ARH 455
The Arts of Buddhism
Suggested Essay Topics

 Instructor: Dr. Catherine Pagani
Department of Art and Art History
The University of Alabama
Box 870270
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0270

Office: 209 Garland Hall
Telephone: (205) 348-1892
Fax: (205) 348-9642

cpagani@woodsquad.as.ua.edu

Mondays 1:00-3:15 pm
203 Garland Hall

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The following are some suggested essay topics. Please feel free to modify them, or develop your own ideas. The essays should be ten double-spaced typed pages and should include illustrations, footnotes (or endnotes), and a bibliography. Essays are due on 23 November 1998.

Remember that text copied from sources must be in quotation marks and must be copied exactly, with the reference given as a footnote or endnote; the ideas or words of others must be credited and the source given (anything else is plagiarism). The system for citing your references in your notes and bibliography should follow the style outlined in Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th edition (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1996). Please consult the guidelines for essay writing for some basic information including formats for the footnotes (or endnotes) and the bibliography.

1. Compare and contrast the Buddhist cave temples of India and China.

2. Discuss nagas in Indian Buddhist art.

3. Discuss images of hell in Buddhist art.

4. Discuss the significance of the reclining Buddha.

5. Discuss guardian kings in Buddhist art.

6. Discuss Buddhism and the advent of color printing (or of woodblock printing in general).

7. Discuss the imagery associated with the Lotus Sutra.

8. Discuss Buddhist wall paintings.

9. Discuss the layout and art of the Buddhist temple.

10. Discuss the influence of Zen Buddhism on the art of tea or the art of the garden.

11. Discuss the development and dissemination of the stupa form in Asia 

 

ARH 455: The Arts of Buddhism Course Page

ARH 455: The Arts of Buddhism Syllabus

Dr. Catherine M. Pagani Home Page

Dr. Catherine Pagani cpagani@woodsquad.as.ua.edu 25 May 1998