Course Description
Two seemingly universal elements in the world’s religious traditions are the interrelated phenomena of asceticism and monasticism. In its most basic sense, asceticism refers to the practice of renunciation of worldly matters in order to achieve a higher plain of existence. Monasticism is, fundamentally, the gathering of religious adepts into a like-minded community who engage in common ritual practices with common motivations and aims. This course explores a variety of ascetic and monastic contexts from a comparative perspective. Several basic questions will motivate our course discussions: Why have men and women chosen to leave society and live in accordance to ascetic ideals? What are the ascetic ideals, where do they come from, and how do they differ across religious traditions? What is the relationship between ascetics and monastics and the societies they have rejected? What sorts of tensions arise in asceticism and monasticism, both internally and as they related to the world at large? Finally, is it useful to think of asceticism and monasticism as universal or specific phenomena – what do we gain, or lose, from either position?
Assignments
Weekly reading and class participation . All readings must be completed in a timely manner to allow each student to be prepared to discuss and engage the materials in class. I
Essay . One essay of 1500 words, due in week eight; each student will be required to peer review one other student's essay. The final essay is due in week ten.
Evaluation and Grading
Class participation and discussion............................................................................ 50%
Essay..........................................................................................................................50%
Aims and Objectives
The aims and objectives of this course are to enable students to pursue in greater depth research into the intertwined phenomena of asceticism and monasticism. The course also seeks to enable students to develop their skills in comparative study by helping them gain a more sophisticated theoretical framework for such work and by working through specific instances of asceticism and monasticism.
Required Texts
Date | Day | Details | |
Sep 12, 2019 | Thu | Week One: Thinking Comparatively | due by 05:59AM |
Sep 19, 2019 | Thu | Week Two: Asceticism Entangled | due by 05:59AM |
Sep 26, 2019 | Thu | Week Three: Asceticisms Compared, Part One | due by 05:59AM |
Oct 03, 2019 | Thu | Week Four: Asceticisms Compared, Part Two | due by 05:59AM |
Oct 10, 2019 | Thu | Weeks Five and Six: Asceticism on the Ground and Christian Asceticism | due by 05:59AM |
Oct 17, 2019 | Thu | Week Seven: Christian Monasticism Part One | due by 05:59AM |
Oct 31, 2019 | Thu | Week Eight: Hindu Monasticism | due by 05:59AM |
Nov 07, 2019 | Thu | Week Nine: Buddhist Monasticism | due by 06:59AM |
Nov 14, 2019 | Thu | Week Ten: The Middle Path of the Bhagavad-Gita | due by 06:59AM |
Nov 20, 2019 | Wed | Final Papers | due by 06:59AM |