Asian Studies 2279
Three credit course, May 27 - June 17, 2009
Offered during the three week session.
Course Description
This course is an overview of Buddhist traditions in America. We will focus on a three fold division of
Buddhist communities in America: 1) Buddhist communities established by Asian teachers with predominantly
western community members; 2) Buddhist communities established to serve the needs of immigrant communities
arriving from traditionally Buddhist cultures; and 3) Buddhist communities established by refugee communities.
While these three types of communities overlap and interact with one another in creative (and sometimes conflicting)
ways, our class will explore how these three different methods of arrival and establishment of Buddhist traditions
in North America have influenced the decisions these communities make as they adapt Buddhism to a new cultural setting.
We will also look at the writings of several thinkers who deal with the multi-cultural nature of American religious
life, including Buddhism in the community of American religions in the twenty-first century. The course will
include several films dealing with Buddhism in America and a trip to a regional Buddhist center. There are no
pre-requisites for this class.
The course is taught by Professor
Jane Marie Law, Associate Professor of Japanese Religions in the
Department of Asian Studies at Cornell University. For more information regarding the content of the
course, please e-mail her at jml16@cornell.edu.
Registration
The tuition for this three credit course is $2,710. All tuition must be paid in full before the
beginning of the three week session. Students must register through the Registrar's
office at the School of
Continuing Education and Summer Sessions
B20 Day Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-2801
Telephone: (607) 255-4987
Fax: (607) 255-9697
E-mail: cusce@cornell.edu
