Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of instruction and practice in actual service in a department, program, or discipline. Teaching formats may include seminars, in-depth studies, laboratory work and patient study.

Throughout the modern development of what has been called "spirituality" in the United States, Asian Pacific Americans along with Asian and Pacific Islander religions have been integral. In the mid-nineteenth century, Asian Pacific American (APA) immigrants brought their religions, and towards the end of the nineteenth century non-APAs enthusiastically brought APA religious teachers to the mainland United States. In the twentieth century, this mixture of APA people and religions continued to reach new communities and develop into independent US-based religions; eventually, these influenced the emergence of more individualistic, non-traditional forms of religion - popularly called 'spirituality.' These lines of influence crisscrossed over the decades, leading to a complex mixture of interests, investments, discourses, and depictions of different racial groups. As a result, this course's examination of Asian and Pacific religions in US-based spirituality engages questions about its definition in distinction to the term 'religion' and in relationship to the social dynamics of race. The course explores its presence in diverse locations such as medicine, theatre, environmental activism, and children's video games.

How did conflicts between religion and politics drive the formation of East Asia societies? How did these conflicts shape religious experiences, ideas, and practices? What did "religion" even mean for different people, communities, and authorities across time and space? This course considers these questions by examining religious traditions such as Shinto, Confucianism, Christianity, Buddhism, and shamanism in the contexts of dramatic social, political, and cultural transformations in East Asia from the early dynastic era through the modern period. Beginning with an introduction to religion, society, and state formations in premodern East Asia, this course will focus on the complex relationships between "religion" and the modern politics of nationalism, imperialism, and colonial governance in the 19th and 20th centuries.

This course looks at history of post-1949 China from two different perspectives. Students will read "proper" historical texts: political and intellectual essays, government documents, social reports, and scholarly historical monographs. These will be juxtaposed to different forms of narrative construction: movies, novels, and autobiographical accounts. With this integrated approach, the course examines the history of the People's Republic of China but also the continuous interplay between historiography and politics, history and memory, popular culture and learning.

Is Buddhism a tradition of healing? In what ways has Buddhism been involved in reviving, sustaining, and curing human individuals? This course explores relationships and encounters between Buddhism and the domains of religion, science, and medicine. It considers historical relationships between Buddhism and traditional medicine in Asia as well as contemporary Western discourses involving Buddhism in popular culture, psychology, and spirituality. Finally, it invites a critical approach to the current dialogue between Buddhism and science. In the process, it reveals hidden assumptions behind commodifying `mindfulness' and the quest to document the therapeutic impact of meditation upon health, happiness, and success in the modern age. Students will have the opportunity to apply the ideas they have learned through analysis of relevant initiatives at the U of A such as the Neuropsychology, Emotion, and Thought Lab and the Center for Compassion Studies as well as of broader Tucson community events like the Gem Show.

How do Tibetans Buddhists innovate while staying connected with tradition? In the Tibetan language, biographies are referred to as liberation tales. In this course, students explore the life experiences of Tibetan Buddhists striving for a variety of forms of liberation, from samsara as well as from social marginalization and political oppression. Students disassemble stereotypes about Tibet by exploring fundamental aspects of its distinct Buddhist tradition. They analyze the stories of figures as diverse as an eighth-century demon-tamer and his enlightened female partner, a contemporary artist exploring questions of identity, a Buddhist yogi seeking to move beyond the confines of the self, and a debut novelist reflecting on writing as a form of agency. Students apply their knowledge to interpret representations of Tibet in sources ranging from early texts on the nature of reality to an Instagram takeover by contemporary Tibetan female poets. In the process, they generate tools for interpreting the host of representations they encounter in their daily lives.

This course will examine how the three genres of Zen Buddhism, the tea ceremony/tea culture, and poetry, have been presented over time as not only compatible, but as representative expressions of each other. We will consider the contemporaneous cultural, historical, and political factors that contributed to the formation of this discourse. We will also hold up to critical scrutiny the very concept of "genre" in pre-modern East Asia, as well as the distinction between "Zen Buddhism" and what may be termed "Zen culture." We will also investigate in depth how modern commentators such as Okakura Tenshin, Suzuki Daisetsu, and Hisamatsu Shin'ichi's dialogue with the West and Western models informed the now ingrained idea that the tea ceremony represents an artistic, aesthetic, and spiritual nexus of the other two genres, and indeed of East Asian Culture as a whole.

Major forms of Buddhist meditation from both the South Asian and East Asian traditions, with emphasis on the nature of meditation as a variety of religious experience.

This course will explore diverse Buddhist communities in North America, including local expressions of Buddhism. Students will learn about Buddhist perspectives and practices and how these have been transmitted from Asia to the Americas over the past two centuries, with an emphasis on contemporary forms of North American Buddhism.

Qualified students working on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.