Religious
Studies
353 W2017 Dark Self East & West: Comparative Conceptions CRN
25482
Instructor:
Mark T. Unno, Tel. 346-4973 munno@uoregon.edu
http://pages.uoregon.edu/munno/
Tues & Thurs 12:00 - 1:50 p.m.
Esslinger 116: Office Hours: Tues 2:00-2:50 p.m.. & Thurs
11:00-11:50 a.m. SCH 334
This
course on comparative religious and philosophical thought examines
selected thinkers and conceptions of the self in East Asia and the
West, with a special focus on the dark side of the self. Although
comparisons are often made between ultimates - God, Buddha, Tao, and
the like - it is often overlooked that they are responses to what are
regarded as the fundamental problems or dark sides of the inner life.
Through comparing the dark side including - sin in Christianity,
karmic evil and delusion in Buddhism, entanglement in Taoism, and
suffering in psychology - it will become evident that that there are
both significant similarities and deep differences between diverse
religious and philosophical views.
In
the latter part of the course, films together with readings will be
used to explore the dark side through various cultural themes
including racism, gender discrimination, and war. In turn, possible
responses to these issues from various thinkers in the first half of
the course will be considered. This is an intermediate-level course
with a lecture/discussion format. Some meetings will be entirely in
lecture format. Others will involve a combination of lecture and
discussion.
Requirements
1. Attendance: Required. Students can
have one unexcused absence without penalty. Each class missed
thereafter without prior permission will result in 1/2 grade
penalty for the course grade.
2. Short exams: There will be two
short, in-class exams, based on materials from the readings,
lectures, and course web site. The first exam will also contain
questions on writing papers.
3. Short papers: Students will
write three short papers based on topics that will be provided
by the instructor.
4.
Final paper: Each student will hand in a medium length final
paper of 5-7 pages double-spaced. Suggested topics will be
provided. Students may choose to create their own topics
with the consent of their section leader. In the case of the
latter, a one-paragraph description of the topic must be
submitted by email to the instructor one week prior to the
due date.
5.
Late policy on written assignments: Three grace days total
will be allotted excluding the medium-length final paper
for which no extensions will be given. For all other
assignments, a cumulative total of three late days will be
allowed without penalty. Thereafter, each late day will
result in a two-point deduction from the course grade.
Weekends are not counted against the grace days.
Learning
Outcomes
In this course students will:
A. Develop
their paper writing skills through regular feedback on papers and an
exam containing questions regarding the process and elements of
writing university essays.
B. Develop a sophisticated understanding of how diverse religions and
philosophies define the dark or problematic dimensions of human
existence.
C. Acquire tools for the study of comparative religion through the
examination of the philosophical anthropology (views of human nature)
as characterized by diverse strands of religious and philosophical
thinking, using primary sources and secondary scholarly literature.
D. Learn to
identify and analyze thematic presentations of the dark or problematic
dimensions of human existence concerning diverse factors of human
culture such as gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, and
class.
E. have their work assessed through exams, papers, and class
discussion.
Grades
*
Short Paper I - 10%; Short Paper II - 15%; Short Paper III - 15%
* Short Exam A - 10%; Short Exam B
- 10%;
Final Paper - 30%
Attendance and Participation - 10%
Note: You must complete all
assignments in order to receive course credit.
Even if you are
too late for an assignment to receive a passing grade,
you must hand it in.
Required
Texts
Shinmon
Aoki,
Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist Mortician (Anaheim,
CA:
Buddhist Education Ctr, 2002).
Rubin Carter, Eye of the Hurricane, My Path from Darkness
to Freedom (Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2011).
Viktor
Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
(NY: Washington Square Press, 1997).
Alice Walker, The Color Purple (NY: Mariner
Books, 2003).
Burton
Watson, trans., Zhuangzi
(New York: Columbia University
Press, 2003).
Mark Unno, ed., REL
353 Course Reader, Copy
Shop, 539 E 13th St, Eugene,
OR 97401 TEL 541 485 6253.
Course
Reader, REL 353 Dark Self East & West, available at the Copy
Shop, 539 E. 13th Street, Eugene, OR 97401, TEL 541 485 6253.
1.
Suzy Hansen, "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Evil," Salon.com
08/21/2002.
2.
Ralph Griffith, trans., "Hymn on Creation from the Rig Vedas" (Delhi:
Motilal Banarsidass, 1973) 206, 633-34.
3.
B. Srinivasa Murthy, trans., The Bhagavad Gita
(Long Beach, CA: Long Beach Publications, 1985) 29-44.
4.
Soren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983) 5-23, 34-53.
5.
Soren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980) 13-21, 29-47.
6.
Peter Schneider, "Saving Konrad Latte," The New York Times
Magazine
(February 13, 2000) 52-57, 72-73, 90, 95.
7.
"The Bill Wilson - Carl Jung Letters," 1-5.
8.
Robert Aziz, C. G. Jung's Psychology of Religion and Synchronicity
(Albany:
SUNY Press, 1990).
9.
P. J. Ivanhoe, "Zhuangzi on Skepticism, Skill, and the Ineffable Dao,"
Journal of the AAR,
LX:4 639-654.
10.
"The Ten Oxherding Pictures," in How to Practice Zazen,
Institute for Zen Studies, 26-45.
11.
Mark Unno, "Key Terms: Pure Land Buddhism of Honen and Shinran"
12.
Mark Unno, "The Borderline between Buddhism and Psychotherapy," in Buddhism
and Psychotherapy Across Cultures,
ed. Mark Unno (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2006), 139-158.
13.
Taitetsu Unno, trans., Tannisho-A Shin Buddhist Classic
(Honolulu: Buddhist Study Center, 1996), 5-11, 16-17, 35.
14.
Catherine Keller, "The Ethic of Inseparability, Weaving the
Visions: New Patterns in Feminist Spirituality ,
eds. J. Plaskow and C. Christ (NY: HarperCollins) 256-265.
15.
Audre Lorde, "Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power," Sister
Outsider
(Freedom, CA: Crossing Press, 1984) 53-59.
16.
Sandy Gunther, "An Alternate View of Reality: Understanding Mystical
Experience in Jacob's Ladder," Unpublished Paper 1-10.
17.
Albert Camus, "The Myth of Sisyphus," in The Myth of Sisyphus
(NY: Random House, 1955), 88-91.
18.
Robert Akeret, Tales from a Travelling Couch
(NY: Norton, 1996) 19-57.
Weekly
Schedule
REL353 Dark Self East & West
(Reading
assignments
are to be completed by the date under which they are listed.)
CR
= Course Reader; RT = Required Text
Week
1 INTRODUCTION; KIERKEGAARD AND SIN
1/10
Introduction: The Dark Side of Human Existence: Contrasts and
Comparisons
1/12
Reading: Reading: Suzy Hansen, "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Evil"
(CR1); Soren
Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling,
5-23; 34-53 (CR4).
Paper
I due in class.
Week
2 KIERKEGAARD (cont.)
1/17
Reading: Soren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death, 13-21,
29-47 (CR5).
1/19 Reading:
Robert Aziz, Jung's Psychology of Religion and Synchronicity (CR8).
Unno Video Lecture on Jung
Week
3 EXISTENCE : MEANING & MEANINGLESSNESS; INDIAN
PHILOSOPHY: KARMA AND NEITHER/NOR
1/24
Reading:
"Hymn on Creation from the Rig Vedas," 206, 633-4 (CR2); The Bhagavad
Gita, 29-44 (CR3).
1/26
Reading: Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning (RT).
Reading:
Peter
Schneider, "Saving Konrad Latte," 52-57, 72-73, 90, 95 (CR6).
Week
4 BLINDNESS, LIGHT, & INSIGHT
1/31
Reading: Rubin
Carter, Eye of the Hurricane, 1-196
(RT).
2/02
Reading: Rubin
Carter, Eye of the Hurricane, 197-320 (RT).
Second
half of class: Special Guest Lecture: STEVE WEHRMEIER
Reading:
"The
Bill Wilson - Carl Jung Letters," 1-5 (CR7).
Reading:
Roger
Ebert, "My Name is Roger ..." (online).
Week
5 DAOISM: ZHUANGZI WANDERING THE DAO
2/07
Reading: Zhuangzi,
1-30, 31- 88 (focus pages: 31-49, 62-63, 78-81) (RT). Paper
II due in class.
Reading:
P.J.
Ivanhoe, "Zhuangzi on Skepticism," 639-654 (CR9).
2/09
Reading: Zhuangzi,
89-140 (focus pages: 94-95, 126-140) (RT). Exam
A in class.
Week
6 PURE LAND BUDDHISM: SHINRAN & COFFINMAN
2/14
Reading: Mark Unno, Key Terms: "Pure Land Buddhism of Honen &
Shinran" (CR11).
Reading:
Tannisho:
A Shin Buddhist Classic, 5-11, 16-17, 35 (CR13).
Reading:
Mark
Unno, "The Borderline between Buddhism and Psychotherapy," 139-158
(CR12).
2/16
Reading:
Coffinman, xiii-xvi, 3-111 (RT).
Week
7 MYSTICISM & THE QUESTIONING OF REALITY
2/21
Film: Jacob's Ladder.
2/23
Reading: Sandy Gunther, " An Alternate View of Reality:
Understanding
Mystical Experience in Jacob's Ladder," 1-10 (CR16).
Week
8 SEXUALITY, EROS & SPIRIT: A WOMANIST ACCOUNT
2/28
Film: Antonia's Line Paper
III due in class.
Reading:
Alice Walker, The Color Purple
(RT).
3/02
Reading: Catherine Keller, "The Ethic of Inseparability (CR14);
Audre Lorde, "The Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power," 53-59
(CR15). Exam B in class.
Week
9 BUDDHIST KARMA, EXISTENTIAL ABSURDITY
3/07
Film: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, . . . and Spring Again
3/09
Reading:
Albert Camus, "The Myth of Sisyphus," 88-91 (CR17); Robert
Akeret, Tales from a Travelling Couch,
19-57 (CR18).
"The
Ten Oxherding Pictures," 26-45 (CR10).
Week
10 CONCLUSIONS AND BEGINNINGS
3/14
Concluding lecture and
Discussion. Final papers due in class