Teaching

Imagining Shangri-La

Spring 2017

Bachelor and Masters-level course taught in English at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen.

Course Description

Since the 1930s when the British author James Hilton wrote the novel Lost Horizon depicting a mystical paradise in the Himalayas, the various utopic ideals represented by the term “Shangri-La” has gripped popular imaginations the world over. This course examines the appearance and usage of the concept of Shangri-La, both within a Tibetan Buddhist perspective but also as this concept has taken shape globally in a multitude of other contexts, including but not limited to popular culture and the marketing of tourism destinations. By taking a closer look at how this concept has taken root and spread, as well as the imaginaries that the term ‘Shangri-La’ invokes, we will analyze the growth and impact that social and cultural imaginaries have had in modern myth-making and utopic visions of past and present. In imagining Shangri-La, the inherent ideas and perspectives relating to this imagined place and the people who possibly inhabit this place are by no means benign. These utopic imaginations have also worked to encapture the people and places of the Himalayas in fantasies and myths sustained by Western ideations of self and other. We will examine the workings of Shangri-La by beginning the course with a short history of the origin of the term Shangri-La and how it became invoked and widespread in Western imaginations in the mid-20^th century, providing a background for wider discussions throughout the course. From there we move on to discuss the role of the ‘imagination’ and how social and cultural imaginaries are formed and spread, drawing on philosophical, anthropological and cultural studies literature, for example bringing in theories of modernity, orientalism and myth-making. We will then discuss various forms and cases through which the myth of ‘Shangri-La’ has taken shape and manifested in specific contexts. Students will gain not only a thorough background knowledge about the ideas surrounding ‘Shangri-La’ and the Himalayan and Tibetan Buddhist context through which this concept originally springs, but also the analytical and theoretical skills to analyze the birth, growth and transformation of concepts invoking utopic visions, modern myths and social imaginaries.

The course is offered in English, and students at both the Bachelor and Master’s level are welcome to take the course with Master’s students having a greater reading and work load.  This course is relevant, but not limited to, students following a course of study related to Tibetan, Chinese, South Asian studies, Asian Studies as well as religious studies, cross-cultural studies, minority studies, etc.

 

Introduction to Tibetology 2

Spring 2016

Bachelor level course taught in English at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, KU.

Course Description: 

This course for students in their second semester is constituent for specialization in Tibetology, and is divided into two parts. In the Thursday-classes, you will read Tibetan primary sources that history writing is based upon, such as the Thirteenth Dalai Lama’s testament, the 17-point agreement and the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s 5-point peace plan. These classes will also provide a comprehensive introduction to academic writing. In the Friday-classes, you will be introduced to selected and contested topics within Tibetan history writing by reading and discussing the chapters of Blondeau & Buffetrille (2008). This part of the course is built around topics that introduce and problematize Tibet’s modern history. We will not learn and memorize historical “facts”, but instead question “facts” and how they are presented in the literature available to us. There will be several entry points into this study: What are the common assumptions in historiography? How can we read history critically? What are our sources and how do we treat them? We will take examples from Tibet’s modern history (from the 13th Dalai Lama onwards) to deal with these issues, and especially focus on contested history writing in order to understand what it means to study and write about the Tibetan past. This will take us to heated discussions over “historical facts” and how to write Tibet’s history that has been debated intensively by scholars and by the Tibetans themselves.

Global Buddhism

Fall 2016

Bachelor and Masters-level course taught in English at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen.

Course DescriptionBuddhism in the contemporary, modern world has undergone swift and dramatic transformations in the past few decades, mostly due to the influence of globalization and modernization processes. The global spread of Buddhism- including the practices, understandings and of Buddhists themselves- has led to not only a growing interest in Buddhism worldwide, but also a transformation in the way that Buddhism is practiced and understood in these global contexts. According to Martin Baumann (2001), this phase in the historical development of Buddhism can be considered to be that of ‘Global Buddhism’. This course takes a closer look at what can be considered as ‘Global Buddhism’ along with the contemporary configurations of Buddhism and the manner in which these modern and global transformations are taking place.  We will look at regional distinctions in the development of Buddhism, as well as the global spread of common trends, such as the influence of modernization, globalization, secularization, etc. on understandings of Buddhism, as well as the impact of contemporary understandings of science, psychology, meditation, politics, capitalism, etc. While Buddhism in European-American contexts quickly comes to mind when considering the impact of globalization on Buddhism, as we will see throughout the course, the global circulation of ideas regarding Buddhism has impacted not only how people in western contexts understand Buddhism, but also how Buddhism is being revitalized and transformed in Asian contexts. Covering both regional developments and trends in global Buddhism along with a discussion of theoretical approaches for analyzing these developments, students will acquire a wide range of skills which aid in examining contemporary religion in the global world. The course is offered as part of the research activities taking place at the Center for Contemporary Buddhist Studies (CCBS) at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies. During the semester, the CCBS is arranging a larger conference on ‘Buddhism, Business and Economic Relations’ at the University of Copenhagen which the students are expected to attend and actively participate. Students will have the opportunity to apply what they learn in the classroom by participating in the dialogue at the conference, as well as through writing on the various topics of interest. Students are also encouraged to write blog posts on topics related to Global Buddhism for the blog hosted by the CCBS. In this way, the course supports a research-based learning environment in which students learn not only about the theoretical perspectives addressed in class, but also how to apply one’s knowledge within a research environment.

Teaching and learning methods

This course draws upon the expertise in the field of Global Buddhism at the University of Copenhagen. For this reason, various teachers who are experts in the fields addressed in each class will present their work related to the topic. Active participation and attendance is a requirement for the course, as well as coming prepared to each class by doing the readings beforehand. This is necessary in order to foster an accelerated learning environment throughout the course in which a wide number of skills will be acquired to support students in their future study, research and career prospects. Individual written assignments, along with active group participation and dialogue are part of the course requirements and expectations. Students will be expected to participate in off-campus events (field visit to a Buddhist site in Copenhagen), as well as an international conference on “Buddhism, Business and Economic Relations in Asia and Beyond” offered at the University of Copenhagen. We encourage students from a wide variety of backgrounds and study programmes to join the course so that an environment of exchange can be created which welcomes diverse knowledge and experience. It is not expected that students have a wide knowledge about Buddhism beforehand, but we do recommend that students consult some of the introductory texts on Buddhism suggested below so that they have some understanding beforehand.

 

 

Buddhism in the Modern World

Fall 2016

Bachelor and Masters course level taught at the University of Copenhagen

 Course description:

This course enquires into contemporary Buddhism as an interdisciplinary topic of investigation through bridging language-based area studies, religious studies, and anthropology. Building upon an introduction to some key concepts of Buddhism, we explore how ‘Buddhism’ is employed within various contexts in Asia and beyond, while paying attention to possible contradictions, contentions and contentment with contemporary issues, which include:

• Buddhist modernity and secularism,
• commodification of Buddhism and the spiritual marketplace,
• entanglements of Buddhism with politics,
• changing roles of women in Buddhism,
• Buddhism and new media, and
• travels and cultural translations.

Through the topic of Contemporary Buddhism, this course also aims at helping students develop general competences. Hence we consciously seek to integrate in the classroom activities (1) conducting analysis, (2) handling theory, and (3) reading critically.

Contemporary Buddhism in Asia

Fall 2015

Bachelor course level taught at the University of Copenhagen

Course Description

Buddhism in the contemporary, modern world has undergone swift and dramatic transformations in the past few decades, mostly due to the influence of globalization and modernization processes. This course takes a closer look at contemporary configurations of Buddhism and the manner in which these modern and global transformations are taking place.  While Buddhism in European-American contexts comes quickly to mind when considering the impact of globalization on Buddhism, this course pays particular attention to how contemporary Buddhism is being transformed in a number of regional contexts, with Asia as a primary focus. We will look at regional distinctions in the development of Buddhism, as well as the global spread of common trends, such as the influence of modernization, globalization, secularization and even youth, and the impact of contemporary understandings of science, psychology, politics, economics, etc. Covering both regional developments and trends in contemporary Buddhism along with a discussion of theoretical approaches for analyzing these developments, students will acquire a wide range of skills which aid in examining contemporary religion in the global, modern world.

Kultur- og Samfundsanalyse

Fall 2015

Masters level course taught in Danish at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, KU. This course was a required theoretical course for the Masters degree in Cross-Cultural Studies (Tværkulturelle studier).

Beskrivelse af forløbet:

Undervisningsforløbet i Kultur og samfundsanalyse er det ene af de to teoretisk-analytiske introduktionselementer til kandidatuddannelsen i Tværkulturelle studier. Forelæsningsdelen på tretten gange er organiseret i to spor; det første spor introducerer det tværkulturelle studiefelt gennem en række grundlæggende teoretiske problemstillinger; det andet spor indkredser det tværkulturelle felt gennem en række tværgående temaer som f.eks. medier, legitimitet & symbolsk magt samt økonomi & udveksling, og de teoretisk-analytiske tilgange kommer her i spil i analyser af konkrete undersøgelser og empirisk materiale. Et enkelt sted i forløbet krydser disse spor sig af logistiske årsager. Sideløbende med forelæsningsrækken vil der være tutorials i mindre grupper hver med sin faste underviser. Forelæsningernes emner og problemstillinger kommer til fælles drøftelse i disse tutorials, og man må som studerende være indstillet på, at der her stilles ganske store krav om aktiv deltagelse og kritisk arbejde med yderligere tekster ud over de tekster, der blev anvendt til forelæsningen.

Anthropological Analysis

Fall 2014

Bachelor level course taught in English and Danish at the Department of Anthropology, Aarhus University. (Taught in Danish)

Beskrivelse af forløbet:

Det er kursets idé, at de studerende gennem ”learning by doing” skal opbygge analytiske færdigheder, og at de øvelser, man arbejder med i forløbet, skal kunne indgå i eksamen. Kurset er struktureret omkring tre temaer (Rum og Sted; Kunst og Æstetik; Mad og Måltider), der fungerer som inspiration til tre øvelsesforløb undervejs. Inden for hvert tema er det målet, at den studerende med sin læsegruppe skal identificere problemstillinger, fremlægge relevant empirisk materiale og sammenskrive en synoptisk analyse (et ”paper”). Parallelt med dette introducerer underviserne teoretiske og analytiske tilgange, og gennemgår eksempler på eksemplariske analyser. Undervisningen kombinerer tematiske fællesforelæsninger, holdbaseret undervisning i analysestrategier, workshops med øvelser samt tre undervisningsfri uger til arbejde med papers. Endvidere introduceres til metoder til søgning, sortering og vurdering af forskellige typer information og materiale, samt til organisering af data og til referenceværktøjer. Holdene inddeles den første undervisningsgang i læsegrupper, og det er i disse grupper, øvelser og papers udføres. Grupperne afleverer deres papers via First Class.

Global Studies and Development

Fall 2012 

Masters level course taught at the Department of Anthropology, AU.

Course Description:

Studies of non-western countries are still regarded as central to anthropology as a discipline. Yet, studies of how these countries fare culturally, socially and economically can no longer be detached from debates about changes at the larger global scale. The course in Global Studies and Development will thus give the students an introduction to different perspectives on globalization and development and at various themes subsumed by these. The themes we will touch upon include (but not be limited to) the role(s) of the state, education, religion, (internet) technology and media, migration, land and natural resource management, the extractive industries (e.g. oil, mining, logging), and the challenges to anthropology entailed by all of this!

Globalization and the Anthropology of Religion

Spring 2010

Bachelor level course taught in English at the Department of Anthropology, AU.

Course Description:

Only recently have discussions of globalization begun to include religion as an important element in studying processes of globalization.  Mostly the increasing attention on religion has focused on the growth and importance of fundamentalisms as a reaction against globalization.  This course however will look at how world religions and religious practices are crossing national and cultural borders, and how these religions are transforming and being affected by going ‘global’.  While most discussions about globalization and religion address Islam and Christianity, this course will mostly consider world religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.

We will look at the movement of religions, religious practices and practitioners that takes place through migration, through the media and the use of the internet, and through travel and religious tourism.  For example we will take a closer look at the global movement of religious practices such as yoga and meditation, and how they highlight processes of globalization taking place both in Asia and the West, for example in Denmark.

The course will include theoretical discussions of globalization, as well as how one might go about defining ‘religion’ as an object of study.  Within these theoretical frameworks we will consider the anthropology of religion and how anthropology contributes to the discussion of religion and globalization.

The format for the course includes lectures by the teacher, guest lectures, a film, an emphasis on discussion of important themes and issues, as well as presentations by each student.  It is expected that students read the relevant articles before coming to class, as well as utilize other sources such as the internet, in order to create an environment which encourages an engaged dialogue.