REL 213
Patrons, Rituals, and Living Images in Japanese Buddhism Fall 2021
Division II
Cross-listed ASIA 205 / ARTH 205
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

This course introduces students to Buddhist art and architecture in Japan from its introduction in the sixth century through the present. We focus on the ways different communities–the imperial court, immigrant artists, monks, women, and commoners–employed and venerated Buddhist images for political legitimacy, personal salvation, and worldly benefit. This course also examines how Japanese Buddhist imagery became aestheticized in the early twentieth century and appropriated later in modern and contemporary visual cultures. Some of the topics to be discussed include the reception of continental styles of Buddhist sculpture, the relationship between mandalas and rituals, the role of women in developing Buddhist embroideries, and the Western reappraisal of Zen arts. Students will develop familiarity with the concepts and ideas underlying the production of Buddhist images and will gain foundational skills in analyzing the visual, material, and iconographic qualities of Japanese Buddhist art. For the final project, students will design a digital exhibition focused around one of the topics of the course.
The Class: Format: lecture
Limit: 25
Expected: 20
Class#: 1861
Grading: yes pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: attendance, class participation, 4 reading and object response papers (2-3 pages), midterm, non-cumulative final exam, and digital exhibition project with an 8-10 minute presentation
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: First and second-year students, but open to all
Distributions: Division II
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
ASIA 205 Division I ARTH 205 Division I REL 213 Division II
Attributes: ARTH pre-1800

Class Grid

Course Catalog Archive Search

TERM/YEAR
TEACHING MODE
SUBJECT
DIVISION



DISTRIBUTION



ENROLLMENT LIMIT
COURSE TYPE
Start Time
End Time
Day(s)