HISTORY OF KOREAN PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIONS 1

This class presents an overview of Korean philosophy and religions in Korean history from the ancient period to the late 19th century. This class covers diverse religious and philosophical topics such as shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity (mostly Catholics) within the historical context. Thus this class will show that Korean religions and philosophy in pre-modern Korean history forms a universal world heritage, a topic that has worth studying. Thus, in this class, we will probe the historical trajectory of Korean experiences in terms of religions and philosophies with the comparative perspectives. Students are expected to participate in lively discussions with careful reading of weekly assigned materials (mostly secondary sources), and to enjoy the original thoughts of Koreans in religions and philosophies.

Students are expected to understand Korean traditional thoughts and religions well. Thus, this class will upgrade students' cultural competency.

No specific prerequisites for the class. However,class attendance & informed and active participation in the discussion are strongly encouraged).

Week 1, Introduction to Course: Why we study Korean religions and philosophies?
Week 2, Traditional Philosophy, Thoughts and Modern Society
Week 3, Korean Indigenous Ideas: Understanding of Shamanism
Week 4, Geomancy or P’ungsu
Week 5, Ancient Korea and Introduction of Buddhism
Week 6, Buddhism and Indigenous Religions in Ancient Korea, and Cultural Relations among East Asia
Week 7, Korean Buddhism in Medieval Koryŏ Dynasty I: Buddhism and State
Week 8, Korean Buddhism in Medieval Koryŏ Dynasty II: Buddhism and Society
Week 9, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Founding of the Chosŏn Dynasty
Week 10, Neo-Confucianism and Chosŏn Dynasty (I): Social Change and Continuity
Week 11, Neo-Confucianism and Chosŏn Dynasty (II): Social Change and Continuity
Week 12: Silhak (Practical Learning) Movement
Week 13, Catholicism, Its Spread, and Persecution
Week 14, Tonghak Movement in Late Chosŏn Korea
Week 15, Protestantism and Korean Traditional Religions/ Concluding Remarks

Several Articles and Book Chapters, uploaded in the Moodle. Further non-compulsory readings will be presented during the lectures and made available on Moodle.

3 hour wirtten exam in January, 2020 (25 short questions and two essay questions)

The instructor will deliver a traditional lecture but we will have a Q&A session in each class. Also many powerpoint slides and video clips will be used. Presentations are available on the moodle platform.

English

Bring many questions!
See: "moodle" for powerpoint presentations of the lessons, syllabus and further materials. Please refer to e-journal sources for your research in http://muse.jhu.edu or http://www.jstore.org .

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Climate change and energy" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development