• Course Description and Objectives
• Teaching Method
• Evaluation Method
• Reading Materials
• Syllabus

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Buddha Sakyamuni says in the Mahaparinibbana-sutta: “There are four places, Ananda, which the believing man should visit with feelings of reverence and awe. Which are the four? The place at which…the Tathagata was born…, the place at which…the Tathagata attained enlightenment…, the place at which…the Tathagata set up the wheel of the dharma…, and the place at which…the Tathagata passed away.” The Hindu Epic Mahabharata presents a grand tour of circular journey of the country of Bharata, thus proclaiming a nation-wide pilgrimage network system in ancient India.

In this course, we will explore the Indian way of pilgrimage by studying different sacred sites in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions of South Asia . Some of the questions we will ask include: What motives and objectives drive pilgrims of different religious traditions to undertake arduous pilgrimages in South Asia ? What do they see/experience through their pilgrimages? We will explore South Asian pilgrimage practices in the context of current theories of pilgrimage including sacred/profane dichotomy and “normative communitas.” One of the fascinating dimensions of pilgrimage, which we will examine, is the way in which common themes can be discerned in the characteristically colorful and striking diversity of pilgrimage practices in South Asia.

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• This course is conducted in a seminar-style with short lectures and at least one hour of class discussion every week.
• PowerPoint lectures are designed to give you a broader perspective of course themes and some background knowledge to major issues/concepts of the readings for the week.
• Introduces to phenomenological, anthropological and sociological aspects of Indian pilgrimage.

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• Class attendance is mandatory. Absences are not excused except in the cases of severe health problems or a death in the family. A documented medical illness is required in the case of class absence. The same rule also applies to athletes who need to provide a note from athletic trainer in case if they are not able to attend class due to their engagement in a sporting event. In both cases, students are required to hand in their weekly writing assignments in advance.
• This is a 300-level intensive course, which involves reading and reflecting of course materials as well as raising questions and writing thoughtful response papers.
• Weekly response papers are about 2-3 pages long. Students are expected to write a total of 8 response papers, one for each week. These response papers should be focused on major aspects and critical issues of the readings for the week.
• Participation: In-class discussion is an important component of the course. All students are expected to come to every class prepared to talk about the day’s reading assignment. Each student group will take pre-arranged, rotating turns at discussion leadership. A discussion leader gives a brief presentation (about 5 minutes) to open the discussion of designed readings. This brief presentation is not a summary, but more of an oral response. Its main purpose is to initiate a general discussion and to raise critical questions among the class.
• Seminar Paper : Each student will write a seminar paper about 15 pages in length. A two-page draft proposal (w/ bibliography) for the seminar paper is due in week 5. The final paper is due on March 14.
• Class Conference: Students are also expected to give a 15-minute presentation of their topic on March 14.
• The break down of course grade is as follows:

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The following required readings for the course are available for purchase at Norris Book Store. In addition, a course packet (referred to as “CR” in the class schedule) is available for purchase at Quartet Copies, 818 Clark Street.

• Jonathan Z. Smith, To Take Place : Toward Theory in Ritual (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987).
• David Haberman, Journey through the Twelve Forests: An Encounter with Krishna (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994).
• Christopher Justice, Dying the Good Death: The Pilgrimage to Die in India’s Holy City (Albany: SUNY Press, 1997).
• D. B. Mokashi, Palkhi: An Indian Pilgrimage (Albany: SUNY Press, 1987).
• Ann Grodzins Gold, Fruitful Journeys: The Ways of Rajasthan Pilgrims (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988).
• Diana L. Eck, Banaras City of Light (New York: Alfred A. Knoft, 1982).
• A Course Reader.

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Week 1 (1/5) Introduction to the course

• Lecture: Pilgrimage in World Cultures

Week 2 (1/12) Ritual Theories and Terminology: General

• Lecture: Interdisciplinary approaches to the study of pilgrimage
• J. Z Smith, To Take Place : Toward Theory in Ritual.
• Victor Turner, “Pilgrimages as Social Processes,” in Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1974), pp. 166-230. CR

Week 3 (1/19) Hindu, Buddhist and Jain Pilgrimage Traditions: Paradigms and Terminology

• Lecture: Pilgrimage in the Indian Context CR
• Simon Coleman and John Elsner, “Divinity Diffused: Pilgrimage in the Indian Religions,” in Pilgrimage: Past and Present in World Religions (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1995), pp. 136-169.
• Diana L. Eck, “ India ’s Tirthas: ‘Crossings’in Sacred Geography,” History of Religions 20:4 (May. 1981), pp. 323-344.
• Agehananda Bharati, “Pilgrimage Sites and Indian Civilization,” in Joseph W. Elder, ed., Chapters in Indian Civilization, vol. 1 (Dubuque: Kendall, Hunt, 1970), pp. 83-100.
• Nancy Falk, “To Gaze on the Sacred Traces,” History of Religions 16:4 (May, 1977), pp. 281-293.

Week 4 (1/126) Cultural Geography, Shared and Contested Geography

1. Lecture: Gods and Goddesses of India. CR
2. Diana L. Eck, “Following Rama, Worshipping Siva,” in Diana Eck and Francoise Mallison, eds., Devotion Divine: Bhakti Traditions from the Regions of India , pp. 49-71.
3. Simon Coleman and John Elsner, “Translating the Sacred: Patterns of Pilgrimage in the Buddhist World,” in Pilgrimage: Past and Present in World Religions (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1995), pp. 170-195.
4. Roger Friedland and Richard Hecht, “The Bodies of Nations: A Comparative Study of Religious Violence in Jerusalem and Ayodhya,” History of Religions 38:2 (1998), pp. 101-149
5. Peter van derVeer, Gods on Earth: The Management of Religious Experience and Identity in a North Indian Pilgrimage Center (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989), chapters 1-2, pp. 1-65.
6. Diana L. Eck, Banaras, chapter 7.

Week 5 (2/2) A Pilgrim’s Journey: The Exterior and the Interior Landscapes

• Lecture: Typology of Pilgrimage Journeys
• David Haberman, Journey through the Twelve Forests.
• Diana L. Eck, Banaras, chapters 3 & 4.

Week 6 (2/9) Cosmology and Sacred Geography

• Lecture: The Concepts of Macrocosm and Microcosm. [CR]
• Diana L. Eck, “The Imagined Landscape: Patterns in the Construction of Hindu sacred geography,” in Eds. Veena Das, Dipankar Gupta and Patricia Uberoi, Tradition, Pluralism and Identity, (New Delhi: Sage Publications, 1999), pp. 23-46.
• Prabhavati C. Reddy, “The Lotus Pilgrimage at Srisailam,” a shortened version of third chapter of a forthcoming book entitled, Temple Hinduism: Custodianship, Cultural Politics, and Religious Identity in South India.
• Martin Brauen, “Outer Mandala: The Cosmos,” in Martin Brauen, The Mandala, Sacred Circle in Tibetan Buddhism, (Boston: Shambhala, 1997), pp. 18-50.

Week 7 (2/16) Pilgrimage and Death

• Lecture: Sraddha Rites at Pilgrimage Places
• Christopher Justice, Dying the Good Death: The Pilgrimage to Die in India’s Holy City, pp. 1-110. OR
• Ann Grodzins Gold, Fruitful Journeys, chapter 4: “Sinking Flowers: Ganga Ma and Peace for the Dead,” pp. 190-261
• Diana L. Eck, Banaras, chapters 5, 8, 9.

Week 8 (2/23) Replication and Transposition: Buddhist

• Lecture: Sacred Buddhist Sites in South and Southeast Asia [CR]
• John C. Huntington, “Sowing the Seeds of the Lotus: A Journey to the Great Pilgrimage Sites of Buddhism,” part 1, Orientations 16:11 (Nov. 1985), pp. 46-61.
• Koichi Shinohara, “The Story of the Buddha’s Begging Bowl: Imaging a Biography and Sacred Places,” in Phyllis Granoff and Koichi Shinohara, eds., Pilgrims, Patrons, and Place: Localizing Sanctity in Asian Religions, ( Toronto : UBC Press, 2003), pp. 68-107.
• Charles F. Keyes, “ Buddhist Pilgrimage Centers and the Twelve-Year Cycle: Northern Thai Moral Orders in Space and Time,” History of Religions 15:1 (Aug. 1975), pp. 71-89.

Week 9 (3/1) Replication and Transposition: Hindu

• *Lecture: Global Spiritualism: Kumbha Mela Festival(s)
• Video: “Pilgrimage to Pittsburgh”
• D. B. Mokashi, Palkhi: An Indian Pilgrimage, introductory chapters by Philip C. Engblom and Eleanor Zelliot (pp. 1-54), and Mokashi’s salutation and chapters 1, 10, and 12 (pp. 59-101, 217-240, 263-277)
• John Stratton Hawley, “Global Hinduism in Gotham,” in Tony Carnes and Yang Fenggang, eds., Asian American Religion: Borders and Boundaries ( New York : New York University Press, forthcoming. [CR]

Week 10 (3/8-13) Reading Period

Week 11 (3/15) Class Conference and Seminar paper due.

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