Arts, Sciences, and Engineering Modern Languages & Cultures - Comparative Literature
Course Section Listing Course Course Title Term Credits Status
COURSE_SECTION-3-176806 CLTR 208A-1 Vengeance, Longing, and Salvation: Topics in "Traditional" Japanese Culture Fall 2024 4.0 Closed
Schedule:
Day Begin End Location Start Date End Date
MW 450 PM 605 PM Frederick Douglass Room 420 08/26/2024 12/18/2024
Enrollment: Enrolled     
15 		Capacity     
15
Co-Located: AHST 212-1, CLTR 208A-1 (P), HIST 146-1, JPNS 210-1, RELC 132-1
Instructors: Jesse LeFebvre
Delivery Mode: In-Person
Description: This discussion-based course interrogates the construction and evolution of Japan’s cultural traditions and idioms from ancient times to the eve of modernity. Drawing from oral records and mythology, performing and visual arts,  literary, religious and historical texts, among other mediums, this course asks students to understand and appreciate the dynamic contexts of Japanese “tradition.” At the same time, innovative evocations of the past will help us understand the processes through which literary, cultural and religious traditions are challenged, (re)invented, and (re)made. This course is therefore invested in both the historical legacy of traditional Japan and the ways in which tradition itself remains central to contemporary evocations of Japanese culture. No prior knowledge of Japan is required or expected.
Offered: Fall Spring
Course Section Listing Course Course Title Term Credits Status
COURSE_SECTION-3-176795 CLTR 208H-1 Cultures of Enlightenment: Meditation, Materiality, and the Literary Cultures of Japanese Buddhism Fall 2024 4.0 Closed
Schedule:
Day Begin End Location Start Date End Date
MW 615 PM 730 PM Frederick Douglass Room 420 08/26/2024 12/18/2024
Enrollment: Enrolled     
15 		Capacity     
15
Co-Located: AHST 216-1, CLTR 208H-1 (P), CLTR 408H-1, JPNS 216-1, RELC 225-1
Instructors: Jesse LeFebvre
Delivery Mode: In-Person
Description: What is enlightenment? Is enlightenment a place or time? A state of body or a state of mind? Is it an unembellished moment from ordinary life or an unbounded vision of an endlessly unfolding cosmos? Does it happen in this life or after we die? Is it beyond language or is it language itself? This course explores how diverse Japanese Buddhists conceive of enlightenment in all of these different ways and, in addition to the literary, visual, cultural, and philosophical study of enlightenment, this course also invites students to engage in the practice of a wide variety of Buddhist ritual activities and “speech acts” including sutra copying, reciting mantra, chanting sutras, and sitting zazen. Students will also study the visual cultures of enlightenment through mandala, painting, and sculptural icons. All readings are done in English. However, students will be asked to recite some short ritual texts and ritual formulations in their original language for educational purposes. No prior knowledge of Japanese or meditation required.
Offered: Fall Spring
Course Section Listing Course Course Title Term Credits Status
COURSE_SECTION-3-161628 CLTR 208A-1 Vengeance, Longing, and Salvation: Topics in "Traditional" Japanese Culture Fall 2023 4.0 Closed
Schedule:
Day Begin End Location Start Date End Date
MW 450 PM 605 PM Frederick Douglass Room 420 08/30/2023 12/22/2023
Enrollment: Enrolled     
15 		Capacity     
15
Co-Located: AHST 212-1, CLTR 208A-1 (P), HIST 146-1, JPNS 210-1, RELC 132-1
Instructors: Jesse LeFebvre
Delivery Mode: In-Person
Description: This discussion-based course interrogates the construction and evolution of Japan’s cultural traditions and idioms from ancient times to the eve of modernity. Drawing from oral records and mythology, performing and visual arts,  literary, religious and historical texts, among other mediums, this course asks students to understand and appreciate the dynamic contexts of Japanese “tradition.” At the same time, innovative evocations of the past will help us understand the processes through which literary, cultural and religious traditions are challenged, (re)invented, and (re)made. This course is therefore invested in both the historical legacy of traditional Japan and the ways in which tradition itself remains central to contemporary evocations of Japanese culture. No prior knowledge of Japan is required or expected.
Offered: Fall Spring
Course Section Listing Course Course Title Term Credits Status
COURSE_SECTION-3-161636 CLTR 208H-1 Cultures of Enlightenment: Meditation, Materiality, and the Literary Cultures of Japanese Buddhism Fall 2023 4.0 Open
Schedule:
Day Begin End Location Start Date End Date
MW 615 PM 730 PM Frederick Douglass Room 420 08/30/2023 12/22/2023
Enrollment: Enrolled     
12 		Capacity     
15
Co-Located: AHST 216-1, AHST 416-1 (P), CLTR 208H-1, CLTR 408H-1, JPNS 216-1, RELC 225-1
Instructors: Jesse LeFebvre
Delivery Mode: In-Person
Description: What is enlightenment? Is enlightenment a place or time? A state of body or a state of mind? Is it an unembellished moment from ordinary life or an unbounded vision of an endlessly unfolding cosmos? Does it happen in this life or after we die? Is it beyond language or is it language itself? This course explores how diverse Japanese Buddhists conceive of enlightenment in all of these different ways and, in addition to the literary, visual, cultural, and philosophical study of enlightenment, this course also invites students to engage in the practice of a wide variety of Buddhist ritual activities and “speech acts” including sutra copying, reciting mantra, chanting sutras, and sitting zazen. Students will also study the visual cultures of enlightenment through mandala, painting, and sculptural icons. All readings are done in English. However, students will be asked to recite some short ritual texts and ritual formulations in their original language for educational purposes. No prior knowledge of Japanese or meditation required.
Offered: Fall Spring