This course will explore religious publics and sacred spaces in contemporary China and Taiwan. Combining lectures with student-focused discussions, the course will examine the trajectories of diverse religious traditions in China and Taiwan, including Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, and popular or folk religion. Students will learn about the histories of these traditions and their contemporary iterations, as well as explore themes such globalization and localization, spiritual revival, and the relationship between the state and religious institutions. We will pair these academic engagements with field trips to urban religious spaces, as well as an extended road trip to sites of sacred assemblage and pilgrimage in either Taiwan or China.
One academic year of Chinese language coursework; and admission to the Whitman Summer Chinese Studies program.