RELST-269 Buddhist Environmentalism
This course explores the conjunction of Buddhism and environmentalism. Part I considers advocates of this combination, or “eco-Buddhists,” with a focus on those who criticize current structures of political economy. Classical texts from the Buddhist canon (Nagarjuna, the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, etc.) will be introduced with an eye to seeing where eco-Buddhists derive some of their core claims. Part II considers critics of eco-Buddhists, who raise the objection that historical Buddhists never held commitments like those of modern-day environmentalists. Could eco-Buddhism even be a new form of Orientalism? The course concludes by making sense of these critiques on the way to a historically responsible description of what a modern Buddhist environmentalism might be.
Standard Course (40)
Credits
1
Notes
(Location)