Religions, Roads, and Trade in Asian History (Syllabus)
REL 3938, section 6411 / HIS 3931, section 4931, Spring 2006
Course website: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/jneelis/classes/rel_3938.html
Vista: http://lss.at.ufl.edu/
Instructor: Dr. Jason Neelis Teaching Assistant: Bradley Ackroyd
jneelis@religion.ufl.edu ackroyd@ufl.edu
130
Office Hours: Tuesday, 3:00-4:30 Tuesday 11:30-12:30
392-1625, ext. 240 392-1625, ext. 223, voice mailbox 317
Course description:
This interdisciplinary course examines the role of trade and
trade routes in the movement and transformation of various religious traditions
in
Course Goals:
Textbooks:
(available for purchase from Goerings Book Store,
Philip Curtin, Cross-cultural Trade in World History (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 1984).
Xinru Liu, Silk Road: Overland Trade and Cultural Interactions
in
Patricia Risso, Merchants & Faith: Muslim Commerce and
Culture in the
Tansen Sen, Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The
Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations, 600-1400 (Association for Asian
Studies and
Requirements:
Attendance and Participation: 10 %
Attendance and contributions to discussions will be carefully monitored. After three unexcused absences, two points will be deducted for each additional unexcused absence (1 point will be deducted for each episode of tardiness). Leaving class early without the instructor's permission and disrespectful behavior will result in further deductions. Absences can be excused if written requests are submitted in advance or if written explanations are submitted with valid documentation.
Group Presentations: 20 %
There will be eight group presentations scheduled intermittently during the semester. Each presentation will treat a topic scheduled for a specific class period. Group members will be responsible for presenting the reading assignments and leading discussions. Each individual is expected to speak for at least five minutes. Questions about the topic can serve to stimulate participation. In addition to the oral presentation, each individual member of the group is to submit a five page paper outlining their own contributions.
Research Paper: 50 %
A research paper between twenty to twenty-five pages (typed and double-spaced) in length is required to fulfill the Gordon Rule. Students are encouraged to consult with the instructor and assistant about viable topics as early as possible in the semester. Students have considerable latitude in developing research topics, as long as the topic treats interrelationships between Asian religions, economies, and trade routes in an academic framework. The following deadlines are established to encourage and facilitate completion of the research project:
February 28 – submit a topic statement with a preliminary outline and bibliography
March 30 – submit a first draft in order to receive feedback in time for revisions
April 25 – final deadline for the complete research paper
Take-home final exam: 20 %
Short essay questions distributed on final day of class will be due one week later (Tuesday, May 2). Questions will be based on reading assignments and materials discussed in class over the entire semester.
Academic Honesty
guidelines at the
http://www.dso.ufl.edu/judicial/honestybrochure.htm
Basically, “An academic honesty offense is defined as the
act of lying, cheating, or stealing academic information so that one gains
academic advantage. As a
Students with Disabilities need to register with the office of the Dean of Students:
Topics and reading assignments (tentative weekly schedule):
Week 1 (January 10-12) Theoretical perspectives on economy and religion
Tues. 1/10: Course Introduction
Thurs. 1/12: Economy and Religion
Recommended: “Economics and Religion,” in Encyclopedia of Religion, v. 5, 1-11; Karl Polanyi, “Traders and Trade,” Ancient Civilization and Trade, 133-154; Max Weber, “Prefatory Remarks” to Collected Essays in the Sociology of Religion (1920), 149-164
Week 2 (January
17-19) Ancient trade networks in
Tues. 1/17: Mesopotamia, the Iranian plateau, and the
Reading: Curtin, Cross-Cultural
Trade chapter 4 (60-89); visit www.harappa.com
Recommended: C.C. Lambert-Karlovsky, “Third Millennium Modes of Exchange and Modes of Production,” Ancient Civilization and Trade, 341-368
Thurs. 1/19: Achaemenid ‘
Reading: Pierre Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the
Persian Empire Chapter 9:
Territories, Communication & Trade, 357-387; Isidore of Charax, Parthian Stations (translated by Wilfred
Schoff) http://www.parthia.com/parthian_stations.htm
Week 3 (January 24-26) South Asian arteries and capillaries for long-distance trade and cultural transmission
Tues. 1/24: The “northern route” and “southern route”
of ancient
Reading: Jason Neelis, “Long-distance Trade and the
Transmission of Buddhism,” 418-462 (pdf); Romila Thapar, Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, Appendix 5: A Translation of the
Edicts of Aśoka, 250-266
Thurs. 1/26: Patterns in the early transmission of Buddhism
Recommended: Romila Thapar, Early
Week 4 (January
31-February 2) Silk Routes of
Tues. 1/31: Buddhism on the
Reading: Philip Curtin, Cross-Cultural Trade, 90-96; Xinru Liu, Silk Road: Overland Trade and Cultural Interactions in Eurasia, 1-14; visit “Buddhism on the Silk Road” (International Dunhuang Project website): http://idp.bl.uk/education/buddhism/index.html
Thurs. 2/2:
Recommended: Selections from Elizabeth Errington
and Joe Cribb, eds. The Crossroads of Asia;
Herbert H„rtel
and Marianne Yaldiz, Along the Ancient
Silk Routes; Deborah Klimburg-Salter, The
Silk Route and the Diamond Path; Susan Whitfield, The Silk Road: Trade, Travel, War and Faith
[Group Presentation 1:
Week 5 (February
7-9) Maritime networks of the
Tues. 2/7: Long-distance trade in the Periplus Maris Erythraei
Thurs. 2/9: Maritime trade and commercial/cultural
relations with
Reading: Paul
Wheatley, “Satyānr̥ta in Suvarṇadvīpa: From Reciprocity to
Redistribution in Ancient Southeast Asia,” Ancient Civilization and
Trade, 227-283; Sheldon
Pollock, “The Sanskrit Cosmopolis, 300-1300: Transculturation,
Vernacularization, and the Question of Ideology,” Ideology and the Status of Sanskrit, 197-247 (especially 217 ff.)
[Class split into two groups responsible for separate articles]
Week 6 (February 14-16) Asian trading diasporas
Tues. 2/14: Sogdian, Jewish, and Armenian diaspora communities
Reading: Philip Curtin, Cross-Cultural
Trade, 103-108, 111-115, 182-206; Nicholas Sims-Williams, “The Sogdian Merchants in India and China,”
Cina e Iran, 45-67
Thurs. 2/16: Christian and Manichean merchants and missionaries
Recommended readings: selections from Faxian, Xuanzang, Yijing, etc.
[Group Presentation 2: Records of Travelers, Traders, and Pilgrims 1]
Week 7 (February 21-23): East Asian religions and trade networks
Tues. 2/21: Transmission/Transformation of Buddhism
in
Thurs. 2/23: Tang period Buddhism in
Recommended: Xinru Liu, Ancient
[Possible Group Presentation: split recommended readings]
Week 8 (February 28-March 2) East Asian religions and trade networks, cont.
Note: Topic statement
with preliminary outline and bibliography due
Tues. 2/28: Commercial/cultural transitions during the Song period
Thurs. 3/2: Long-distance relationships with
Week 9 (March 7-9) East Asian religions and trade networks, cont.
Tues. 3/7: Commercial networks across
Thurs. 3/9: East Asian trade in world historical contexts
[Group presentation 3: Trade Networks in Vietnam/Korea/Japan]
Spring Break (March
11-19)
Week 10 (March
21-23) Islamic expansion in
Tues. 3/21: Growth of Islam and Asian trade networks
Thurs. 3/28: “Islamicate” South and
Recommended: Marshall Hodgson, Venture of Islam, vol. II, 63-78, 136-140, 532-551; Maxime Rodinson, Islam and Capitalism, 28-75
[Group Presentation 4: Lead discussions of recommended reading orTravelers, Traders, and Pilgrims 2 (Al-Biruni, Ibn Battuta, etc.)]
Week 11 (March 28-30) Muslim trade networks and missionary activities
Tues. 3/28: Muslim trade networks and European colonialism
Thurs. 3/30: Sufi saints and merchants as agents of conversion
Reading: Patricia Risso, Merchants
& Faith, 77-106; Aditya Behl, “The Magic Doe: Desire and Narrative in a
Hindavi Sufi Romance, circa 1503,”
[Individual or Group presentation 5]
Note: First draft of
research paper due
Week 12 (April 4-6) Colonial impact and responses
Tues. 4/4: European colonial empires and religious enterprises
Thurs. 4/6: Asian merchant communities in the age of colonialism
Recommended:
[Group presentation 6: Colonialism and religious encounters, conflicts, and changes]
Week 13 (April 11-13) Asian diasporas and Asian-American religions
Tues. 4/11: Aftermath of colonialism in
Thurs. 4/13: Contemporary trade networks and religious traditions
Recommended: Aihwa Ong, Buddha
is Hiding: Refugees, Citizenship, the New
[Group presentation 7: Religion and trade in modern Asia and America]
Week 14 (April 18-20) Religious movements and the global economy
Tues. 4/18: Perspectives on Asian history and globalism
Thurs. 4/20: Asian religions, information networks, and the world economy
[Group presentation 8: case studies in the economy of religion]
Week 15 (April 25) Research papers due, Distribution of Final take-home essays
Tuesday, May 2: Final take-home essays due