Ph.D. Program in Asian Religions
Assistant
Director of Graduate Studies: Phyllis Granoff (Fall 2010) / Andrew Quintman (Spring 2011)
Teaching Group in Asian Religions: Phyllis
Granoff, Andrew Quintman, Koichi Shinohara
Description of Program
Requirements
Faculty Resources
Courses
Religious Studies
Linguistics
History of Art
History
East Asian Language and Culture
Qualifying Exams
Dissertation Proposal
Dissertation
Contact Information
Description of the Program
The goal of the program is to train scholars and teachers of Asian religions with a primary competence in one tradition and geographical focus and a strong secondary competence in another Asian religion and geographical focus. For the primary focus the program is broadly divided into two main areas: East Asian religions (Chinese and Japanese Buddhism; indigenous traditions) and Indian religions (Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism). Koichi Shinohara is responsible for East Asian religions and Phyllis Granoff for Indian religions. Students may also select Tibetan religion as their secondary focus under the guidance of Andrew Quintman.
Students will do their thesis work in one area, while also taking courses in the second area. Thus a student doing thesis work on Chinese or Japanese Buddhism is expected to take courses on Indian and/or Tibetan religions, and a student concentrating on India will do some advanced course work on East Asian Buddhism. The intention is to allow students to have a broad acquaintance with developments in the study of Asian religions in general in addition to the more in-depth work required for research.
Requirements
Students are encouraged to study issues in their selected area in the larger context of Asian religions as a whole and in a broad cultural context, which embraces the study of history, literature, and art. In addition to the departmental languages, French and German, students are required to be proficient in the language of the texts of their chosen tradition and the necessary research languages. Those studying Chinese or Japanese Buddhism will be required to have proficiency in both Chinese and Japanese; some knowledge of Sanskrit is strongly recommended. Students of Indian Buddhism will be required to know Sanskrit and Pali and Tibetian; some knowledge of Chinese or Japanese is recommended. Students of Jainism will be required to know Ardhamagadhi and Sanskrit, The minimal language requirement for a student of Hinduism is proficiency in Sanskrit; other language requirements will depend on the topic of thesis research.
Students are strongly encouraged to take a course outside the field of Asian religions in any of the other fields offered in the department. They are also encouraged to take courses outside the department, for example in the departments of History of Art, History, East Asian languages and literature, and Linguistics, and to prepare one of their comprehensive examinations under the direction of faculty in one of these departments.
Faculty Resources
Related faculty in other Departments:
• Valerie Hansen (History)
• Stanley Insler (Linguistics)
• Edward Kamens (East Asian Languages and Culture)
• Mimi Yiengpruksawan (History of Art)
Courses
Religious Studies
Doctrinal and Philosophical Writings in Indian Religions: Selected Readings. Granoff
Studying Ritual in Indian Religions: Selected Readings. Granoff
Monasticism in Indian Religions: Selected Readings. Granoff
The Study of Chan / Zen Buddhism: Sources and methodological issues. Shinohara
Studying Ritual in East Asia: selected readings. Shinohara
Buddhist Monastic Life in Medieval China: selected readings. Shinohara
Doctrinal Writings in East Asian Buddhism: selected readings. Shinohara
Linguistics
Elementary Sanskrit. Insler
Brahmanas and Upanisads. Insler
Sanskrit Epics. Insler
Pali. Insler
Elementary Hindi. Khurana
Intermediate and Advanced Hindi. Khurana
Introductory Tamil. Annamalai
History of Art
Buddhist Iconography. Yiengpruksawan
Zen and the Arts of East Asia. Yienpruksawan
History
Basic Texts of Confucianism. Ann-ping Ching
Issues in Tang, Song, and Yuan History. Hansen
Social History of the Chinese Silk Road. Hansen
East Asian Languages and Culture
Introduction to Literary Japanese. Kamens
Readings in Literary Japanese. Kamens
Readings in Premodern Japanese Literature. Kamens
The Textual and Visual Culture of Heian Japan. Kamens and Yiengpruksawan
Introduction to Literary Chinese.Stimson
Intermediate Literary Chinese. Stimson
Qualifying Exams
The qualifying examinations in Asian religions are taken after the conclusion of required course work and must be completed before admission to candidacy. Ordinarily students take the examinations in the third year of residence. Preparation for the qualifying examination is comprised of a combination of course work and supplementary individual readings. The examination is not meant to test the students’ ability as a research scholar. This is done by course work, research papers, and the dissertation. Passing the qualifying exam is only one requirement of all students seeking the PhD, but it is not the only requirement, nor is it the most important. The dissertation is. This must be kept in mind when preparing for the examination.
The qualifying examination for students in Asian religions will involve two parts. For the first part students will select a text or passage of a text and write a detailed and scholarly introduction and commentary based on a close reading of the primary sources. This will be followed by an oral presentation of the written document to a committee consisting of the teaching members of the Asian religions sub-field.
The second part consists of three written examinations. These examinations may be taken in conjunction with advanced graduate course work in Religious Studies. With the approval of their supervisor, students may complete one or more of the examinations with faculty members outside the department. The exact topics for the examinations are to be worked out with teaching members of the Asian sub-field by the end of the student’s first year. This will enable students who wish to do so to complete an examination in conjunction with course work. An examination may consist of a set of papers or one long paper. The exact form of the examinations should be determined at the same time as the topics are set.
Suggested areas include:
- Scripture and doctrinal exegesis in Asia.
- Monastic life; sectarianism and historiography in Asia
- Ritual and magic in Asia
- Indian literature
- Indian art and archaeology
- Chinese or Japanese history
- Chinese or Japanese literature
- Chinese or Japanese art history
- Sanskrit language and linguistics
- Tibetan history and literature
Dissertation Proposal
The dissertation prospectus is prepared following the completion of the qualifying exams. Students normally submit a dissertation prospectus and have a colloquium on the prospectus no later than the first semester of their fourth year. The prospectus is developed in consultation with the faculty, and submitted to the teaching group in the field, who meet with the student for a two-hour colloquium to assess the scope, significance, and feasibility of the topic and the student's preparation to accomplish it in a reasonable time. The prospectus itself ordinarily should include a statement of the precise nature of the topic, its significance, its relationship to previous work, and the method and sources to be employed. After approval by the teaching group, a two-page summary of the prospectus is submitted to the entire graduate faculty in Religious Studies and thence, if none object, to the Dean of the Graduate School. Once accepted this prospectus becomes the basis for the eventual assessment of the completed dissertation. After acceptance of the prospectus, the student is admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D.
Dissertation
Students normally begin writing their dissertation in the fourth year and normally will have finished by the end of the sixth. The completed dissertation must be evaluated in writing and approved by a committee of three readers and the departmental faculty. There is no oral examination on the dissertation.
Contact Information
The
Department of Religious Studies
P.O. Box 208287
451 College Street
New Haven, CT 06520-8287
Phone: (203) 432-0828
koichi.shinohara@yale.edu
