How does the ambience at a gurudwara in London transport visitors to the Punjab? What makes the replica of a Shinto shrine in Hawaii as sacred as its original in Japan? Why are St. Patrick’s Day parades larger in New York than they are in Dublin? Is a Vedic fire ritual conducted in Dubai less efficacious or equal to one in Mumbai? Do the consecrated images of gods need passports when being transported across international borders? Inspired by these questions, this discussion-intensive seminar interrogates the seemingly locked connections between religion and nationality. Both popular and scholarly notions of religious authenticity have frequently distinguished specific geographical locations as uniquely sacred, prizing the doctrinal and praxis systems in these original centers as authoritative models. This course challenges the emphasis upon territorial particularism by highlighting accounts of religion from locations deemed marginal to grand narratives of religious traditions. Through close engagements with numerous case studies centered in the North American context, it exposes students to religious beliefs and practices held by diverse communities–professing identities grounded in histories of dispersion, travel, and movement–that may be variously termed as immigrant, transnational, or diasporic. These perspectives will assist in decentering ideas of homelands as stationary sources of credible religious experience. Instead, they will enable students to better understand definitions of religion that stress dynamism, process, communication, and movement. The final project for this class entails conducting ethnographic fieldwork among a diasporic community to gain a better understanding of religious diversity in the Greater Providence Area. 

Prerequisite: HPSS-S101 for undergraduates

Elective

This course is an exploration of the ways in which Buddhist philosophy and religious practice, and the commercial works of Buddhist temples, shape societies both where Buddhists are a majority and minority. In this lecture-based course, we will explore the diverse manifestations of Buddhist doctrines, practices, and institutions across a wide array of socio-historical contexts. More specifically, we will learn about how Buddhist communities, artistic conventions, narrative traditions, and cosmological understandings have been influenced by, and exercise effects upon, distinct historical, economic, political, and cultural settings. Our functional premise is that religion is never divorced from its time and place, and also that Buddhist thought makes its way into countless objects, legends, and cultural productions even outside of Buddhist communities. Apart from reading texts from the disciplinary perspectives of religious studies, history, and anthropology, we will also engage with the impressive collection of Buddhist artefacts at the RISD museum and take part in field trips to interact with practitioners at two Buddhist centers in the Greater Providence Area. Evaluations will include (but are not limited to) regular written assignments, brief quizzes, and an end-of-term debate concerning a topic pertinent to the course’s themes.

Prerequisite: HPSS-S101 for Undergraduate Students.

Elective

Fitness. Health. Wellness. Spirituality. Kinky Sex. These are only a sampling of the many buzzwords that come to mind when thinking about allied practices such as Yoga, Tantra, and Ayurveda.  With mythologized origins among obscure holy men in South Asia, yoga-centered traditions are presently part of a multi-billion-dollar global business that draws endorsements from celebrities, and common people alike. Indeed, the local popularity of this industry is revealed by the statistic that at least ten percent of the American population today has some kind of regular yoga practice. Our course explores the development of yogic systems through three distinct temporal phases: the classical, colonial, and current moments. This historically situated approach will allow us to closely interrogate continuities and ruptures between yogic philosophies, as conceptualized in ancient times, and more contemporary practices. As such, we will also consider how yoga-related concepts have developed against the backdrops of spiritual liberation, capitalist success, and racial justice. In addition to exploring reading materials from the burgeoning discipline of yoga studies, the course will also feature guest lectures from speakers who have played crucial roles in establishing yoga-focused institutions in the American Northeast. Students may ground their final project in a topic connected to their own work, relating it to their major or any another concentration.

Elective

You may register for this section if your EFS studio days are Monday/Wednesday/Friday.

This course is designed to be an introduction to key concepts in the study of the fantastic, a
fundamental analytic category in several scholarly disciplines, including literature, psychology,
anthropology, art, and religion. Privileging a religious studies perspective, we will specifically
focus on theoretical approaches to studying supernatural beings in a broad range of traditions
that includes Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Shintoism, Christianity, Afro-Caribbean and Native
American religions. Aside from gaining a basic understanding of how each of these traditions
has interpreted the classifications of god, ghost, and monster, we will also explore how ideas of
the supernatural are manifested in materiality, narrative, visual objects, and other arenas of
human culture. The course serves as a gateway to studying other topics in the HPSS
department. As such, it encourages students to improve their critical reading skills and develop
strategies for effective persuasive writing.

Transfer and upper-level students should register for one of the evening sections.

Major Requirement | BFA

This course is designed to be an introduction to key concepts in the study of the fantastic, a fundamental analytic category in several scholarly disciplines, including literature, psychology, anthropology, art, and religion. Privileging a religious studies perspective, we will specifically focus on theoretical approaches to studying supernatural beings in a broad range of traditions that includes Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Shintoism, Christianity, Afro-Caribbean and Native American religions. Aside from gaining a basic understanding of how each of these traditions has interpreted the classifications of god, ghost, and monster, we will also explore how ideas of the supernatural are manifested in materiality, narrative, visual objects, and other arenas of human culture. The course serves as a gateway to studying other topics in the HPSS department. As such, it encourages students to improve their critical reading skills and develop strategies for effective persuasive writing.

Open to transfer students.

Major Requirement | BFA

This course is an exploration of the ways in which Buddhist philosophy and religious practice, and the commercial works of Buddhist temples, shape societies both where Buddhists are a majority and minority. In this lecture-based course, we will explore the diverse manifestations of Buddhist doctrines, practices, and institutions across a wide array of socio-historical contexts. More specifically, we will learn about how Buddhist communities, artistic conventions, narrative traditions, and cosmological understandings have been influenced by, and exercise effects upon, distinct historical, economic, political, and cultural settings. Our functional premise is that religion is never divorced from its time and place, and also that Buddhist thought makes its way into countless objects, legends, and cultural productions even outside of Buddhist communities. Apart from reading texts from the disciplinary perspectives of religious studies, history, and anthropology, we will also engage with the impressive collection of Buddhist artefacts at the RISD museum and take part in field trips to interact with practitioners at two Buddhist centers in the Greater Providence Area. Evaluations will include (but are not limited to) regular written assignments, brief quizzes, and an end-of-term debate concerning a topic pertinent to the course’s themes.

Prerequisite: HPSS-S101 for Undergraduates.

Elective