American Buddhist writers have attempted to capture the beginner's mind in reshaping not only the metaphysics of American values in their lives but also reshaping aesthetic expressions in their literature. Embodying a new system of beliefs and values, often quite original to themselves within our culture, American Buddhist writers from the Beats (Allan Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac) to diverse contemporary literary figures (Alice Walker, Maxine Hong Kingston, George Saunders) have sought to redefine themselves and their works as both sacred and secular.
This course explores the powerful combination that is Buddhism and American Literature. The core text will be The Emergence of Buddhist American Literature, an anthology edited by John Whalen-Bridge and Gary Storhoff. Students will be introduced to basic secular meditation discipline as practiced by these writers and will consider the spontaneous discipline of meditative.
911.291.01 Homewood Campus Mon., Oct. 31-Nov. 28, 6:30-8 p.m. Cost-$120 (five sessions)
JHU full-time faculty staff are eligible for 80% tuition remission. You will be unable to register online and receive the discount. Contact, 410-516-8516, for more information.
