Buddha in the Big City:
Religion and Modernization in Shanghai and Bangkok
Instructors:
Dr. Chris Paskewich, Government
Dr. Kyle David Anderson, Chinese
Course Description and Objectives:
A voyage abroad to investigate how China and Thailand's rich religious and cultural pasts are being shared
with an increasingly postindustrial present.
Students will study and recreate layouts of Shanghai and Bangkok,
including religious landmarks, parks, waterways, modern architecture, etc., and follow the daily rituals of local monks, lay people and tourists that reshape and complicate the purposes of these Asian mega-cities. We will also explore spaces
outside the city centers that are crucial to the definition of the urban area:
rural temples and monasteries, plantations, slums, westernized satellite malls,
beaches, etc. Special focus will be placed on how China and Thailand are adapting traditional Buddhist practices, socio-political structures and spaces to the radical
demands of national development and globalization in the 21st century.
20 DAY ITINERARY:
China: Shanghai
20 DAY ITINERARY:
China: Shanghai
Thailand: Bangkok-Chiang Mai
Required Texts:
· Shahid Yusuf, Postindustrial East Asian Cities. ISBN: 9780821356227
· Yoshiko Ashiwa. Making Religion, Making the State.
ISBN: 9780804758420
· Donald K. Swearer, The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia.
ISBN: 978-1438432502
· Ross King. Reading Bangkok. ISBN: 9781438432502
Assignments and Grading:
· Field Journal for Individual Mapping Projects 25%
· Opening Exam (on Yusuf, Swearer) 25%
· Presentations 15%
· Reading quizzes (on King and Ashiwa) 10%
· Research paper 25%
JAN3 Depart
Lexington for Shanghai
4 Arrive
in Shanghai—Welcome dinner at Sapar Uyghur Restaurant
5 The
Bund and Pudong—East-West Architectural Fusion
6 Nanshi
(the Old City) and Buddhist Temple Visits
7 The
People’s Square and Museum Visits
8 The
Boulevards: Nanjing and Huaihai Lu
9 European
Satellite Cities
10 Fengjing
Old Town
11 Depart
for Bangkok—tour of Khao San Road
11 Temples
visits—Wat Arun, Wat Mahathat, Wat Pho
12 Temples
visits—Wat Saket, Wat Traimit, Wat Sutat
13 Overnight
stay at Monastery Wat Ambhavan
14 Commercial
districts—Chidlom, Sukhumvit, Ratchaprasong
15 Day
trip—Ko Samet National Park
16 Government
and museums visits—Grand Palace, National Museum
17 Depart
for Chiang Mai (train)
18 Temple
visits—Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, Wat Umong, Wat Gate
19 Doi
Inthanon National Park
20 Return
to Bangkok
JAN21 Return to Lexington
