discussion of this course starts with the concepts of body and mind and essence, energy and spirit in Taoism and Taoist thought as the main axis. Mainly through the reading of secondary materials studied by scholars, the course conducts thematic discussions and reflects on the relevant issues involved. 

This course explores a selection of topics in Buddhist ethics, using a range of sources from historical contexts and contemporary debate. Themes include ecology and animal rights, human rights (including abortion, euthanasia, and issues of equality), war and peace, and economic ethics. The course begins with an introductory discussion of the foundations of Buddhist ethics, including ideas such as karma and rebirth, and key Buddhist virtues and ideals. Ethical topics are then explored in turn, using a range of sources from a variety of Buddhist contexts, historical and contemporary.

This course examines the history of Christianity in Asia from the early modern period to the present, focusing on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries while covering China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and others. Over a broad chronology, this course highlights how Asian Christianities were shaped and reshaped within specific regional contexts and in parallel with changes in Christianity worldwide. Students will explore the interactions between missionaries and indigenous Christians, the various expressions of Christianity, and context-specific constraints such as imperialism, nationalism, and broader interreligious settings. Using both primary and secondary sources, this course illustrates the shape of Asian Christianity from past to present, the thorny nature of religious encounter, and its surprising outcomes in World History.

This course examines religion in contemporary Chinese society, emphasizing its presence and influence in everyday life. It goes beyond religious texts to immerse students in the richness of Chinese spiritual life, demonstrating how religious traditions in China are not merely philosophical concepts, but living practices that shape the everyday experiences of individuals and communities. A special feature of this course is that we will take students on visits to a variety of religious sites in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area to experience firsthand the diversity and vibrancy of religious life in China. This includes participating in meditation sessions, attending religious festivals, and learning the intricacies of the tea ceremony in a Buddhist setting. In addition to these immersive activities, the course will discuss the broader role of religion in shaping contemporary Chinese society. We will explore how religious beliefs and practices intersect with important social issues such as economics, the environment, gender, sexuality, and politics. 

Using literary sources as well as material evidence (archaeological finds, artwork, inscriptions), this course explores customs, beliefs, institutions, and identities of the early Christians within the social, political, religious, and cultural context of the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity. The course helps students to think about central questions in the study of early Christianity such as: who were the early Christians? How did they articulate their identities across different languages and in different areas of the late antique world? How and where did they eat, pray, and live? How did they understand their beliefs and interact with the cultures around them? What did their Roman, Greek, or Syrian neighbors think about them? Students reflect on different models of cross-fertilization between emerging early Christian identities and the cultures and religious phenomena which characterized the later stages of the life of the Roman Empire.