This course is a broad introduction to the history, doctrine, and culture of the Buddhism of Tibet. We will begin with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet in the eighth century and move on to the evolution of the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist literature, ritual and monastic practice, the place of Buddhism in Tibetan political history, and the contemporary situation of Tibetan Buddhism both inside and outside of Tibet.

A study of the Buddhist tradition as it is found today in Asia. The course will focus on specific living traditions of East, South, and/or Southeast Asia. Themes to be addressed may include contemporary Buddhist ritual practices; funerary and mortuary customs; the relationship between Buddhism and other local religious traditions; the relationship between Buddhist institutions and the state; Buddhist monasticism and its relationship to the laity; Buddhist ethics; Buddhist "modernism," and so on.

This introduction to the study of Buddhism will consider materials drawn from various Buddhist traditions of Asia, from ancient times down to the present day. However, the course is not intended to be a comprehensive or systematic survey; rather than aiming at breadth, the course is designed around key themes such as ritual, image veneration, mysticism, meditation, and death. The overarching emphasis throughout the course will be on the hermeneutic difficulties attendant upon the study of religion in general, and Buddhism in particular.

In postcolonial thought on European claims to cultural supremacy, the case of the "Dutch East-Indies" (the future Indonesia) still arouses questions like: What made the Dutch colonial policy different from that of other European powers? What were the main characteristics of the "Dutch East-Indies"? How did a small country like the Netherlands manage to rule a territory that was fifty-two times its own in scale? And how can we explain that 350 years of Dutch domination left so few traces in contemporary Indonesia? This course is cross-listed with Dutch C164.

The course brings students on a research trip to the Philippines to learn through interviews and interactions with Filipino people, selected lectures by the Philippines’ leading scholars and interactive activities with the Philippines’ artists and writers.

This course explores Islam as a shaping force in the culture and politics of Southeast Asia through literature in translation, art and performance, and history of the region.  Southeast Asia includes Indonesia, the nation with the largest Muslim population, and Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, and Southern Thailand, as well as significant Muslim communities in mainland.

This course examines the impact of the history of literacy and literature upon the ways in which perceptions and roles of women are constructed and reinforced in a developing non-Western society. Course material includes literature, oral and manuscript narratives, ritual performance.

Can a song inspire a revolution? The course focuses on literary, visual, and performance texts that participated in political discourses in the Philippines. What strategies did the writers and artists employ? How did writers and artists face issues of censorship and persecution?  How did social movements influence these texts, and in turn, how did these texts contribute to these social movements?

An introduction to the mythologies of the Phillipines, providing a comparative overview of key myths. We will focus on indigenous narrative traditions encompassing myths of creation and origin, agricultural and maritime myths and practices, the founding of kingdoms, and indigenous geographies. We will further explore the role of myth in the contemporary world.

This course is a cultural history of modern Philippines, from the birth of the nation in the nineteenth century to the present. It outlines the major events in Philippine history through cultural texts that reflect the salient attitudes and ideas of key periods. Not only may this course cover canonical works and traditional performative forms (including ritual, poetry, song, and dance), it will also examine popular texts.