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Today, as East Asia gradually recovers its erstwhile traditional position as the economical centre of the world, the understanding of the established regional paradigms in politics, social and religious life becomes a more important task than ever before. The aim of this course is to give a primary source-based understanding of East Asia’s regional traditions, with an added emphasis upon their concrete socio-political modes of functioning and their mutual interactions. Students will be given a thorough survey of the socio-political conditions of the Zhou time (ca. 1040-256 B.C.E.), and assigned the reading of the main materials of the Confucian tradition, formed at that period and which have since continuously influenced the region up to the present day. They will have to understand, through the reading of the excerpts from Moist, Legalist and Taoist texts, the atmosphere of intellectual competition and exchange, which shaped the Confucian tradition of the pre-Qin times, while the reading of the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.E – 220 C.E.) texts by Dong Zhongshu, Ban Gu, Sima Qian and other authors provides understanding of the ways the “Imperial Confucianism”, the dominant discourse of power of the subsequent epochs, was formed. Then, the regional Buddhist traditions will be studied through comprehending both the basic devotional and philosophical texts and the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese commentaries to them. In the same way, the course will include both the main Song Dynasty (960-1279) Neo-Confucian and Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Wang Yangming school texts, and the commentarial literature from Korea and Japan. All source reading will be provided in English. For the students of the bachelor level, the amount of the primary source reading will be considerably less than for those on the master level.
Singular course students may apply after January 11th 2008 depending on capacity.
Students who are admitted to study programmes or individual courses at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for by registering a study plan in StudentWeb.
International applicants, if you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants.
Only students admitted to the course may take part in instruction and tuition and sit for the examination.
The course requires good knowledge of English.
10 credits against EAST4504 - East Asia: Great traditions.
The course is based on a combination of 7 lectures and 4 seminars.
The prerequisite for being allowed to take the examination is to submit at least one obligatory qualifying essay (2-3 pages) on topics assigned by the teacher. The obligatory qualifying essay gives no grades.
Teaching takes place throughout the semester.
A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, contingent on available capacity.
One written examination (4 hours) at the end of the semester.
The prerequisite for being allowed to take the examination is to sumbit the obligatory qualifying essay on one of the topics assigned by the teacher. The obligatory qualifying essay gives no grades.
No special exam resources are allowed.
Students are expected to use English for their written
essay and final exam.
Course grades are awarded on a descending scale using alphabetic grades from A to E for passes and F for fail.
A student may appeal against an awarded grade and/or file a formal complaint about exam procedures.
Students who due to illness or other valid reason of absence were unable to sit for their final exams may apply for participation in make-up exams. Make-up exams are arranged either later in the same semester or early in the semester following the exam in question. Documentation of valid reasons for absence from the regular exam must be submitted upon application to participate in make-up exams.
Students who have failed an exam and students who wish to re-take an exam to achieve a better grade may not participate in make-up exams, but must re-take the exam when it is regularly scheduled.
Students may apply for access to alternative exam resources or exam forms on the basis of chronic illness and/or special needs that create a marked disadvantage to other students in the exam situation. Mothers who are breastfeeding may apply for extra time to complete the exam.
Visiting address:
P.A. Munchs hus level 4
Postal address:
PO Box 1010 Blindern
N-0315 Oslo
Visiting hours:
Mon-Fri: 12:30 - 15:00
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