REL3010 – Buddhist religion in the contemporary world
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
Buddhism has adapted to rapid economic, social, cultural, and political transformations in the modern, post-modern, and globalized world.
Since its inception in India in the sixth century BC, Buddhism spread - first throughout Asia, and then globally in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Buddhism has shown a remarkable flexibility and an ability to co-exist with a variety of social structures as it spread, not only to farming and herding communities, but also to highly complex Asian and Western urban societies.
In the West, the popularity of Buddhism was inspired by the academic study of Asian worldviews, the romanticism of Orientalism, the Beat-generation of the 1950s, the hippies of the 1960s, and the contemporary New Age-movement, as well as by Asian migration to the West. Buddhists work, not only for world peace, but also for increased social engagement, ecological awareness, and gender equality.
At the same time, both in the past and in the contemporary world, Buddhists have encouraged to, and engaged in, armed conflicts and wars. This class covers, with a thematic and regional focus, such modern Buddhist developments.
Learning outcome
After completing this course you will:
- have knowledge about Buddhist modernities in different parts of the world
- be able to analyze and discuss how globalization, secularization, rationalization, and individualization affect contemporary Buddhist worldview
- be able to apply theoretical concepts to understand Buddhist modernities
- be able to give an account of religious change and religious pluralism
- get insight into engaged Buddhism
learn about Buddhism and ecological awareness
obtain knowledge of Buddhists’ role in political conflicts around the world
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
A good ability to read and understand English is required for this course.
Recommended previous knowledge
REL1003 – Religion - en innf?ring i religionsvitenskap and REL2230 – Buddhisme - en global religion and one other course on 2000 level.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with REL4160 – Buddhist Modernities (discontinued).
Teaching
Autumn 2020: Teaching will follow the guidelines for preventing the spread of Covid-19.
A detailed plan for the semester will show which activities will be digital, and this will be updated by the beginning of August.
There will not be a requirement for compulsory attendance for teaching which is done digitally, but we strongly recommend that you follow all the teaching.
The teaching consists of lectures and seminars. A detailed schedule will be published on the semester page at the start of the semester.
Compulsory tuition activities
- Attendance to two of the three seminars
- A short written essay, must be approved by the course teacher
Detailed information on the essay will be published on the semester page.
All compulsory activities must be approved in order to qualify for the exam. It is the student’s responsibility to check whether or not the compulsory activities are approved.
This is how you apply for valid absence from compulsory activities/compulsory attendance.
Access to teachingA student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.
Examination
Take-home examination over three days.
You must complete all compulsory tuition activities in order to be allowed to sit for the final examination.
Previous exams and grading guidelines.
Language of examination
You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Resit an examination
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.