Five College Buddhist Studies

Introduction
Buddhism began in India some two and a half millennia ago. Since that time it has evolved through a number of transformations and has been transmitted to numerous cultures. Buddhism has had a great impact upon the lives of individuals and the development of societies, and it has made many contributions to various spheres of culture, e.g., to art, literature, philosophy, and religion.

The Five Colleges provide an excellent environment in which to study Buddhism, with one of the largest concentrations of scholars of Buddhist Studies in the United States: collectively, we enable students to study most of the major Buddhist traditions. In addition to our many Junior Year Abroad and other extended study programs in Asia, our academic exchange program with the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in India offers a unique opportunity for our students to study with eminent Tibetan scholars.

The Five College Buddhist Certificate might be pursued in conjunction with a major in philosophy, religious studies, anthropology, Asian studies, or another field to which Buddhist Studies is directly relevant. However, it might also be used to support studies in a very different field, such as law, one of the social sciences, or studies in the arts or humanities. Students who enter this program will benefit from the structure it provides and from advising by program faculty, enabling them to take full advantage of the resources offered in the valley beyond their individual colleges.

Requirements
Important Note For May 2008 Graduates: You must submit your certificate application (see link below) by 2:00 pm, May 1st, to the faculty advisor at your campus (see list below)

Because Buddhist Studies is an interdisciplinary field - straddling anthropology, art history, Asian studies, history, language study, literary and textual studies, philosophy, and religious studies - students are often unaware of the integrity of the field or of the range of resources available for its study in the valley.

Each student pursuing the Buddhist Studies certificate will choose, in consultation with the Buddhist Studies advisor at his/her college, a course of study comprising no fewer than seven courses. At least five of these courses should be drawn from the Buddhist Studies courses listed on the website (list subject to modification from year to year). Two others may be drawn from this list or may be chosen from elsewhere in the Five Colleges to support the student’s Buddhist Studies program from other disciplinary perspectives. Each proposed course of study must be approved by the coordinating committee for the Buddhist Studies certificate.

For students who may wish to pursue a certificate in Buddhist Studies as preparation for graduate study in this field, we strongly recommend the study of at least one canonical language (Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese, or Tibetan) and/or the modern language of at least one Buddhist culture (especially for those who have an ethnographic interest in Buddhism). Up to two courses in a relevant language can count towards the certificate, although we strongly encourage these students to continue language study beyond the first-year level. Language study is not required, however.

Students at all four colleges and the University are eligible for the program.

List of Requirements:

(1) The certificate comprises at least seven courses, at least one of which must be at an advanced level (200 or 300 at Hampshire, 300 or above at Mt Holyoke, Smith, or UMass; comparable upper-level courses at Amherst).

(2) Students must take at least one course in three different disciplines of Buddhist Studies (anthropology, art history, Asian studies, philosophy, religious studies, etc.).

(3) Students must take at least one course addressing classical Buddhism and one course addressing contemporary Buddhist movements (19th-21st Century), and they must study Buddhism in at least two of the following three geographical areas: South and Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Tibeto-Himalayan region.

(4) Up to two canonical or appropriate colloquial Asian language courses may count towards the certificate.

(5) Students must receive a grade of at least "B" in each course counting towards the certificate.

(6) Courses must be of three credit-hours or more to count towards the certificate.

(7) Courses taken abroad or outside the Five Colleges may count towards the certificate only if they would be approved for credit towards the major in the appropriate department of the student's home institution.

(8) Exceptions to these requirements by petition.

Interested students should contact the faculty coordinator at their campus to enroll in the program: Amherst - Maria Heim, mailto:mrheim@amherst.edu Hampshire - Ryan Joo, mailto:bsjHA@hampshire.edu Mt Holyoke - Susanne Mrozik, mailto:smrozik@mtholyoke.edu Smith - Jamie Hubbard, mailto:jhubbard@smith.edu University of Massachusetts - Reiko Sono, mailto:rsono@asianlan.umass.edu

Five College Buddhist Studies Certificate Application

Regularly Offered Courses
Partial List of Buddhist Studies Courses Offered in Recent Years:

Sue Darlington, Hampshire College


 * SS (100-level): Buddhism and Society in Asia (co-taught with Ryan Joo)
 * SS 277: Socially Engaged Buddhism

Jay L. Garfield, Smith College


 * Phil. 252: Buddhist Studies: Madhyamaka and Yogacara
 * Phil. 260: Hermeneutics: Meaning and Interpretation

Peter Gregory, Smith College


 * Rel 260: Intro to Buddhist Thought
 * Rel 263a: Zen (in China &amp; Japan)
 * Rel 263b: Zen (in America)
 * Rel 266: Buddhism in America
 * Rel 360: Seminar in Buddhist Studies

Maria Heim, Amherst College


 * Rel. 23/ASCL 15: Buddhism in Theory and Practice
 * Rel. 27/ASCL 58: Buddhist Ethics
 * Rel. 26/ASCL 59: Theravada Buddhism
 * Rel. 71/ASCL 31: Buddhist Literary Cultures (co-taught with Paola Zamperini)

Jamie Hubbard, Smith College


 * Rel 271 Buddhism in Contemporary Japan
 * Rel 270 Buddhism in Pre-Modern Japan
 * Rel 110 Buddhism, Politics, and Society (The Politics of Enlightenment)
 * Rel 290 Chinese Buddhist Texts
 * Rel 360 Enlightenment 101 (seminar)
 * Rel 110 Poetry as Contemplation

Ryan Joo, Hampshire College


 * HACU (100 leve): Buddhism in Society in Asian (co-taught with Sue Darlington)
 * HACU (200 level): Studying Buddhism through Material Objects
 * HACU (200 level): Decoding Zen Buddhism: Philosophy, Practice and History
 * HACU 249: Introduction to the Buddhist Meditation Tradition
 * HACU 222: Introduction to Chinese Religions
 * HACU 323: When East Meets West and Vice Versa: Buddhism During the Colonial Period

Susanne Mrozik, Mt. Holyoke College


 * REL 326 Buddhism in the Pioneer Valley
 * REL 263 Intro to Buddhism
 * REL 241 Women and Buddhism
 * REL 267 Buddhist Lit from Ginsberg to Gautama
 * REL 267 Heroes, Heroines, and Villains: An Intro to Buddhist Ethics

Andy Rotman, Smith College


 * REL 275: Religious History of India: Ancient to Medieval
 * REL 276: Religious History of India: Medieval to Modern

Reiko Sono, UMass Amherst


 * JAPANESE 197C Intro to Japanese Religion

NOTE: This listing does not include language courses on each campus that you might be interested in.

Faculty
Amherst College

Maria Heim, Religion, mailto:mrheim@amherst.edu 542-8475

Sam Morse, Fine Arts, Asian Languages and Civilizations, mailto:scmorse@amherst.edu 542-2282

Hampshire College

Susan Darlington, School of Social Science (Anthropology), mailto:sdarlington@hampshire.edu 559-5498

Alan Hodder, School of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies (Comparative Religion), mailto:ahodder@hampshire.edu 559-5747

Ryan Joo, School of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies mailto:bsjHA@hampshire.edu 559-5589

Mt. Holyoke College

Susanne Mrozik, Religion, mailto:smrozik@mtholyoke.edu 538-2721

Indira Peterson, Asian Studies, mailto:ipeterso@mtholyoke.edu 538-2376

Ajay Sinha, Art and Art History, mailto:asinha@mtholyoke.edu 538-2473

Smith College

Ravinna Aggarwal, Anthropology, mailto:raggarwa@smith.edu 585-3513

Jay Garfield, Philosophy, mailto:jgarfield@smith.edu 585-3649

Peter Gregory, Religion, mailto:pgregory@smith.edu 585-3304

Jamie Hubbard, Religion, mailto:jhubbard@smith.edu 585-3449

Marylin Rhie, Art History, mailto:mrhie@smith.edu 585-3138

Andrew Rotman, Religion, mailto:arotman@smith.edu 585-3348

University of Massachusetts

Alvin Cohen, Asian Languages and Literatures (emeritus), mailto:cohen@asianlan.umass.edu 545-4954

Donald Gjertson, Asian Languages and Literatures, mailto:djgertson@asianlan.umass.edu 545-4957

Lucien Miller, Asian Languages and Literatures (emeritus), mailto:lmiller@complit.umass.edu 545-0832

Reiko Sono, Asian Languages and Literatures, mailto:rsono@asianlan.umass.edu 545-4947