JAP225 Visiting Professor's Course

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2012
Extent and Intensity
0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Bc. Mgr. Jakub Havlíček, Ph.D. (lecturer)
dr. Ugo Dessí (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. RNDr. Václav Blažek, CSc.
Japanese Studies Centre – Department of Linguistics and Baltic Languages – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Japanese Studies Centre – Department of Linguistics and Baltic Languages – Faculty of Arts
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
SEMINAR: RELIGION IN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN
Lecturer: Dr. Ugo Dessì (Universität Leipzig)
SUMMARY
During this seminar we will focus on different Japanese religious traditions such as Buddhism, Shinto, and New Religious Movements, in order to see to what extent and how they are adapting to the modern and progressively globalizing world. In particular, we will analyze and discuss:
- The issues of pluralism and inclusivism, namely, how Japanese religions relate to other religious traditions, and to what extent they are prepared to acknowledge the value of other religious approaches;
- Religious change, namely, how Japanese religions select and adopt a variety of cultural and religious elements to shape new identities, and how this hybridization may also be accompanied by a certain emphasis on the superiority of Japanese culture/religion;
- The relationship between religion and important areas of social life such as politics, education, and science;
- Religious engagement against war, poverty, social alienation, and other relief and social welfare activities promoted by various Japanese religions to cope with pressing problems of contemporary society.
At the end of the course students will be able to
understand the issues of pluralism and inclusivism, namely, how Japanese religions relate to other religious traditions, and to what extent they are prepared to acknowledge the value of other religious approaches;
discuss religious change, namely, how Japanese religions select and adopt a variety of cultural and religious elements to shape new identities, and how this hybridization may also be accompanied by a certain emphasis on the superiority of Japanese culture/religion;
interpret religious engagement against war, poverty, social alienation, and other relief and social welfare activities promoted by various Japanese religions to cope with pressing problems of contemporary society.
Syllabus
  • SYLLABUS
  • Session 1. (Monday, March 5): Japanese Religions and the Challenge of Pluralism
  • Readings (selected readings are provided in the Study Materials of the course in the Information System)
  • - Kisala, Robert. 1999. Prophets of Peace: Pacifism and Cultural Identity in Japan’s New Religions. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press. [pp. 158-177]
  • - Dessì, Ugo. 2010. “Shin Buddhism and Globalization: Attitudes toward the Political Subsystem and Pluralism at the Organizational and Individual Levels.” In: Ugo Dessì (ed.), The Social Dimension of Shin Buddhism. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 241-266. [only pp. 254-262]
  • Session 2. (Tuesday, March 6): Religious Change and Hybrid Forms in Japan
  • Readings
  • - Mullins, Mark. 1993. “Christianity as a New Religion: Charisma, Minor Founders, and Indigenous Movements.” In Mark Mullins, Shimazono Susumu, and Paul Swanson (eds.), Religion and Society in Modern Japan. Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press, 257-272.
  • - Low, Sor-Ching. 2010. “The Re-invention of Nichiren in an Era of Globalization: Remapping the Sacred.” Journal of Global Buddhism 11: 27-43.
  • Session 3. (Wednesday, March 7): Religious Change, Resistance to Change, and Cultural Nationalism in Japan
  • Readings
  • - Davis, Winston. 1980. Dojo: Magic and Exorcism in Modern Japan. Stanford: Stanford University Press. [pp. 64-72, 80-84]
  • - Sharf, Robert. 1995. “Whose Zen? Zen Nationalism Revisited.” In James W. Heisig and John Maraldo (eds.), Rude Awakenings: Zen, the Kyoto School, and the Question of Nationalism. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 40-51.
  • Session 4. (Thursday, March 8): Japanese Religions, Politics, and Education
  • Readings
  • - Dessì, Ugo (forthcoming). “Contemporary Japanese Religions and Politics".
  • - Okuyama, Michiaki. 2010. “Sōka Gakkai as a Challenge to Japanese Society and Politics in Present-Day Japan.” Politics and Religion 4/1: 83-96.
  • Session 5. (Friday, March 9): Japanese Religions and Social Engagement
  • Readings
  • - Watts, Jonathan S. 2004. “A Brief Overview of Buddhist NGOs in Japan.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 31/2: 417-428.
  • - Mukhopadhyaya, Ranjana. 2006. “Universalizing Salvation: Modernization, Globalization and Transformations in Buddhist Social Welfare in Japan”. In Ruben Habito (ed.) The Practice of Altruism: Caring and Religion in a Global Perspectives. London: Cambridge Scholars Press, 23-42.
Literature
  • James W. Heisig and John Maraldo (eds.), Rude Awakenings: Zen, the Kyoto School, and the Question of Nationalism. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.
  • KISALA, Robert. Prophets of peace: pacifism and cultural identity in Japan's new religions. 1999. ISBN 0-8248-2228-5. info
  • Religion and society in modern Japan : selected readings. Edited by Mark R. Mullins - Shimazono Susumu - Paul L. Swanson. Berkeley, Calif.: Asian Humanities Press, 1993, x, 310. ISBN 0895819368. info
Teaching methods
Format of the seminar: introduction to the topics (50%) + discussion (50%). The aim of this seminar is to create a collaborative and interactive environment in which students should also be talking to each other. Be prepared to ask your classmates questions, and to offer constructive feedback. In this connection, you are warmly encouraged to read carefully the material assigned for each session, to bring it with you to class, and to prepare beforehand at least two questions that may be useful to stimulate the discussion.
Selected readings are provided in the Study Materials of the course in the Information System.
Assessment methods
Grading will be based on the final paper, 5 pages (9-10000 signs), with footnotes and bibliography. The paper must be written in English and submitted to the Information System ("Odevzdávárna") by Friday, May 18, 2012. The topic of the paper will be specified.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught: in blocks.
General note: Kurz bude pravděpodobně intenzivně probíhat v termínu od 5. do 9. března 2012. Místo a časy výuky budou upřesněny.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2014, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2012, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2012/JAP225