Week 4: Nara and early Heian

Japan will finally begin to look more like we know it as the court settles down in one location: first Nara [known as Heijōkyō at the time], then Heian [you know it better as Kyōtō, no doubt!] .

Table of Contents

Slides

Readings

Wednesday

Usual time and place: Ettinger 212, 11am

  • Primary Sources: (2 “basic set”)
    • Selection of primary sources on Buddhism and the state during the Nara period in Sources of Japanese Tradition, Volume One: From Earliest Times to 1600 2nd edition, edited by William Th. de Bary. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002.
      • PDF
      • Questions: What do these texts tell you about the relation between the state and Buddhism? Who benefits most from that relationship?
    • Poems from the Man’yōshu in Varley, H. Paul. Japanese Culture. Fourth edition, updated and expanded. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2000, pp. 44-47.
      • PDF
      • Questions:The Man’yōshu is one of the most beloved poetry collections in Japan. Why do you think poems that are well over 1,000 years old still speak to the Japanese? How do you respond to these poems?
    • Optional extra: “Provincial Gazetteers (Fudoki).” In Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology. Beginnings to 1600, edited by Haruo Shirane, 53-56. Columbia Univ. Press, 2007.
      • PDF
      • Questions: Why do you think the court thought it important for provinces to write down these legends? Can you make connections with other material and ideas about myths and legends in early Japan?
  • Useful extra:
  • Background: Pick any one of the following sets to help you gain enough background for the primary sources:
    • Option 1:
    • Option 2:
    • Option 3:
      • Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey, edited by Mikiso Hanen and Louis G Perez. Second ed. Boulder: Westview Press, 2015. https://muhlenberg.on.worldcat.org/oclc/895428280
        • Chapter 2, from section: “Culture of the Seventh and Eighth Centuries” onward
        • Chapter 3, from start up to and including section “The Age of Court Aristocracy”

Friday

Usual time and place: Ettinger 212, 11am

  • Primary Sources
  • Keikai, Record of Miraculous Events in Japan. In Sources of Japanese Tradition, Volume One: From Earliest Times to 1600. 2nd edition, edited by William Th. de Bary. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002.
    • PDF
    • Questions: Background info from the editor: why and how did Buddhist stories begin to appear? Primary source text: How does Buddhism seem different from the texts we read on Wednesday?
  • Kūkai, “Indications of the Goals of the Three Teachings.” In Sources of Japanese Tradition, Volume One: From Earliest Times to 1600 2nd edition, edited by William Th. de Bary. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002.
    • PDF
    • Questions: This selection contains some complex concepts of the Buddhist teachings. How does Kukai present these? Do you think these stories were convincing ways to convert people to Buddhism?

Assignments

1. Reminder: Blog post (content week 3)

5 points, due Mon. Feb. 6, 11:59PM

Write a blog post exploring themes or ideas based on your reading. You do not need to have all the answers. In fact, learning to ask good analytical or research questions is a skill you can develop during the semester. Remember the description of the assignment from the syllabus.

  • Length: approx. 400 words. excl. list of materials consulted.
  • Add the list of materials consulted at the end of the post, in Chicago notes and bibliography style.
    • TOP TIP: Just copy the bibliography information from the Reading list on this webpage, do not add the descriptive notes I provide for your information.
  • Add the words “Week 3” in the title.
    • Please use this exact phrase, so your post will show up in the blog stream.
  • Indicate which Exploration Pack you chose.
  • Include a relevant image, and add a caption with the source/credit, and an Alt text description
  • Post on your website, and add to the category hst267.

When you’re done, read this declaration carefully and then fill out the Canvas quiz to collect your points.

Declaration
– I wrote a post of approximately 400 words in response to the readings.
– I included the bibliographic references for the materials I used for my post.
– I indicated which Exploration Pack I chose.
– I included an image, and I provided a caption and credit (source), and an Alt text description for the image.
– I use the words Week 3 in the title, and added the post to category hst267

2. Feedback with Hypothes.is

3 points, due Feb. 7

Below you find links to three blog posts from your fellow students. If one of the websites is your own, or it is twice the same person’s, refresh the page, and you should get new sites. Any of the posts that appear here are fair game for commenting, even if they are about earlier weeks: those posts came in after the first deadline.

  • Post 1:
  • Post 2:
  • Post 3:

Leave feedback, questions, thoughts, insights about the contents of the posts of your fellow students using Hypothes.is group HST267. You can ask for clarifications, point out similarities and differences with the material you covered, or with your interpretation. This should encourage you to dive a bit deeper in the materials, or visit those you did not read at first.

Use tags in Hypothes.is: question: If you have a question; answered: if you gave an answer to a question; info: if you provide more information, looking up additional facts, drawing on knowledge from other classes; and other tags you can think of. This will help us to navigate more quickly to the questions that still need answering.

Use the “Architect’s Model” of giving feedback, and engage with concrete issues. Go beyond “Yeah, I agree,” “I like” or “I think the same”, and instead explain why you have that reaction, or if you disagree, you can try to persuade the original poster of your idea or interpretation.

Remember that Hypothes.is allows for hyperlinks, e.g. to materials that support your argument, or you can include pictures (memes! [yes, there she is again]), videos etc. that help the original poster to learn more.

When you’re done, read this declaration carefully, and then fill out the Canvas quiz to collect your points.

Declaration
– I commented on three fellow students’ weekly blog post on Week 3 materials, using the Hypothes.is group HST267.
– I made sure to leave substantial comments that help the writer to improve the post, or to identify their strengths.
– I left comments that I would like to receive myself: thoughtful, helpful, kind, but also pointing out errors so they can be fixed.

4. Blog post (content week 4)

5 points, due Mon. Feb. 13, 11:59PM

Write a blog post exploring themes or ideas based on your reading. You do not need to have all the answers. In fact, learning to ask good analytical or research questions is a skill you can develop during the semester. Remember the description of the assignment from the syllabus.

  • Length: approx. 400 words. excl. list of materials consulted.
  • Add the list of materials consulted at the end of the post, in Chicago notes and bibliography style.
    • TOP TIP: Just copy the bibliography information from the Reading list on this webpage, do not add the descriptive notes I provide for your information.
  • Add the words “Week 4” in the title.
    • Please use this exact phrase, so your post will show up in the blog stream.
  • Indicate which Exploration Pack you chose. [not applicable this week]
  • Include a relevant image, and add a caption with the source/credit, and an Alt text description
  • Post on your website, and add to the category hst267.

When you’re done, read this declaration carefully and then fill out the Canvas quiz to collect your points.

Declaration
– I wrote a post of approximately 400 words in response to the readings.
– I included the bibliographic references for the materials I used for my post.
– I indicated which Exploration Pack I chose. [not applicable this week]
– I included an image, and I provided a caption and credit (source), and an Alt text description for the image.
– I use the words Week 4 in the title, and added the post to category hst267

Extra Credit tasks

EC 4-1: Rewrite a post

3 points, due by Sunday Feb 12, 11.59pm

Unhappy about a post you wrote? Feeling you can do better now than a few weeks ago? Had a bad week and rushed to get it in but now you’re ready to do something you can be proud of? Now you can rewrite a post and get extra credit for it!

  • Pick a post from a previous week and use the comments you received to rewrite it.
  • Add a brief paragraph at the end explaining how you rewrote the post: which comments did you address, how did you go about the process (new blank page vs. tinkering,…), and what you learned about the process of rewriting.
  • tag the post with extra, and add the word rewrite to the title

Read the following Declaration carefully, and then head on over to Canvas to collect your points in the Canvas quiz:

Declaration
I selected a post from a previous week and rewrote it, using feedback and insights I gained since writing it.
I added a brief paragraph at the end explaining what I did to rewrite the post, and what I learned about rewriting
I added the tag extra to the post, and added the word rewrite to the title.
I made sure the post is still in the category hst267.

EC4-2: Record your name with NameCoach in Canvas

1 point, due by Sunday Feb. 12, 11.59pm

Some of you have no doubt wondered how you pronounce my name. (It’s ok, I don’t mind people mispronouncing it. I’d rather you try than say “Oh I won’t even try because I’ll just butcher it.”) To help you out, I recorded it using NameCoach, and put it on Canvas. You can record your name, too!

Check out this tutorial video from our friends at the OIT office to walk you through. It is very easy. When you’re done, check it is showing up on our Canvas course NameCoach tab.

If you already recorded your name at an earlier point, go ahead and claim your point!

Then read this Declaration, and go to the Canvas Declaration Quiz to collect your extra credit point.

Declaration
I recorded my name in NameCoach for our Canvas site.
I checked my recording shows up correctly on the Canvas site.

Where to get assistance?

  • Tea Room on in person or on Discord:
    • open anytime for you
    • I will be hosting Tue 2PM-3PM; Wed. 1-2PM, or at other times by appointment via Google Calendar (usually a 15-20min appointment is enough). You can also find me in my office during Tea Room times.
    • Private room for confidential chat available on request.
  • Discord Text Channel #hst267
  • DLAs: Digital Learning Assistants: check the schedule!
  • Writing Center: Sunday-Wednesday: 3:30 – 5:30 pm and 7-11 pm; Thursday: 3:30 – 5:30 pm and 7-9 pm
  • Trexler Library Course Subject Guide: our own dedicated subject guide for the course 
  • Safety on/around campus: report an incident