JAN 407 - TRAVEL: Indian Aesthetics: Education, Religion, & Culture in India

Course webpage: JAN 407

Level: Upper-division (400 Level)

Please note: First-year students are not permitted to travel internationally for Jan Term

Travel dates: Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024 - Monday, Jan. 27, 2025

Course fee: $4,550

Contact:
Norris Palmer, npalmer@stmarys-ca.edu
Teresa Whiteside, teresamwhiteside@gmail.com

India’s long and rich history of religious diversity is both well known and highly complex. Nearly equally well publicized is the juggernaut that is the Indian educational system. Popularly known for producing stellar graduates in mathematics and the natural sciences, it also boasts the third largest publicly funded higher education system in the world. During our month in India, the focus of our study will be threefold: education, religion, and culture. Our study of the educational system will bring us into direct contact with a host of educational settings from primary through collegiate in a variety of settings from a village of 2,000 people to a city of 21 million. We’ll study a host of religious traditions (Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Parsi, and Christianity) within a wide variety of their historical and cultural settings. Our study will examine both individual traditions and the complex history of their interaction. We’ll also examine how both education and religions interact with political, social, and economic systems in historic and contemporary settings that contribute to Indian culture. Our study will take us from some of the world’s largest metropolises-Mumbai (aka Bombay) and New Delhi-to remote Himalayan villages-McLeod Ganj-to cities, towns, and villages in between. In Mumbai we’ll study Parsis with their dramatic Towers of Silence, which are used in lieu of burial or cremation. Our travels will also lead us to south western India, to the relaxed coastal setting of Goa, a state heavily influenced by 15th century Catholic Portuguese settlers, to investigate the forms of Christianity spawned by these colonists and their interaction with Indian religious and cultural forces. And, we’ll have the opportunity to see the “incorruptible body” of Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552, co-founder of the Jesuit order) whose remains are on display in a glass coffin in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa. Our study will also take us north to investigate exquisite examples of Islamic Mogul architecture and religious syncretism, seen most dramatically in the Taj Mahal in Agra, as well as in striking examples in a number of Rajasthani cities. We’ll also enjoy a camel ride in the desert and a leopard safari and overnight stay in the Jawai nature preserve, visiting Jawai, India. In New Delhi, we’ll tour the famous Islamic mosque, the Jama Masjid, as well as the vast Hindu Swami Narayan temple complex, and include stops at important sites in the life of Mahatma Gandhi. An investigation of Tibetan Buddhism in “Little Lhasa” (home of the Tibetan Government in Exile) located in the hill station of McLeod Ganj in the foothills of the Himalaya & a visit Sikhism’s Golden Temple in Amritsar round out our stay in the far north. Our trip east includes Varanasi (aka “Benares”), Hinduism’s most sacred city, which will provide opportunity for a boat ride on the sacred river Ganges and a visit to Bodhgaya (the site at which the historical Buddha is said to have realized the true nature of reality and won enlightenment) as well as a number of other important Buddhist pilgrimage sites. We’ll move between extremes not only in religious and cultural configurations but also in terms of geography and climate as well.

Please note that the itinerary is tentative and locations are subject to change. This trip is recommended for hearty travelers with intrepid curiosity and a real sense of adventure.

Prerequisites & Notes

Completion of a college-level course in religion with a grade of “C-” or higher or permission of the instructor
Attend at least 1 information session

General Travel Requirements

Attend at least 1 Health & Safety Orientation (October)
Submit a valid passport (November)
- Apply or renew no later than September for on-time delivery
Submit completed & signed health forms + proof of vaccination(s) (November)

Note: Failure to complete one or more of the above requirements will result in an immediate drop from the course. Once registered, all course fees are non-refundable.

Credits: 3-CU