Introduction to Global Humanities: “Cornerstones of Culture”
Introduction to Global Humanities: “Cornerstones of Culture”
Unit 3: Hindu and Buddhist Traditions
Part 1: Introduction to Hinduism and Hindu Traditional Literature
Homework Assignment #7, “Demonstration Platform” (writing)
LESSON TOPIC: Introduction to Hinduism and Hindu Traditional Literature
LESSON OBJECTIVES: Students will read, look and listen with the purpose of learning about Hinduism, Hindu traditional literature, and various artworks inspired by that literature. Students will demonstrate their learning with writing about fundamental concepts of Hinduism, as well as the appearance, actions and attributes of several prominent Hindu deities. Additionally, students will write historical information about Hindu traditional literature and aesthetic information about a variety of visual artworks from South Asia. Finally, students will respond in writing to selections of contemporary music inspired by Hindu traditional literature. For optional extra credit, students may watch and write about a television program or movie inspired by Hindu traditional literature.
DIRECTIONS: Please follow the links in your Unit 3, Part 1 “Gathering Guide” (reading, looking, listening) to find and formulate responses for the items here, in this Unit 3, Part 1 “Demonstration Platform” (writing). Please type your answers directly into this document and attach it with your submission in Blackboard, on or before the due date in our syllabus. Your responses must be your own writing. NO COPY-PASTING!
CORNERSTONE QUESTIONS:
1) Based on your reading of the “Hinduism” article on The Human Journey web site,
how do you understand the following concepts? (“Gathering Guide”: A)
Samsara:
Karma:
Atman:
Brahman:
Ista-Devata:
Moksha:
2) Based on your reading of the introductions and overviews on mythencyclopedia and tvtropes, which four or five deities seem to be especially important among the 330 Hindu gods and goddesses? You will get acquainted with several of these deities in other Cornerstones, and also in the Extensions. You can just make a list here of those whose names you’ve seen repeated and seem to be especially important. (“Gathering Guide”: B)
3) Who is Brahma, and what memorable thing(s) has he done? Also, what attributes—physical characteristics, ornaments, weapons, vehicles, animals, etc.—can help us to recognize a depiction of Brahma? (“Gathering Guide”: C)
4) Who is Vishnu, and what memorable thing(s) has he done? Also, what attributes—physical characteristics, ornaments, weapons, vehicles, animals, etc.—can help us to recognize a depiction of Vishnu? (“Gathering Guide”: D)
5) Who is Shiva, and what memorable thing(s) has he done? Also, what attributes— physical characteristics, ornaments, weapons, vehicles, animals, etc.—can help us to recognize a depiction of Shiva? (“Gathering Guide”: E)
6) Who is Devi, and what memorable thing(s) has she done? Also, what attributes—
physical characteristics, ornaments, weapons, vehicles, animals, etc.—can help us to recognize a depiction of Devi? (“Gathering Guide”: F)
7) Who is Indra, and what memorable thing(s) has he done? Also, what attributes—
physical characteristics, ornaments, weapons, vehicles, animals, etc.—can help us to recognize a depiction of Indra? (“Gathering Guide”: G)
8) Based on your reading of The Human Journey article at the beginning of the
Cornerstones and/or the three mythencyclopedia articles at the end of the Cornerstones, what do you now know and want to remember about the Vedas and the Upanishads? (“Gathering Guide”: A + H, I, J)
EXTENSION QUESTIONS:
9) What are two or three interesting things that you learned about the art of Hinduism in general, and the art of South Asia and Nepal in particular while reading and/or looking at the illustrated articles from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and looking at and listening to the smARThistory video here? (“Gathering Guide”: K-P)
10) What are two more things that you learned from the videos about the
actions and/or the attributes of Brahma? In other words, what does Brahma do,
and/or how does Brahma appear? (“Gathering Guide”: S-V)
11) What are two more things that you learned from the videos about the
actions and/or the attributes of Vishnu? In other words, what does Vishnu do, and/or how does Vishnu appear? (“Gathering Guide”: S + U + X + Y)
12) What are two more things that you learned from the videos about the
actions and/or the attributes of Shiva? In other words, what does Shiva do, and/or how does Shiva appear? (“Gathering Guide”: S + U + Z + DD + EE + FF + GG)
13) How are Shiva, Parvati, and Ganesha all related to each other? Why does Ganesha
have an elephant’s head? (“Gathering Guide”: EE + FF + GG)
14) Who is Durga, where does she come from, and what memorable thing(s) has she
done? (“Gathering Guide”: HH)
15) Based on what you know now, do you agree with the rankings in the video, “10 Most Powerful Hindu Gods”? If you agree with the top pick, the #1 ranking, can you explain why? If you disagree with the #1 pick, can you tell us whom you would name #1 most powerful Hindu god, and why? (“Gathering Guide”: R)
16) Based on what you know now, do you agree with the rankings in the video, “10 Most Powerful Hindu Goddesses”? If you agree with the top pick, the #1 ranking, can you explain why? If you disagree with the #1 pick, can you tell us whom you would name #1 most powerful Hindu goddess, and why? (“Gathering Guide”: LL)
17) What about the music selections in the Extensions section? Do you especially like any of these songs? If so, which one(s), and why? Do you especially dislike any of these songs? If so, which one(s), and why? (“Gathering Guide”: Q, W, Y, AA, BB, CC, II, JJ, KK, MM
18) In your Hindu Traditions slideshow, slide #s 1-85 correspond with this HW #7 material. Would you please look through those slides now, and find two or three depictions of the following Hindu deities? Finding more than two or three of each is possible, but not necessary. No extended writing is necessary here, either. You can simply write the slide #s next to the names, below:
Brahma:
Vishnu:
Shiva:
Parvati:
Ganesha:
Durga:
EXTRA, EXTRA CREDIT: If you have written responses to all of the items above, you might want to pursue even more extra credit. You can add two points to your grade with this homework assignment if you choose a movie or television program from the list below, find it, watch it, and write two full paragraphs about it—one paragraph of description and one paragraph of discussion.
Your description paragraph should be complete and clear enough that your readers will understand what the movie or program is about, even if they have not seen it—at least five sentences, please.
Your discussion paragraph can contain your opinion of the movie or program and/or connections to what you have read and/or comparisons to artworks that you have looked at—again, five or more sentences, please.
If you do choose to write about a television program, you should watch three or four episodes, depending on how long the episodes are—approximately 90 minutes, total—to get a sense of the direction of the program.
Title of Movie or Television Program, and year or years it was released or broadcast:
Director’s Full Name:
Description (five complete sentences or more, please):
Discussion (five complete sentences or more, please):
THE LIST OF MOVIE AND TELEVISION CHOICES IS BELOW:
live action movies
Sampoorna Ramayanam, 1961
Mahabarat, 1965
Sampoorna Ramayanam, 1972
Jai Santoshi Maa, The Goddess of Satisfaction, 1975
Daana Veera Soora Karna, 1977
Mahabali Hanuman, 1981
Bhagavad Gita: Song of the Lord, 1993
Raajneeti, 2010
Raavan, 2010
animated movies
Hanuman, 2005
Bal Ganesh, 2007
Dashavatar, 2008
Sita Sings the Blues, 2008
Ramayana: The Epic, 2010
Sons of Ram, 2012
Krishna Aur Kans, 2012
Arjun: The Warrior Prince, 2012
television programs
Ramayan, 1987-1988
Mahabarat, 1988-1990
Shri Krishna, 1993-
Om Namah Shivay, 1997-1999
Vishnu Puran, 2000-
Devon Ke Dev…Mahadev, 2011-2014
Mahabarat, 2013-2014
Radha Krishna, 2018-
