REL 252(F) The Body Religious in Chinese Culture*

In the course we are primarily concerned with the ways in which the body was problematized in the secular and religious literature of premodern China. This is relevant also for the study of other cultures which gravitated within the Chinese sphere of influence, such as Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, as well as for the understanding of certain offshoots of Chinese visions and practices of the body that have become popular also in the West, from acupuncture to the "Tao of sex." We will examine materials (primary sources, critical texts, narratives, movies) from a variety of sources-Daoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, popular religion, and classical medical theory and practice; in this respect, the course also functions as an introduction to Chinese religions. Given its interpretive approach, the course, in order to avoid exoticist escapes and orientalist positions, will problematize Chinese discourses and technologies of the body as processes of subject formation, issues that have recently become very important also in our culture, thanks in particular to the work of Michel Foucault. Requirements: full attendance and participation, brief critical comments on weekly assignments, two 5- to 7-page essays, and a final paper. Lecture and discussion. Open to all classes without prerequisite.

Hour:  RAMBELLI