EALC034 - What Is Taoism?
Status
O
Activity
LEC
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
What Is Taoism?
Term
2020C
Syllabus URL
Subject area
EALC
Section number only
401
Section ID
EALC034401
Course number integer
34
Registration notes
Course is available to Freshmen and Upperclassmen.
Crse Online: Sync & Async Components
Crse Online: Sync & Async Components
Meeting times
TR 03:00 PM-04:30 PM
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Hsiao-Wen Cheng
Description
This course introduces a wide variety of ideas and practices that have at one time or another been labeled as Daoist (or "Taoist" in the Wade-Giles Romanization), in order to sort out the different senses of the term, and consider whether these ideas and practices have had any common features. We will begin with the two most famous Daoist works--the Zhuangzi and the Daodejing (or Laozi). We will also survey other bio-spiritual practices, such as the meditational techniques of Inner Alchemy and the self-cultivation regimens known today as Qigong and Tai-chi, as well as the theological and ritual foundations of organized Daoist lineages, many of which are still alive across East Asia. We will conclude with a critical review of the twentieth-century reinvention of "Daoism," the scientization of Inner Alchemy, and the new classification of "religious" versus "philosophical Daoism." While familiarizing ourselves with the key concepts, practices, and organizations developed in the history of Daoism, this course emphasizes the specific socio-political context of each of them. Throughout the course, we will think critically about the label of "Daoist" (as well as "Confucian" and "Buddhist") in Chinese history and in modern scholarship. We will also question modern demarcations between the fields of philosophy, religion, and science.
Course number only
034
Cross listings
RELS184401
Use local description
No