1633002Indological Studies (Special Lectures)

Numbering Code G-LET13 61633 LJ36 Year/Term 2022 ・ First semester
Number of Credits 2 Course Type special lecture
Target Year Target Student
Language English Day/Period Tue.2
Instructor name VASUDEVA,Somdev (Graduate School of Letters Professor)
Outline and Purpose of the Course This course is designed as a general introduction to the theory and practice of Indian aesthetics. It provides two things: 1) a historiographic survey of the most influential authors, works, and theories; and 2) a narrative account of the major debates and disputes that led to specific evolutions of doctrine and practice.
Course Goals Students will be introduced to different styles of scholarship and different methods of analysis current in South Asian studies. The aim is to familiarise students with topics of ongoing debate and to provide them with tools to meaningfully engage with newly emerging literature.
Schedule and Contents Week 1 What is our goal? Introduction to the sources and languages.
Week 2 The challenge of South Asian polyglossia, heteroglossia and hyperglossia. What is the point of historiography? How can we periodize and localize South Asia?
Week 3 Bharata’s Natyasastra, The Foundational Text, Theatre, Dance, Music, Poetry and Other Arts
Week 4 Early Development of the Rasa Theory
Week 5 The Early Rhetoricians: Bhamaha and Dandin
Week 6 Competing Categories I: Vamana and his Virtues; Defects; Textures; Styles
Week 7 Competing Categories II: Rudrata and the Systematisation of Ornaments of Sound, Sense, and Both
Week 8 Competing Categories III: Anandavardhana and the New Paradigm: Denotation, Implication, Suggestion, Sentiment
Week 9 The Synthesizers: Bhoja and Mammata
Week 10 Ruyyaka and the Epistemology of Aesthetics
Week 11 Sobhakara's Modal Aesthetics
Week 12 Aesthetics as Theology: Visvanatha, Simhabhupala and the Bhakti Movements
Week 13 Aesthetics and the New Style of Philosophy: Appayadiksita and Jagannatha
Week 14 The Unexpected Return of Figurative Poetry
Week 15 Concluding Summary
Evaluation Methods and Policy In class, discussion and contextualization of the assigned readings (40%).One response paper to the discussions of the readings (30%). Homework (30%).
Course Requirements Regular reading of assigned work and participation in the group discussions.
Study outside of Class (preparation and review) The participants are expected to attend every class. The weekly readings of the short sections should take about one hour of preparation for each class.
References, etc. Introduced during class
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