Graduate Religious Studies: Religion and Culture in South and East Asia --- The University of Iowa

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Religion and Culture in Asia

This program is designed to provide students with broad competence in the history of East and South Asian religions, and with rigorous training in their chosen subfields. Possible fields of concentration are Chinese and Japanese religions, Buddhism, and South Asian religions. The requirements of study for each of these fields are specified below.

1. Course Requirements

In addition to meeting the department's general requirements for the Ph.D. in Religion [Teaching Religious Studies (32:201), Asian Religious Traditions (32:202), Western Religious Traditions (32:203), and Methods and Theories in the Study of Religion (32:205)], students in this area must take Anthropology of Religion 32:165 (113:142) and extra-departmental courses pertinent to their chosen fields, as follows:

A. Chinese and Japanese religions
Note: Students in this field are expected to specialize in either Chinese or Japanese religions, and to acquire secondary expertise in the religious history or culture of the alternate area. All students in this field must accordingly take courses pertinent to both Chinese and Japanese religions, and must gain acquaintance with the major religious traditions of East Asia (Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist, Shinto, and popular ideas and practices).

At least one of the following must be included among the student’s coursework. Courses should be chosen in consultation with the student’s advisers:

16W:196 Modern China 1600s-1920s
16W:198 Modern China Since 1927
16W:291 Seminar: Modern Chinese History
16W:292 Readings in Chinese History
16W:172 Japan in the Age of Samurai
16W:173 Modern Japan
16W:294 Readings: Japanese History

Students in this area are also required to take one course in the literature, cinema, or art history of China and/or Japan, to be determined in consultation with their faculty advisers.

B. Buddhism
Students of Buddhism must take one course or seminar in Asian history and one course in literature, cinema, or art history of Asia. The identity of these courses will be determined in consultation with the student’s adviser, based on the geographical and cultural contexts of their special area of study.

C. South Asian Religions
Students must take one of the following courses:

16W:194 Imperialism and Modern India
16:295 Readings in the History of India

Students in this field are also required to take one course in the literature or art history of South Asia, to be determined in consultation with their faculty advisers.

2. Language requirements

In addition to attaining reading competence in either French or German, students must complete the following language requirements. Doctoral students are urged to take intensive language courses in the summer whenever possible, so as to complete their requirements in a timely fashion.

A. Chinese and Japanese Religions
Students whose primary field of specialization is Chinese religions must complete at least three years of modern Chinese and achieve reading competence in literary Chinese (about two years) of study. Those who study premodern Chinese religious culture must also attain competence in modern Japanese at the third-year level or above.

Students who specialize in Japanese religions must complete four years of modern Japanese or the equivalent, and at least one year of classical Japanese (bungo). Those who specialize in premodern Japanese religious culture must also attain competence in Sino-Japanese (kanbun).

B. Buddhism
Depending on the student’s subfield within the area of Buddhist studies, study of Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, and/or Japanese may be required. (Study of Theravada Buddhism and/or its Pali sources is not currently offered at the University of Iowa.)

Students who specialize in East Asian Buddhism ordinarily must attain competence in modern Japanese (three-four years); and either modern Chinese (three years) and literary Chinese (one-two years), or literary Japanese (one year) and Sino-Japanese (one-two years), depending on their subfield.

C. South Asian religions
Students in this area are required to demonstrate competence in Sanskrit and/or Hindi, depending on their special field and methods of study. The languages and the number of years of study will be determined in consultation with the student’s faculty advisers.

3. Comprehensive Examinations

The student’s examination committee will consist of three to five faculty in the general field of concentration, including at least one faculty member from outside the Department of Religious Studies. Comprehensive examinations take place in two stages.

A. The first two examinations will cover the history of religion in the student’s chosen area of concentration as a whole, and the student’s proposed specialization within her or his field, in accordance with the bibliography submitted in advance by the student. The examinations will ordinarily take place in two parts to be held on two separate days within the same one-week period. These two examinations will be followed within a week by an oral defense attended by all committee members.

B. The third examination will consist of an essay of about fifty pages written under the guidance of one of the members of the examination committee. The purpose of the essay is to certify that the student is prepared to carry out primary research in her or his special field. The topic of the paper should be closely related to the student’s projected dissertation topic and must show evidence of extensive use of both primary and secondary materials in the student’s main research language(s). The examination may take the form of an annotated translation of a primary text in the original research language accompanied by an extensive introduction. The topic of the essay must be chosen in consultation with the student’s main faculty adviser. The student’s linguistic and analytic abilities will be evaluated by the committee on the basis of the submitted essay.

4. Timetable of study

The following schedule of study is approximate only. Students should consult with their faculty advisers at the beginning of each semester regarding their specific coursework and requirements.

First year: Complete two of the four departmental course requirements in religious studies; first year of the first language; one extra departmental required course; courses/seminars in field.

Second year: Complete remaining two departmental required courses; second year of the first language; two extra departmental required courses; courses/seminars in field; submit program of study.

Third year: Complete third year of the first language; first year of the second language; courses/seminars in field; first two comprehensive examinations by the end of second semester or early in the first semester of the fourth year.

Fourth year: Complete language requirements; courses/seminars in field; write grant applications for fieldwork in Asia during the first semester; complete third comprehensive examination and dissertation prospectus by the end of the second semester.

Fifth year: Engage in dissertation research in East or South Asia.

Sixth year: Write the dissertation.

5. Area Faculty

Morten Schlütter
Frederick M. Smith
(A search is currently underway for a Japanese Religion & Culture Scholar)

Other Areas of Concentration

Historical Religious Traditions

Modern Religious Thought: Theology, Philosophy, Ethics, and Culture

For More Information

Admission and Financial Aid

Graduate College Admissions
Review the University of Iowa Graduate College web site.

Graduate Student Organization
Review the RGSO web site.

General inquiries about the Department of Religious Studies:
319-335-2164 [telephone]
319-335-3716 [fax]
religion@uiowa.edu

More specific inquiries about graduate study:
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Religious Studies

Page updated on 7/08