ARTH 253 Buddhist Art & Architecture

ARTH 253. Buddhist Art & Architecture. Spring 2023.

Professor Lara Blanchard	tel: x3893
Art & Architecture Department, Houghton House 208

Class meetings: MWF 9:50am–10:50am, in person (Houghton House 212) and occasionally via Zoom (see Canvas for link)

Office hours: Tuesdays 10:30am–12:00 noon, Thursdays 1:15–2:45pm, or by appointment, in person (Houghton House 208) or via Zoom (see Canvas for link)

Course description:
This course will examine Buddhist architecture, painting, and sculpture from South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Silk Road, and East Asia. We will consider five important movements in Buddhist practice: Theravāda, Mahāyāna, Esoteric, Pure Land, and Zen. Topics will include images of the life of the historic Buddha and tales of his previous lives; the role of the stūpa in Buddhist worship; the expansion of the Buddhist pantheon; associations between art and patronage; representations of multiple realms of existence; the development of the mandala; and the role of meditation in artistic practice. When appropriate, students will read Buddhist texts in translation. The course is cross-listed with Asian Studies, Architectural Studies, and Media & Society. It addresses two of the aspirational goals of the curriculum: a critical understanding of social inequalities (partially), and a critical understanding of cultural difference (substantially).

Learning objectives:

Students will develop the ability to recognize, and be able to explain, significant themes, stylistic features, and genre conventions associated with Buddhist art and architecture in Asia from the ancient through early modern periods.
Students will develop an understanding of, and be able to explain, how works of art and architectural sites operate as historical artifacts that reveal current ideas on religion, politics, and society.
Students will demonstrate broader knowledge of the connections between and dissimilarities of South Asian, Central Asian, and East Asian art, architecture, religious practices, philosophies, and politics.
Students will be able to identify the formal and material elements of different Asian media, particularly architecture, sculpture, and painting.
Students will practice using academic sources for humanities research available through the HWS Library.
Students will show improvement in following “best practices” for accurately summarizing, synthesizing, and citing sources using Chicago-style citation.
At semester’s end, students will be able to demonstrate writing skills appropriate to art history, particularly how to craft and argue a thesis.

Books:

Leidy, Denise Patry. The Art of Buddhism: An Introduction to Its History and Meaning. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2008.
ISBN-13: 978-1590306703 (REQUIRED.)

Lopez, Donald S. Jr. The Story of Buddhism: A Concise Guide to Its History & Teachings. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001.
ISBN-13: 978-0060099275 (REQUIRED.)

Barnet, Sylvan, ed. A Short Guide to Writing about Art. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson, 2015.
ISBN-13: 978-0205886999 (RECOMMENDED for students new to art history.)

Certain supplementary materials will be available via Canvas:

Supplementary readings will be linked from the syllabus and posted in the folder Files | Readings.
PowerPoint presentations will be posted in the folders Files | Image presentations (parts 1 and 2).
Image sheets and other daily handouts will be posted in the folders Files | Handouts (parts 1 and 2).
Assignments will be posted in the folder Files | Assignments.
Discussion questions that count toward participation will be posted on the Discussion Board.

Weekly schedule (please note: schedule may be subject to minor changes):

INTRODUCTION TO MAINSTREAM BUDDHISM.

Jan. 23 (M). Overview of the course.

Jan. 25 (W). The early life of the historic Buddha.

Denise Patry Leidy, The Art of Buddhism: An Introduction to Its History and Meaning, 1–3.
Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Story of Buddhism: A Concise Guide to Its History & Teachings, 19–42.

Jan. 27 (F). Teachings of the historic Buddha and mainstream Buddhism.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 3–5.
Lopez, The Story of Buddhism, 42–59.

Jan. 30 (M). Ancient Indian Buddhist art and aniconism.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 9–13.
Susan L. Huntington, “Early Buddhist Art and the Theory of Aniconism,” Art Journal 49, no. 4 (Winter 1990): 401–8.

Feb. 1 (W). Stūpas at Bhārhut, Sāñcī, and Amarāvati.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 13–29.

Feb. 3 (F). Early caitya halls at Bhāja, Karlī, and Ajānta.

Balkrishna Govind Gokhale, “Theravāda Buddhism in Western India,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 92, no. 2 (1972): 230–36.

Feb. 6 (M). Research in art history.

Feb. 8 (W). Architecture and sculpture in Sri Lanka.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 141–45.

Feb. 10 (F). Burmese and Thai art and architecture.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 164–69, 266–75.

THE DEVELOPMENT AND SPREAD OF MAHĀYĀNA BUDDHISM.

Feb. 13 (M). Introduction to Mahāyāna Buddhism.

Lopez, The Story of Buddhism, 59–83, 103–29.

Feb. 15 (W). Kuṣāṇa period sculpture and royal patronage of Buddhism.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 31–49.
RESEARCH PAPER PROPOSAL due.

Feb. 17 (F). Gupta period sculpture from Mathurā and Sārnāth.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 49–55.

Feb. 20 (M). Mahāyāna caitya halls and murals at Ajānta.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 57–62.

Feb. 22 (W). The colossal Buddhas at Bamiyan.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 65–67.

Feb. 24 (F). Early art from the caves at Miran, Kizil, and Dunhuang.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 68–76.

Feb. 27 (M). Royal patronage and Buddhist icons at Yungang and Longmen grottoes.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 77–82.

Mar. 1 (W). Chinese sculptures of Maitreya, Śākyamuni, and Amitābha.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 82–91.

Mar. 3 (F). The debate between Vimalakīrti and Mañjuśrī in Chinese art.

Kumarajiva, The Vimalakirti Sutra, trans. Burton Watson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), 64–74, 104–11.

Mar. 6 (M). Imperial patronage of Buddhist arts in China’s Tang dynasty.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 91-99.
Emperor Wuzong, “Emperor Wu-tsung’s Edict on the Suppression of Buddhism,” in Sources of Chinese Tradition, comp. Wm. Theodore de Bary et al. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1960), 1: 379–82.

Mar. 8 (W). Early Buddhist sculpture and architecture in Korea.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 101–108.
RESEARCH WORKSHEETS due.

Mar. 10 (F). Architecture, sculpture, and painting at Horyūji.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 108–14.

Mar. 13 (M). Temples in Nara: Yakushiji and Tōdaiji.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 114–16, 119–20.

Mar. 15 (W). Temples in Nara: Tōshōdaiji and Murōji.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 116–19, 120–21.
FIRST TEST due.

Mar. 17 (F). Late Buddhist art in India and Bangladesh.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 127–41.

(Mar. 20–24, Spring Break)

Mar. 27 (M). Angkor temple complexes in Cambodia.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 172–78.

Mar. 29 (W). Bodhisattvas, arhats, and kings of hell in Chinese and Korean art.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 189–99, 205–207.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF ESOTERIC BUDDHISM.

Mar 31 (F). Introduction to Esoteric Buddhism.

Lopez, The Story of Buddhism, 213–30.

Apr. 3 (M). An esoteric temple in Kyōto: Tōji.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 121–25.
“Kūkai and His Master,” in Wm. Theodore de Bary et al., comp., Sources of Japanese Tradition, 2nd ed. (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001), 162–65.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY due.

Apr. 5 (W). Early Nepalese Buddhist art and architecture.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 147–51.

Apr. 7 (F). A mandala in stone: Borobudur in Indonesia.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 178–87.
Lopez, The Story of Buddhism, 213–30.

Apr. 10 (M). Writing workshop.

Apr. 12 (W). Alchi Monastery in Ladākh.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 154–61.

Apr. 14 (F). The arts of Sino-Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal, Tibet, and China.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 231–45, 287–89.
RESEARCH PAPER DRAFT due.

Apr. 17 (M). Dalai Lamas and the arts in Tibet.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 247–61.

PURE LAND AND CHAN/ZEN BUDDHISM.

Apr. 19 (W). Introduction to Pure Land and Chan/Zen Buddhism.

Lopez, The Story of Buddhism, 230–53.

Apr. 21 (F). The Phoenix Hall and Japanese images of the Western Pure Land.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 208–10, 219–21.

Apr. 24 (M). Japanese paintings of hells, hungry ghosts, and death and decay.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 215–17.
Genshin, “The Essentials of Salvation,” in De Bary, Sources of Japanese Tradition, 1: 217–22.

Apr. 26 (W). Japanese images of Pure Land teachers.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 217–19.

Apr. 28 (F). Chan masters and Chinese painting in the Song through Qing dynasties.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 199–203, 279–86.

May 1 (M). Chan and Zen architecture.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 277–79.
RESEARCH PAPER due.

May 3 (W). Zen masters and Japanese painting in the Muromachi through Edo periods.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 225–29, 295–303.

May 5 (F). Two Kyōto gardens.

Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, 229.

(May 6–8, Reading Days)

May 11 (Th). SECOND TEST due, 10:00pm.

Communications:
I am happy to meet with you outside of class at a mutually convenient time, in person or via Zoom (see Office hours above). The best way to reach me to set up an appointment is by e-mail, but please note that I might not check my e-mail before 9:00am or after 4:30pm. If I need to contact students, I generally will do so via HWS e-mail and through Announcements on Canvas (see Websites below). You should develop the habit of checking both on a regular basis (I recommend doing so daily).

Guidelines for academic success:
In this course, you are expected to attend three hours of lectures weekly and complete eight hours of homework weekly—reading, writing, and looking—in preparation for those lectures. (This adds up to 45 hours of faculty-led instructional time and 120 hours of homework over the course of the semester.) Attending class regularly and engaging in discussions with me and your peers is important for your learning. If, however, you need to miss a class (for reasons including celebration of your religion, athletic participation, field trips for a different class, or illness), I expect you to notify me as soon as possible.

In addition to the above, you are required to attend five events related to art, Asia, or religion (adding up to five hours of equivalent academic activities total), over the course of the semester. Please consult the Related events schedule on my website and/or on Canvas and plan in accordance with your interests and availability. Alternatively, you may substitute a meeting with me or with Writing Fellows at the Center for Teaching and Learning about your assignments for any of the events.

Those of us meeting in person all share responsibility for the health and safety of all in the classroom environment. In the event that you find yourself experiencing symptoms of illness, I request that you do the following:

Stay home! This is best way to prevent spreading COVID-19 as supported by scientific evidence.
I expect that you will contact me to discuss missed coursework. In the case that you are not able to make up missed coursework by the end of the semester, we will need to consider options that may include a medical withdrawal or incomplete for the semester, which will be done in consultation with your class Dean.

Be assured that I will do what I can to work with students to facilitate their successful completion of the course. I encourage you to contact me if you have questions or concerns.

Course requirements:

Response papers (10%). You will be required to attend and write short responses to five (5) events related to art, Asia, or religion (exhibitions, speakers, films, performances, readings, etc.) before the end of the term. More details to follow. I will maintain a list of such events on my website and/or on Canvas. I grade response paper assignments as follows: A+ (100) for thoughtful commentary; C (75) for a response that suggests some misunderstandings; zero (0) for lack of completion.

Participation (10%). This constitutes responding to questions on the Canvas discussion board and (potentially) short writing assignments. I grade participation periodically, as follows: A (95) for thoughtful commentary that is analytical in nature or synthesizes material from readings and/or other classes; B (85) for answering a prompt briefly; C (75) for a response that suggests some misunderstandings; D (65) for a disruptive or disrespectful response; zero (0) for lack of participation.

Research project (35%), with final paper due Monday, May 1 and related assignments due earlier in the semester. In this project you will focus on a single Buddhist work of art or building. More details to follow.

First test (20%), due Wednesday, May 15. This take-home test covers material from Wednesday, Jan. 25 through Wednesday, Mar. 8.

Second test (25%), due Thursday, May 11, 10:00pm. This take-home test covers material from Friday, Mar. 10 through Friday, May 5.

Format for written work:
Please follow these guidelines for all written assignments.

Type all work in a 12-point font.
Double-space.
Leave one-inch margins on all sides.
Number your pages.
Put your name on every page, and the due date on the first page
Please check that your spelling, grammar and punctuation are correct—these are crucial to effective communication of your ideas. Your grade will drop if you have excessive errors. A Short Guide to Writing about Art has a helpful chapter titled “Manuscript Form.” Read it.
If you cite another source, you must use
a.) either parenthetical references or footnotes as well as
b.) a list of works cited, as explained in The Chicago Manual of Style (https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html), the documentation style typically used by art historians. (See A note about cheating and plagiarism below.) This citation system is explained in A Short Guide to Writing about Art.
Include pictures with captions if appropriate.

You can submit written work via Canvas. Please upload a Microsoft Word document (.doc, .docx) or a Portable Document Format file (.pdf): these are the only formats that Canvas will accept. Alternatively, you can turn in a stapled hard copy, plus copies of any earlier drafts, during the class period. PLEASE NOTE: I do not accept papers via e-mail.

A note about cheating and plagiarism:
I will not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty. It destroys the trust that I have in you to do your best, it is unfair to the other students, and obviously you will not learn anything if you resort to cheating. If I find that you have cheated or plagiarized on a test or on a written assignment, you will receive a zero for the assignment and I will contact the Deans and/or the Committee on Standards about your case. If a case goes to the Committee on Standards, I follow the Committee's recommendation; if it also finds evidence of cheating or plagiarism, the recommendation is usually failure of the course at a minimum.

In accordance with the Colleges’ Academic Policies (https://www.hws.edu/catalogue/policies.aspx) and the Handbook of Community Standards (https://www.hws.edu/offices/campus-life/pdf/community_standards.pdf#search=community%20standards), pp. 9–10, 27–30, I define cheating as giving or receiving assistance on any assignment for this course, including all paper assignments and tests, except as directly authorized by me. The Colleges’ Academic Policies define plagiarism as “the presentation or reproduction of ideas, words, or statements of another person as one’s own, without due acknowledgment.” In application, this means that in any written assignment, you need to cite your sources. When quoting directly from a text—say, five words or more in succession—you need to put those words in quotation marks and include a parenthetical reference or footnote citing the source. When rewriting a passage from a text in your own words, or including information from a text in your paper, you don’t need the quotation marks but you do still need the parenthetical reference or footnote. In addition, all sources that you cite need to be included in a list of works cited at the end of the assignment. If you don’t understand exactly what constitutes plagiarism, or how to use parenthetical references or footnotes, please ask me. I would prefer to explain what it is and how to avoid it before it happens rather than after.

Grading:
Tests and research paper assignments receive numerical grades. Response papers and participation assignments receive letter grades, as described under Course requirements above, or zero (0). If you are unsatisfied with a grade, please prepare a written statement explaining what grade you think you should have received and why, and submit it to me along with the assignment for review.

I mark down three points for each calendar day that an assignment is late. If you think you will need an extension, you should talk to me as early as possible.

My grading scale is as follows:

A+ 97-100	A 93-97	A- 90-93
B+ 87-90	B 83-87	B- 80-83
C+ 77-80	C 73-77	C- 70-73
D+ 67-70	D 63-67	D- 60-63
	F 0-60

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL):
At Hobart and William Smith Colleges, we encourage you to learn collaboratively and to seek the resources that will enable you to succeed. The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is one of those resources: CTL programs and staff help you engage with your learning, accomplish the tasks before you, enhance your thinking and skills, and empower you to do your best. Resources at CTL are many: Teaching Fellows provide content support in 13 departments, Study Mentors help you manage your time and responsibilities, Writing Fellows help you think well on paper, and professional staff help you assess academic needs.

I encourage you to explore these and other CTL resources designed to encourage your very best work. You can talk with me about these resources, visit the CTL office on the 2nd floor of the library to discuss options with the staff, or visit the CTL website: Center for Teaching and Learning | Hobart and William Smith (hws.edu).

The CTL resource that will be most essential in enhancing learning in this course is the Writing Fellows program. Writing Fellows help students develop their writing by providing feedback on essay drafts, offering strategies for the writing process, and enhancing students’ understanding of what good college writing means. In this class, Writing Fellow assistance with our research project will be extremely helpful to you, and I suggest that you make an appointment via StudyHub on the CTL website if you want to receive feedback on any paper draft. To schedule a meeting click here: Log in Appointments (hws.edu).

Disability accommodations:
If you are a student with a disability for which you may need accommodations and are new to our office, you should self-identify for services by logging into the Accommodate Portal, Accommodation Request Intake Form (symplicity.com), and completing the Accommodation Intake Form. Disability-related accommodations and services will be provided when the registration and documentation process is complete. The guidelines for documenting disabilities can be found at the following website: Disability Services | Center for Teaching + Learning | HWS.

Returning students may request their accommodation letter by logging into the Accommodate Portal and requesting semester accommodation letter. Should you need to meet to add or discuss accommodations, please schedule an appointment in the Accommodate Portal (directions are on the website, should you need them: Disability Services | Center for Teaching + Learning | HWS.

Please direct questions about this process or Disability Services at HWS to ctl@hws.edu or x3351. Thom Mascia, Disability Services Administrator & Accommodation Specialist, and Shanelle France, Associate Director of CTL for Disability Services, are the main contact staff for Disability Services.

Websites:
There are two websites for this course: one at my homepage, http://people.hws.edu/blanchard/ARTH253/; and one at Canvas, https://canvas.hws.edu/. This syllabus, paper assignments, and links to online resources for Asian art can be found at both. The Canvas site also has a course calendar, daily handouts, discussions, and an online gradebook; I plan to post presentations there as well.

To use Canvas, log in with your campus username and password. Once you have logged in, you should see, at the left of the screen, a link for Courses you are enrolled in, as well as links for your Account, Dashboard, Calendar, Inbox, Commons, and Help.

It is essential for you to get in the habit of logging into Canvas regularly, as one way I will communicate with the class is via Canvas announcements, and I will post assignments and other course materials there. If you click on the Account link and then on Settings, you can set up Canvas to notify your e-mail or your cell phone about recent activity. I strongly recommend that you set Canvas to send you notifications of announcements ASAP.

For further assistance with Canvas, click on the Help link at the bottom left, and then on “Canvas Resources for Students.” You should look for the Canvas Student Guide (https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/tkb-p/student) or—for visually oriented people—the Video Guide (https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Video-Guide/tkb-p/videos). Alternatively, contact the Help Desk of Instructional Technology through the Client Portal (https://hws.teamdynamix.com/TDClient/1889/Portal/Home/), at x4357, or at helpdesk@hws.edu.

Technology policy:
Some learning materials will be provided via online platforms such as Canvas (regularly) and Zoom (infrequently). Because of this, your access to a strong internet connection regularly is imperative to your success. I understand that we do not all have access to the same set of resources when not on campus. If this requirement sets up a currently unattainable goal for you, please contact me, your Dean, or the Office of Academic and Faculty Affairs for additional assistance.

Because this class may occasionally use Zoom, please be sure you have Zoom installed on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Zoom classes may not be recorded or distributed by anyone other than me, the instructor. Below are tips for participating in a Zoom session:

join the meeting early and test speaker, microphone, and camera settings;
keep speakers away from microphones to avoid feedback;
mute your microphones upon entry to the meeting; and
do not join a meeting from multiple devices.

I encourage you to bring a laptop or tablet with you to class as it may be useful to you in note-taking, but please remember: using personal electronic devices in the classroom can also be a distraction for you and for other students. Therefore,

please silence notifications on all devices so that your work is not interrupted;
please be respectful and do not use your devices for non-class related tasks, such as social media; and
please minimize device use during whole-class, in-person discussions.

Electronic video and/or audio recording is not permitted during class unless you obtain permission from me. If permission is granted, any distribution of the recording is prohibited.

Please let me know if there are reasons you cannot follow the above guidelines.

Intellectual property statement:
My course materials, including this syllabus, lectures, presentations, tests, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. I am the exclusive owner of copyright for those materials that I create. I encourage you to take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not, however, reproduce or distribute notes or course materials publicly without my express written consent, nor may you knowingly allow others to do so. This includes providing materials to commercial course material suppliers such as CourseHero, Chegg, and other similar services. Students who publicly distribute or display copies or modified copies of an instructor’s course materials, or help others to do so, may be in violation of Hobart and William Smith Colleges’ policies on intellectual responsibility, found in the Handbook of Community Standards, pp. 9–10.