HAD-657 Buddhist Art and Architecture

3 Credits

This course is a comprehensive survey of Buddhist art and architecture from their emergence in the subcontinent in the 3rd century BCE to their evolution in Central, Southeast, and East Asia between the 5th and the 15th centuries CE. Art Is examined according to chronological developments, geographic expansions, and the traditional Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana divisions of Buddhism. Architectural monuments and artifacts inspired by Buddhist beliefs, including sculptures, paintings, calligraphy, murals, textiles, and ritual objects, are analyzed according to religious, philosophical, and art historical issues. We discuss them in their regional and pan-Asian socio-cultural contexts. Interdisciplinary issues are also considered, including Buddhist order and law, Buddhist world view and quantum physics, and current developments such as repatriation, physical analysis of objects with synchrotron radiation, and digital technologies used in conservation.