Indology Ma
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
The course aims to present the historical outlines of the most relevant cultural phenomena and movements of South Asian civilizations, from Antiquity to the Middle Ages; the main currents of thought, conceptions of reality, mythological imagery, literary expressions of the Indian civilization will be especially implied, in order to provide a critical perspective, for the understanding of the cultural complexity.
Expected learning outcomes
The course aims to provide students with knowledge, understanding and ability as follows:
- Knowledge of historical, geographical and cultural contextualization of the main currents of thought, and mythological and literary representations of the Indian civilization; understanding of the complex relationships between manifold aspects of the cultural heritage of South Asia.
- Knowledge and appropriate use of analytic means for the understanding of the cultural complexity and the development of critical perspective.
- Knowledge of specific lexicon and linguistic elements of correlated textual sources;
- Ability to critically consult the reference texts and their bibliography, understanding their main arguments, and applying diverse interpretative theories.
- Ability to critically evaluate sources on the internet and other media.
- Knowledge of historical, geographical and cultural contextualization of the main currents of thought, and mythological and literary representations of the Indian civilization; understanding of the complex relationships between manifold aspects of the cultural heritage of South Asia.
- Knowledge and appropriate use of analytic means for the understanding of the cultural complexity and the development of critical perspective.
- Knowledge of specific lexicon and linguistic elements of correlated textual sources;
- Ability to critically consult the reference texts and their bibliography, understanding their main arguments, and applying diverse interpretative theories.
- Ability to critically evaluate sources on the internet and other media.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
Title of the course: The Buddha and the Others: Asceticism in Ancient India.
The course aims to present a rich survey of the tradistions of Indian asceticism , beginning with the hypothesis of the Vedic origin, until to the developments of the movements of Buddhism and Jainism, dealing with the issues of the so-called renunciation.
Such a survey will be conducted on the basis of the main literary and epigraphical, and even iconographic sources of ancient India. By means of this fil rouge, the course will contextualize the historical and cultural complexity of the Indian civilization.The main topics discussed will be organized in three sections, 20 hours each, as follows
Section A (20 hrs.)
- Fundamentals of the Indo-Iranian cultural history: asceticism and warrior 'brotherhood'
- Fundamentals of the ancient Vedic cultural history: alternative paths to the ritual orthopraxis
- Fundamentals of the Late Vedic cultural history: knowledge and asceticism
- Ascetic tradition and power: the case of the Maurya dinasty
Section B (20 hrs.)
- Action and non-action: renounciation insiade and outside hindu orthodoxy
- Action and non-action: the Bhagavadgita
- Action and non-action: Jainism
Section C (20 hrs.)
- The middle path: the Buddha and his teaching
- Buddhism: the main schools
The course aims to present a rich survey of the tradistions of Indian asceticism , beginning with the hypothesis of the Vedic origin, until to the developments of the movements of Buddhism and Jainism, dealing with the issues of the so-called renunciation.
Such a survey will be conducted on the basis of the main literary and epigraphical, and even iconographic sources of ancient India. By means of this fil rouge, the course will contextualize the historical and cultural complexity of the Indian civilization.The main topics discussed will be organized in three sections, 20 hours each, as follows
Section A (20 hrs.)
- Fundamentals of the Indo-Iranian cultural history: asceticism and warrior 'brotherhood'
- Fundamentals of the ancient Vedic cultural history: alternative paths to the ritual orthopraxis
- Fundamentals of the Late Vedic cultural history: knowledge and asceticism
- Ascetic tradition and power: the case of the Maurya dinasty
Section B (20 hrs.)
- Action and non-action: renounciation insiade and outside hindu orthodoxy
- Action and non-action: the Bhagavadgita
- Action and non-action: Jainism
Section C (20 hrs.)
- The middle path: the Buddha and his teaching
- Buddhism: the main schools
Prerequisites for admission
No prerequisites for admission.
Teaching methods
The course consists both of taught classes and participative classes. The former ones are adopted mainly for learning theoretical subjects, and are supported by Power Point slideshows, whereas the latter ones aim at the analysis of textual sources, especially the literary ones, and at the discussion of the didactic material, previously assigned. The attendance is recommended, in particular for this section of the course. For other initiatives and news, students should also regularly refer to the Indology LM page of mAriel, and the website of the Indological courses of our university (https://sites.unimi.it/india/).
Teaching Resources
6 ects: Sections A and B
- G. Flood, L'induismo. Temi, tradizioni, prospettive, Torino: Einaudi, 2006, pp. 3-172.
- T. Pontillo, Ascesi e sistema rituale come istituzioni anticamente solidali: il caso dei Vratya nell'India vedica ed epica, in Theologica & Historica, 2007, pp. 423-459 [materiale in myAriel]
- W.B. Bollée, The Indo-European Sodalities in Ancient India, in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 131.1 (1981), pp. 172-191
- A. Pelissero, Letterature classiche dell'India, Brescia: Morcelliana, 2007, pp. 19-93.
- S. de Martino, "The Mittani State: The Formation of the Kingdom of Mittani", in J. Eidem (ed.), Constituent, confederate, and conquered space: the emergence of the Mittani state, De Gruyter, 2014, pp. 61-74. [materiale in myAriel]
- Arjuna e l'uomo della montagna (dal Mahābhārata), a cura di A. Pelissero, Torino: Il leone verde, 1997.
- T. Pontillo, Droṇa and Bhīṣma as borderline Cases of Pupils and Masters in the Brāhmaṇical systematization: Some other Traces of the Vrātya Tradition in the Mahābhārata, in I.Andrijanić and S. Sellmer (eds.), On the Growth and Composition of the Sanskrit Epics and Purāṇas Relationship to Kāvya. Social and Economic Context Proceedings of the Fifth Dubrovnik International Conference on the Sanskrit Epics and Purāṇas, August 2008, Zagreb 2016, pp. 205-246. [materiale in myAriel]
Gli editti di Aśoka, a cura di G. Pugliesi Carratelli, Milano: Adelphi. 2003
C.Della Casa, il giainismo, in Hinduismo, a cura di G. Filoramo, Bari: Laterza, 2018, pp. 287-318.
Selection of hymns from the Ṛgvedic collection, passages from the Vedic Upaniṣads, and from the Bhagavadgītā, texts from Mānava-Dharmaśāstra and Mahābhārata will be suggested during the lessons.
For NON ATTENDING STUDENTS: the following texts are to be added:
- J. Bronkhorst, Greater Magadha, Leiden: Brill 2007.
- K. McGrath, Bhisma Devavrata: Authority in Epic Mahabharata, Orient BlackSwan, 2018 [materiale inserito in myAriel]
9 ects: Section C:
- G. Pasqualotto, Dieci lezioni sul Buddhismo, Venezia: Marsilio Editori, 2017.
- Aśvaghoṣa, Le gesta del Buddha (Buddhacarita), a cura di A. Passi, Milano: Adelphi, 1993 e edizioni successive.
Texts from Early Buddhist Scriptures will be provided within the course
For NON ATTENDING STUDENTS: the following texts are to be added:
- P. Olivelle, Ashoka. Portrait of a Philosopher King, Yale University Press, 2024 [materiale in myAriel]
- G. Flood, L'induismo. Temi, tradizioni, prospettive, Torino: Einaudi, 2006, pp. 3-172.
- T. Pontillo, Ascesi e sistema rituale come istituzioni anticamente solidali: il caso dei Vratya nell'India vedica ed epica, in Theologica & Historica, 2007, pp. 423-459 [materiale in myAriel]
- W.B. Bollée, The Indo-European Sodalities in Ancient India, in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 131.1 (1981), pp. 172-191
- A. Pelissero, Letterature classiche dell'India, Brescia: Morcelliana, 2007, pp. 19-93.
- S. de Martino, "The Mittani State: The Formation of the Kingdom of Mittani", in J. Eidem (ed.), Constituent, confederate, and conquered space: the emergence of the Mittani state, De Gruyter, 2014, pp. 61-74. [materiale in myAriel]
- Arjuna e l'uomo della montagna (dal Mahābhārata), a cura di A. Pelissero, Torino: Il leone verde, 1997.
- T. Pontillo, Droṇa and Bhīṣma as borderline Cases of Pupils and Masters in the Brāhmaṇical systematization: Some other Traces of the Vrātya Tradition in the Mahābhārata, in I.Andrijanić and S. Sellmer (eds.), On the Growth and Composition of the Sanskrit Epics and Purāṇas Relationship to Kāvya. Social and Economic Context Proceedings of the Fifth Dubrovnik International Conference on the Sanskrit Epics and Purāṇas, August 2008, Zagreb 2016, pp. 205-246. [materiale in myAriel]
Gli editti di Aśoka, a cura di G. Pugliesi Carratelli, Milano: Adelphi. 2003
C.Della Casa, il giainismo, in Hinduismo, a cura di G. Filoramo, Bari: Laterza, 2018, pp. 287-318.
Selection of hymns from the Ṛgvedic collection, passages from the Vedic Upaniṣads, and from the Bhagavadgītā, texts from Mānava-Dharmaśāstra and Mahābhārata will be suggested during the lessons.
For NON ATTENDING STUDENTS: the following texts are to be added:
- J. Bronkhorst, Greater Magadha, Leiden: Brill 2007.
- K. McGrath, Bhisma Devavrata: Authority in Epic Mahabharata, Orient BlackSwan, 2018 [materiale inserito in myAriel]
9 ects: Section C:
- G. Pasqualotto, Dieci lezioni sul Buddhismo, Venezia: Marsilio Editori, 2017.
- Aśvaghoṣa, Le gesta del Buddha (Buddhacarita), a cura di A. Passi, Milano: Adelphi, 1993 e edizioni successive.
Texts from Early Buddhist Scriptures will be provided within the course
For NON ATTENDING STUDENTS: the following texts are to be added:
- P. Olivelle, Ashoka. Portrait of a Philosopher King, Yale University Press, 2024 [materiale in myAriel]
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam is oral, and lasts approximately for 30 minutes. It aims to ascertain acquired knowledge and skills concerning three main issues: general preparation about Hinduism, on the basis of the texts specified by the program; the historical and literary context of the cultural phenomena delivered during the course; textual analysis, lexicon and linguistic features of the sources, especially the literary ones, as specified by the program.
Grading, on a scale of 30 (minimum passing grade 18), will take into account: the student's general preparation, and the familiarity with the bibliography of the course; knowledge and skills concerning the textual sources, especially the literary ones; understanding and command of fundamental historical and cultural concepts; capacity for synthesis and critical analysis in the presentation; use of appropriate language; accuracy and relevance in the oral presentation.
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher of the course. Also, students with disabilities should contact the teacher of the course, in order to discuss alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent Office.
Grading, on a scale of 30 (minimum passing grade 18), will take into account: the student's general preparation, and the familiarity with the bibliography of the course; knowledge and skills concerning the textual sources, especially the literary ones; understanding and command of fundamental historical and cultural concepts; capacity for synthesis and critical analysis in the presentation; use of appropriate language; accuracy and relevance in the oral presentation.
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher of the course. Also, students with disabilities should contact the teacher of the course, in order to discuss alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent Office.
L-OR/18 - INDOLOGY AND TIBETOLOGY - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Rossi Paola Maria Antonietta
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)