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2018/19 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
THEO2220 Buddhism
20 creditsClass Size: 60
Module manager: Dr Mikel Burley
Email: m.m.burley@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2018/19
This module is approved as a discovery module
Module summary
The module provides a broad introduction to the study of Buddhism, beginning from a critical examination of historical origins, practices and doctrines. Ideas, social forms and lineages of practice from later periods and different cultural contexts are considered, illuminating problematic issues of tradition, innovation and social order. A variety of methodological approaches are applied, including those derived from philosophy and religious studies, and diverse textual sources are analysed, including both primary and secondary material. Among the topics discussed are the contemporary practice of Buddhism, the role and status of women in Buddhism and the position of Buddhism in an increasingly globalised world.Objectives
- To introduce students to the broad range of ideas and practices that have characterised Buddhist religious forms in different cultures and historical periods;- to enable students to reflect critically on those forms and on the scholarly interpretations that have been significant for the development of the academic study of Buddhism.
Learning outcomes
The ability to critically assess a variety of influences, social, cultural, soteriological and philosophical, which combine to continually reform a major tradition of ideas and ritual practices.
Syllabus
- The origins of Buddhism and their imaginative recreation; the elision and revelation of experience by doctrine
- Ideal and real forms of Buddhist practice
- The origins and philosophy of the Mahayana
- The practice of Tantra in India and Tibet
- Theravada under colonialism in South/Southeast Asia
- The transmission of Buddhism to China and Japan
- Forms of contemporary Buddhism in Britain
- The consequences of globalisation.
Teaching methods
Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
Lecture | 11 | 1.00 | 11.00 |
Seminar | 10 | 1.00 | 10.00 |
Private study hours | 179.00 | ||
Total Contact hours | 21.00 | ||
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 |
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
Seminar performance, attendance register, one-to-one discussion of essay plans, feedback on partial drafts.Methods of assessment
Coursework
Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
Essay | 3,000 words | 50.00 |
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 50.00 |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Exams
Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) | 2 hr | 50.00 |
Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 50.00 |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 15/05/2018
Browse Other Catalogues
- Undergraduate module catalogue
- Taught Postgraduate module catalogue
- Undergraduate programme catalogue
- Taught Postgraduate programme catalogue
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team.PROD