ASIA 232
Buddhist Economics
Last Offered Spring 2021
Division II
Cross-listed REL 232
This course is not offered in the current catalog

Class Details

Or, “From ‘Shark Tank’ to ‘Monk Cave’: Business and Socially Engaged Buddhism”. Television shows like Shark Tank, featuring a panel of potential investors who consider propositions from aspiring entrepreneurs, evinces that popular culture values only the making of profit. In such a capitalistic world, who are the “winners” and “losers”? What impact does a business/product have beyond its intended consumer benefits? What is the Buddhist response to business and commerce and its overall effects on individuals, society, and ecology? This course will challenge students to research, analyze, and devise resolutions for real world issues, by having students employ Buddhist solutions informed by concepts such as compassion, interconnectedness, and Socially Engaged Buddhism. Students will scrutinize the related concept of “structural violence”. We will look at examples from Bhutan’s “Gross Domestic Happiness”, Thailand’s “Sufficiency Economy”, China’s state-led religious charities under the name of “Humanistic Buddhism”, as well as the ordination of trees. This course hopes to prepare students to be critical, rather than merely passive, world citizens, especially in the realm of business, and to be more conscious and aware of their everyday life choices and its impact on every aspect of society.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 8
Expected: 8
Class#: 5560
Grading: no pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: attendance and active participation 20%; experiential exercises 25% (i.e., critical reflection that incorporates class readings with personal experience of the various experiential exercises conducted throughout the term: mainly, a 30-day social-media cleanse, and meditation sessions); Mid-term exam (in-class: identification terms and short essay) 25%; Final project and presentation 30% (the final grade includes initial consultation with the instructor regarding topic selection, annotated bibliography, project outline, final presentation, and final written report)
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: Religious Studies majors and Asian Studies majors
Distributions: Division II
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
REL 232 Division II ASIA 232 Division II
Attributes: GBST Economic Development Studies

Class Grid

Updated 1:52 pm

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