Religious Studies 407/507 CRN 34915/34916 Buddhism in American Narratives

Instructor: Mark T. Unno, Office: PLC 812, Tel. 346-4973, Email: munno@darkwing.uoregon.edu
Unno Home Page: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~munno/
Class meetings: Tuesdays 4:00 p.m. - 6:50 p.m., Chapman 203
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. PLC 812

Narrative accounts of Mahayana Buddhism related to Americans and America. Beginning with an overview of the diverse forms and strands of American Buddhism, this seminar goes on to examine the representation of Buddhism in multiple genres including fiction, biography, and autobiography. These include accounts of American Buddhists travelling to Asia to learn about Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist immigrants making their lives in America, and fictive accounts of self-styled Buddhist "Dharma Bums". We will also read one work of an Asian Buddhist living in Asia as a point of comparison. Strands of Buddhism examined include Zen, Pure Land, Nepali Hindu-Buddhist syncretism, and Tibetan Buddhism.Students taking the course for graduate credit should consult with the instructor for additional research readings.

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 exam: There will be one short, in-class exam, based on materials from the readings, lectures, and course web site.
3. Medium papers & summaries: There will be two shorter papers (2-3 pages, 3-4 pages) based on topics that will be provided by the instructor. In addition, each student will do one 1-page summary of assigned chapters. Students will send summaries to the instructor by email as well as making enough copies to distribute to the class.
4. Presentation: Students will make a presentation on the readings for one of the section meetings. The presenter should not summarize the reading but should use the presentation to discuss why the selected ideas/passages in question are important for understanding the reading and proceed to explain as well as raise questions about these ideas/passages.
The primary purpose of these presentations is to launch the discussion, not to demonstrate breadth of knowledge or to lead the discussion. Each presenter will prepare a handout with 1 or 2 questions and corresponding quotations from the readings. More detailed instructions will be provided on the course web site.
5. Final paper: Each student will hand in a final paper of 10-12 pages double-spaced (A longer final paper of 15-20 pages will be required for those who have registered for REL507). Suggested topics will be provided. Students may choose to create their own topics with the consent of the instructor. 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.
6. Late policy on written assignments: Three grace days total will be allotted excluding the final paper and summaries for which no extensions will be given. For all other written 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.

Email accounts. Students should all have email accounts. Your email address will be used to communicate with you during the course.
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.

Grades and Schedules of Assignments
Short exam - APR 29 10% Final paper - JUN 3 35%
Short paper I - APR 22 10% Presentation 10%
Short paper II - MAY 13 15% Discussion 15%
Short summary - 5%

Week 1 - APR 1 Introduction: Buddhism in American Narratives: Basics and Permutations

Richard Seager, Buddhism in America, ix-xviii, 1-50.

Week 2 - APR 8 A Pure Land seeker of light in Japan

Shinmon AOKI, Coffinman.

Week 3 - APR 15 Buddhism in America: Permutations.

Shinobu Matsuura, Compassionate Vow; Seager, Buddhism in America, 51-69.

Mark Unno, "The Voice of Sacred Texts in the Ocean of Compassion: The Case of Shin Buddhism in America," 1-14.

Week 4 - APR 22 A Beat Writer in America Paper I due in class.

Jack Kerouac, Dharma Bums; Seager, Buddhism in America, 70-90.

Week 5 - APR 29 A Nepali Hindu-Buddhist Pilgrimage in America. Short exam in class.

Broughton Coburn, Aama in America,

Week 6 - MAY 6 Building a Tibetan Buddhist Community in New Jersey

Martha Sherrill, The Buddha from Brooklyn, Seager, Buddhism in America, 113-135; 185-200.

Week 7 - May 13 Zen from Japan to San Francisco I. Paper II due in class.

David Chadwick, Crooked Cucumber, 1-252.
Seager, Buddhism in America, 201-215.

Week 8 - MAY 20 Zen from Japan to San Francisco I

David Chadwick, Crooked Cucumber, 253-414.

Week 9 - MAR 27

Maura Soshin O'Halloran, Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind

Week 10 - JUN 3 Concluding Discussion. Final Papers due in class.

Seager, Buddhism in America,201-248.