LARS2080

This class will provide an introduction to Buddhist art and philosophy with a focus on the Himalayas and China. After a discussion of early Buddhist art in India, we will trace its transmission and evolution as it traveled across the Silk Road. Major topics will include the development of esoteric Buddhism in Tibet, Buddhism's evolution in China under the Mongols, and how Buddhist iconography was used in Ming and Qing painting as a tool of personal and political expression. In addition to reading original Buddhist texts, the class will actively utilize the work of modern scholars including Craig Clunas, Jonathan Hay, Wen Fong, Wu Hung, and Denis Cosgrove. In-class lectures will be supplemented with museum/gallery trips, where we will carefully work to provide context and meaning to a wide range of Buddhist art, including statues, frescoes, Chinese ink paintings and calligraphy, and maps.