Religion 385 Religion in Chinese Society

Transcription

1 Religion 385 Religion in Chinese Society Fall 2010 Instructor: Gareth Fisher TTh 11:00-12:20 Hall of Languages 105 Office: Hall of Languages 513, Office Hours: M-Th 9-10 a.m. or by appointment Course Overview This course will survey the diversity of religious practice in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan both historically and in contemporary times. It will emphasize the culture of everyday Chinese religious life and the relationship between the practice of religion and larger social, political, and economic questions throughout Chinese history. The latter part of the course will turn to an in-depth analysis of religion in contemporary China focusing on the role of religion in the mediation of social change. The following texts are required for the course: Course Texts Davis, Sara L.M Song and Silence: Ethnic Revival on China s Southwest Borders. New York: Columbia University Press. Lopez, Donald E., ed Religions of China in Practice. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Madsen, Richard Democracy s Dharma: Religious Renaissance and Political Development in Taiwan. Berkeley: University of California Press. Scott, Janet Lee For Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors: the Chinese Tradition of Paper Offerings. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. In addition, a number of readings are available on the course blackboard page [BB]. Course Assignments and Requirements 1. Active Class Participation (20%). At the end of each class period, you will be expected to contribute your analytical insights on the course readings, lectures, and films presented for the day. While active participation is encouraged, the quality of student participation will count for more than the quantity. Attendance will be taken for each class. Students missing four or more classes will receive a failing grade in class participation. 1

2 2. Reading Questions (10%) In order to facilitate class discussion, you are required to submit one reading question for each starred (*) class period covering the readings for that day. Questions are due via no later than 8 a.m. on the day of the class. Late questions will be accepted for half-credit only up to one week following the original due date. A list of sample reading questions will be made available on the first day of class. 3. A midterm (October 19) (15%) and final (December 16) (20%) take-home examination relating course readings, films, and class discussions. 4. One research paper (10-20 pages) on a topic of your choice related to the course material: First copy (10%) due November 4; Final copy due November 30 (25%). In this paper, you will combine library research with your own analyses on a topic of your choice related to the role of religion in Chinese society either historically or in the contemporary period. You are required to submit their proposed topic for the research paper no later than Tuesday, September 14 by . A detailed list of guidelines for researching and writing the paper will be distributed during the first week of class. Once the first copy is reviewed and graded, you will be scheduled for a fifteen-minute appointment with me to get feedback. The final copy of the paper should follow my suggested revisions. During the final week of classes, you will present a brief informal presentation of your research work to the class. This presentation will be worth 10% of the grade for the final paper. Academic Integrity The Syracuse Academic Integrity Policy holds students accountable for the integrity of the work they submit. Students should be familiar with the Policy and know that it is their responsibility to learn about instructor and general academic expectations with regard to proper citation of sources in written work. The policy also governs the integrity of work submitted in exams and assignments as well as the veracity of signatures on attendance sheets and other verifications of participation in class activities. Serious sanctions can result from academic dishonesty of any sort. For more information, see Academic Integrity Office, Students with Disabilities / Special Needs Students with Disabilities/Special Needs: If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please contact the Office of Disability Services, located at 804 University Avenue, room 309, or call (315) for an appointment to discuss your needs and the process for requesting accommodations. ODS is responsible for coordinating disability-related accommodations and will issue students with documented disabilities Accommodation Authorization Letters, as appropriate. Since accommodations may require early planning and generally are not provided retroactively, please contact ODS as soon as possible. If you have already been issued an Accommodation Authorization Letter, it is your responsibility 2

3 to provide the instructor with a copy during the first week of class. Tuesday, Aug. 31 Course introduction Course Readings and Assignments Thursday, Sept. 2 * 1) Weller, Robert P Introduction. In Unities and Diversities in Chinese Religion. Seattle: University of Washington Press. Pp [BB]. I. THE FOUNDATIONS OF RELIGIOUS PRACTICE IN CHINESE SOCIETY A. Cosmology, Fate, and Harmony Tuesday, Sept. 7 * 1) Brokaw, Cynthia, Supernatural Retribution and Human Destiny, in Lopez, pp ) Knapp, Ronald G Fengshui: Siting and Mystical Ecology. In China s Living Houses: Folk Beliefs, Symbols, and Household Ornamentation. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Pp [BB]. 3) Saso, Michael R Yin-Yang Theory as the Basis for Chinese Religion. In Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal. Pullman, WA: Washington State University Press. Pp [BB]. Read pp ; Skim pp B. The Imperial Metaphor: the Celestial Bureaucracy and the State Thursday, Sept. 9 * 1) Bokenkamp, Stephen, Record of the Feng and Shan Sacrifices, in Lopez, pp ) Zito, Angela, City Gods and their Magistrates, in Lopez, pp ) Wolf, Arthur P Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors. In Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Pp (Roman Numerals I and II only) [BB]. C. Popular Worship: Gods, Goddesses, and Ancestors 1. God and Goddess Worship Tuesday, Sept. 14 * 1) Scott, For Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors, pp , ) Thompson, Laurence G Matsu An Important Community Deity. In The Chinese Way in Religion, Jordan Paper and Lawrence G. Thompson, eds. New York: Wadsworth. Pp [BB]. 3) Film (in class): Mazu: Taiwan s Guardian Goddess. Thursday, Sept. 16 * 1) Yu, Chun-Fang, A Sutra Promoting the White-Robed Guanyin as Giver of Sons, in Lopez, pp ) Stevenson, Daniel, trans How a Monk Freed His Mother from Hell, in Buddhist Scriptures, Donald S. Lopez, ed. New York: Penguin. Pp [BB]. 3) Eberhard, Wolfram, ed Folktales of China. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Pp [BB]. 2. Ancestor Worship Tuesday, Sept. 21 * 1) Scott, pp

4 2) Wolf, Arthur P Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors. In Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society. Stanford: Stanford University Press. pp (Roman Numeral IV) [BB]. D. Ghosts and Spirits Thursday, Sept. 23 * 1) Scott, pp , ) Jordan, David K Spirit Brides. In Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors: the Folk Religion of a Taiwanese Village. Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp Available online at (read SPIRIT BRIDES section only). 3) Hansen, Valerie, The Law of the Spirits, in Lopez, pp Tuesday, Sept. 28 * 1) Weller, Robert P The Politics of Ritual Disguise: Repression and Response in Taiwanese Popular Religion. Modern China 13(1): [BB]. 2) Kang, Xiaofei Sex with Foxes: Fantasy and Power in Traditional Chinese Stories. River Gazette. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University. p. 8 [BB]. 3) Bosco, Joseph Young People s Ghost Stories in Hong Kong. Journal of Popular Culture 40(5): [BB]. E. Shamanism and Divination Thursday, Sept. 30 * 1) DeBernardi, Jean, Teachings of a Spirit Medium, in Lopez, pp ) Jordan, David K Divination In Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors: the Folk Religion of a Taiwanese Village. Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp Available online at Tuesday, Oct. 5 * 1) Eno, Robert, Deities and Ancestors in Early Oracle Inscriptions, in Lopez, pp ) Scott, pp F. Institutionalized Religion and the Professional Priesthood Thursday, Oct. 7 * 1) Taylor, Rodney L Confucianism and the Political Order: Religion Poised in Risk. In The Religious Dimensions of Confucianism. Albany: SUNY Press. Pp [BB]. 2) Welter, Albert, Buddhist Ritual and the State, in Lopez, pp Tuesday, Oct. 12 * 1) Saso, Michael R The Chiao Ritual: An Emic Description. In Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal. Pullman, WA: Washington State University Press. Pp [BB] SKIM MOSTLY. 2) Tsu, Y.Y Diary of a Chinese Buddhist Nun. In The Chinese Way in Religion, Jordan Paper and Lawrence G. Thompson, eds. New York: Wadsworth. Pp [BB]. 3) Watson, James Funeral Specialists in Cantonese Society: Pollution, Performance, and Social Hierarchy. In Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern China. James L. Watson and Evelyn S. Rawski, eds. Pp [BB]. G. Sectarian Movements and Religious Societies Thursday, Oct. 14 * 4

5 1) Shek, Richard Ethics and Polity: The Heterodoxy of Buddhism, Maitreyanism, and the Early White Lotus. In Heterodoxy in Late Imperial China. Kwang-Ching Liu and Richard Shek, eds. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Pp [BB]. II. RELIGION IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA Tuesday, Oct. 19 Introductory Lecture (no assigned readings) MIDTERM SHORT PAPER DUE. A. The Legacy of Communism Thursday, Oct. 21 * 1) Kao, Chen-Yang The Cultural Revolution and the Emergence of Pentecostalstyle Protestantism in China. Journal of Contemporary Religion 24(2): [BB]. 2) Fisher, Gareth In the Footsteps of the Tourists: Buddhist Revival at Temple Museum Sites in Beijing [BB]. B. Rediscovering Roots Tuesday, Oct. 26 * 1) Jun, Jing Villages Damned, Villages Repossessed: A Memorial Movement in Northwest China. American Ethnologist 26(2): [BB]. 2) Bruun, Ole The Fengshui Resurgence in China. The China Journal 36: [BB]. Thursday, Oct. 28 * 1) Yang, Der-Ruey. Forthcoming. From Crafts to Discursive Knowledge: How Modern Schooling Changes the Learning/Knowledge Style of Daoist Priests in Contemporary China. In Religion in Contemporary China: Religion and Innovation. Adam Yuet Chau, ed. London: Routledge [BB]. 2) Fisher, Gareth. Forthcoming. Morality Books and the Re-Growth of Lay Buddhism in China. In Religion in Contemporary China: Religion and Innovation. Adam Yuet Chau, ed. London: Routledge [BB]. B. Mediating Modernity Tuesday, Nov. 2 * 1) Weller, Robert P Living at the Edge: Religion, Capitalism, and the End of the Nation-State in Taiwan. Public Culture 12(2): [BB]. 2) Palmer, David. Forthcoming. Chinese Religious Innovation in the Qigong Movement: The Case of Zhonggong. In Religion in Contemporary China: Religion and Innovation. Adam Yuet Chau, ed. London: Routledge [BB]. C. Alternative Cosmologies 1. On the Margins of Legality Thursday, Nov. 4 1) Liu, Qi A Close Look into an Immigrant Workers Church in Beijing. Nova Religio 12(4): [BB]. 2) Film (in class): Protestants in China: A Growing Spiritual Movement RESEARCH PAPER ROUGH DRAFT DUE 2. Resistance to the State 5

6 Tuesday, Nov. 9 * 1) Johnson, Ian Turning the Wheel. In Wild Grass: Three Stories of Change in Modern China. New York: Pantheon Books. Pp , , [BB]. D. Minority Religion Thursday, Nov. 11 * 1) Davis, Song and Silence, pp. 1-12, 17-23, 25-32, 49-60, Tuesday, Nov. 16 * 1) Davis, pp Thursday, Nov. 18 NO CLASS GF away at American Anthropological Association meeting Tuesday, Nov. 23 * 1) Madsen, Democracy s Dharma, pp. xxiii-xxvi; 1-15; Thursday, Nov. 25 NO CLASS Thanksgiving. Tuesday, Nov. 30 Film (in class): Cheng Yan RESEARCH PAPER FINAL COPY DUE Thursday, Dec. 2 * 1) Madsen, pp CLASS PRESENTATIONS OF RESEARCH PROJECTS Tuesday, Dec. 7 and Thursday, Dec. 9 FINAL TAKE-HOME EXAMINATION: Due Thursday, Dec. 16 at 2:45 p.m. (at the conclusion of the designated final examination period for the class). 6