KSCB027 Contemporary Confucianism

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2013
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Dušan Vávra, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Luboš Bělka, CSc.
Center for Chinese Studies – Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Lucie Čelková
Supplier department: Center for Chinese Studies – Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 9:10–10:45 zrusena M12
Prerequisites (in Czech)
KSCA018 Chinese philosophy I || RLB61 Religions in China || KSCB003 Religions in China
Stěžejní součástí kurzu je intenzivní četba v anglickém jazyce.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
During the course the students are guided through various texts concerned with Confucianism in the contemporary Chinese society. The course begins with three lectures aimed at providing the students with necessary historical and conceptual context. The core of the course are seminars during which various aspects of contemporary Confucianism are discussed on the basis of reading and students’ papers.

The following topics are stressed:

- identity of Confucianism in academic discourse and in popular media
- Confucianism between philosophy and religion; the role of these concepts in creating modern Chinese identity
- New Confucianism (xin ruxue)

At the end of the course the students are able to:

- understand the question „what is Confucianism“ in all its complexity and to apply this understanding on their reading of various texts
- understand and explain the principal Confucian concepts and ideas in historical context
- analyze the concepts’ and ideas’ actual meaning in a given context and particular discourse
- critically examine the categories traditionally applied to Chinese philosophy and religion
- critically analyze and interpret concepts, ideas, and their political and medial representations in various contexts
Syllabus
  • (0) Introduction
  • (1) What is Confucianism? Lecture - questions, problems, and approaches to the study of Confucianism
  • (2) The history of Confucianism - lecture
  • (3) Key terms - lecture
  • (4) Confucianism in academic discourse and in media I
  • (5) Confucianism in academic discourse and in media II
  • (6) Confucianism in academic discourse and in media III
  • (7) Confucianism between philosophy and religion I
  • (8) Confucianism between philosophy and religion II
  • (9) Confucianism between philosophy and religion III
  • (10) New Confucianism I
  • (11) New Confucianism II
  • (12) Final discussion
Literature
  • Confucian political ethics. Edited by Daniel Bell. Princeton: Princeton University, 2008, xiv, 273. ISBN 9780691130057. info
  • BELL, Daniel. China's new confucianism : politics and everyday life in a changing society. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University, 2008, xvii, 240. ISBN 9780691136905. info
  • Teaching Confucianism. Edited by Jeffrey L. Richey. New York: Oxford University, 2008, xiii, 230. ISBN 9780195311600. info
  • CHENG, Anne. Dějiny čínského myšlení. Translated by Helena Beguivinová - Olga Lomová - David Sehnal - Dušan Vávra. 1. vyd. Praha: DrahmaGaia, 2006, xv, 688. ISBN 8086685527. info
  • Confucianism for the modern world. Edited by Daniel Bell - Chae-Bong Ham. 1st pub. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2003, xiii, 383. ISBN 0521527880. info
Teaching methods
Lecture; reading; presentations; discussions
Assessment methods
- presentation on a chosen topic
- active participation in the lessons, perfect preparation of the required texts
- not more than 1 absence during the semester
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2011, Autumn 2015.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2013, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2013/KSCB027