Buddhist Art and Manuscript Cultures along the Silk Road

Course Type: Lecture
Study Focus: KBR, VMC
Term: Fall

Teacher: Tao PAN
Course Code: JK37004

This course is designed for the study foci “Knowledge, Belief and Religion” (KBR) and “Visual, Media and Material Cultures” (VMC) and consists of the following three parts:


I. Silk Road in and between Asia and Europe;
II. Buddhist Art as Cultural Entanglement;
III. Manuscript Cultures as Transformative Creativity.


Course Information

Module: Research and Advanced Studies
CATS Requirements: MA 1st year or above

Day/Period: Wed/5
Location: Sem. 6
Credits: 2


Course Goals

Based on the theories of Transcultural Studies, this course offers numerous concrete examples for transculturality in the visual and material aspect as well as from the perspectives of creation and dissemination of knowledge and contact between religious networks on the macroscopic scale. Investigations on the microscopic scale, on the other hand, are concerned with how the formative and transformative processes result in certain cultural manifestations in the spheres of Buddhist art and manuscript cultures.

Course Schedule and Evaluation

For a detailed course schedule, please visit KULASIS.

Assessment will be based on class performance (50% = attendance 20% + one presentation 30%) and final assignment (50%).

To JDTS/MATS students: This course can be taken as either reduced (4 ECTS) or full seminar (8 ECTS). Please indicate your ECTS requirement to the teacher.