Claire Maes

“It is hard to have patience with people who say, ‘There is no death’ or ‘Death doesn’t matter.’ There is

death. And whatever is matters. And whatever happens has consequences, and it and they are irrevocable and irreversible.” (C.S. Lewis 1996 [1961]: 15) Subscribing to these short but powerful statements, this course explores the various beliefs, practices, attitudes, and understandings of the dying experience, death, and the afterlife across South Asian cultural areas. During the course of the semester, we will be looking at the philosophical, ethical, and legal issues of death from a variety of perspectives. We will explore in detail how South Asian religious traditions have been approaching the problem of death within their broader cultural, historical, and social contexts. We will focus on various religious traditions, among others Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Central themes will include the changing meaning of death, the contemporary issue of the medicalization of death, and the funeral service industry. Discussions will center on the questions of ‘What is a good death?’, ‘What does the end of life mean for oneself and for others?’ and most basically but importantly ‘What is life?’ and ‘How is it envisioned after death?’ We will work with religious and philosophical treatises on death, as well as with different types of literary forms, ethnographies, documentaries, and feature-length films.

Grading Policy

Attendance and Participation (15 %)

Reading Responses and Documentary/Film reviews (25 %)

Midterm (25%)

Final (25%)

Oral Presentation (10 %)

Detailed study of problems of grammar and syntax; reading of extracts from original Sanskrit texts. Five class hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Sanskrit 506 with a grade of at least C.

Introduction to classical Sanskrit poetry and philosophical literature; readings from the Upanishads and Kalidasa's Meghaduta.  Prerequisite: Sanskrit 312K with a grade of at least C.

This course is designed to introduce students to the various historic and contemporary cultures that constitute South Asia. Students will learn about South Asia through a variety of disciplinary lenses. A wideranging exploration of the histories, religions, literatures, arts, etc. will acquaint students with the diversity found in South Asia. This course will expose students to various perspectives that complicate the question “What is South Asia?”

Introduction to basic grammatical principles, with reading of Ramayana episodes as illustrations.

Introduction to classical Sanskrit prose literature; readings from the  Epics and Kathasaritsagara.  Prerequisite: Sanskrit 507 with a grade of at least C.

This course is an introduction to South Asian cultures and histories, especially to areas of study pursued in the Department of Asian Studies and at UT-Austin. Students will be introduced to major thinkers, ideas, histories, issues, and movements of South Asia. While a clear set of factual information will be integral to the course, the equally important goal of the course is to learn how to engage South Asia on terms similar to other courses in the liberal arts. Stated plainly, we want to do more than learn about South Asia; we want to learn from it as well.  The institutional and traditional obstacle to this approach stems from the simple fact that most American students, whatever their ethnic origins, are taught that “our” intellectual heritage begins with the Greeks and ends with contemporary European and American thinkers. Who “we” are and what makes us a “we,” however, is not as clear as it seems. Most of us are simply not taught how and why to understand South Asian (or other area) literatures, art, religion, law, or other cultural expressions as sources for our own humanistic and ethical development. Thus, the primary goal of this course is to train students in how to “read” South Asia in such a way that it can mean something to them, rather than merely being what other people do—not to make South Asia “ours,” but to take the ideas, history, and people of South Asia seriously.

Detailed study of problems of grammar and syntax; reading of extracts from original Sanskrit texts. Five class hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: Sanskrit 506 with a grade of at least C.

Introduction to classical Sanskrit poetry and philosophical literature; readings from the Upanishads and Kalidasa's Meghaduta.  Prerequisite: Sanskrit 312K with a grade of at least C.

Please check back for updates.

Introduction to basic grammatical principles, with reading of Ramayana episodes as illustrations.

Introduction to classical Sanskrit prose literature; readings from the  Epics and Kathasaritsagara.  Prerequisite: Sanskrit 507 with a grade of at least C.

With its emphasis on vegetarianism, its modern discourse on ecology and its regard for all life-forms, Jainism is commonly and justly known as the religion of non-violence. Having its historical origins in North India about 25OO years ago, Jainism is an ancient but thriving religion. It has a distinctive community of both male and female ascetics and a supporting community of laypeople. Jainism’s unique theory of karma, ethics of non-violence (ahimsa), and its multisided approach (anekantavada) to truth and reality have influenced in some way or other all major religions and orthodox philosophical traditions in India.

This course will introduce students to this fascinating religion by examining its history, doctrines, philosophical tenets and religious practices. Students will learn about Jainism’s dynamic contribution to the religious and cultural heritage of South Asia. Readings will be drawn from primary sources, contemporary Jain writings and secondary scholarly literature. In the second part of the course, we will move on to a thematic discussion of Jainism. Themes will center on gendered experience of religion, devotion and divinity, the relationship between laypeople and monastics, pilgrimage and festivals, Jain views on life and death, its ethics of non-violence and its modern discourse on ecology. This thematic approach will encourage students to engage with these various themes from the perspectives of their own background and interests. Each student will write a research paper and give a class presentation on a topic of her or his choice.

TEXT:

Cort, John E., Jains in the World. Religious Values and Ideology in India. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. (Available as electronic resource at University of Texas Libraries)

Long, Jeffrey D., Jainism: An Introduction. London & New York: I. B. Tauris, 2009.

GRADING:

Attendance and Participation: 10 %

Four Quizzes: 40 % (10% each)

Oral Presentation: 25%

Writing assignment: 25%

Please check back for updates.