HDS 3428 / SAS 132: Hinduism and Sound
Instructor: Keith E. Cantú, Fall 2025 – Time: T, Th – 3:00-4:15pm
This course provides an introduction to Hinduism through the medium of sound, including but not limited to mantra and devotional music. The first part of the course shows the importance of sound in Vedic contexts through the syllable Om, which then starts to develop into a wide variety of mantras in Purāṇic Hinduism and on into the Tantras. The second part continues this trajectory but extends the focus to the sounds and music that often accompany devotional (bhakti) poetry and worship rites (pūjā), including everything from conch horns, drums, vocals, and so much else besides. Using historical lenses, we examine the role of the bhāvas (moods) in Indic aesthetics and show how this informs sounds and music in praise of deities like Śiva, Viṣṇu, the Goddess, and many others. In the third part of the course we look at modern examples of music like that of the Bengali Bāuls and Tamil Siddhars which continue to build bridges between Hinduism and other religions on the subcontinent, we investigate the intersections of sound and chanting in yoga, and we encounter expressions of religious sounds in Bollywood and other films. Throughout the course we also reflect on how non-sound, or silence as the opposite of sound, continues to inform Hindu methods of meditation to the present day. Neither knowledge of Indic languages nor prior background in Asian religions are needed for this course.
GENED 1083: Permanent Impermanence: Why Buddhists Build Monuments
Instructor: Jinah Kim, Spring 2026– Time: M, W – 12:00pm-1:15pm
Why do Buddhists build monuments despite the core teaching of ephemerality, and what can we learn from this paradox about our own conception of time and space? Everything changes. This is, in its simplest and most fundamental formulation, one of the essential teachings of Buddhism. Buddhist communities throughout history have preached, practiced, and written about the ephemerality and illusoriness of our everyday lives and experiences. Ironically, however, many of these same communities have attempted to express these teachings in the form of monumental structures meant to stand the test of time. Some of the world’s greatest cultural heritage sites are a legacy of this seeming contradiction between the impermanence that is a central presupposition of Buddhist thought and the permanence to which these same monuments seem to aspire. If the world is characterized by emptiness and the Self is illusory, how does one account for the prodigious volume of art and architecture created by Buddhists throughout history? This Gen Ed course takes a multicultural and reflective engagement with the challenges presented by this conundrum through a study of Buddhist sites scattered throughout time and space. Pertinent topics such as cosmology, pilgrimage, materiality, relics, meditation, and world-making will be explored. Through these Buddhist monuments in South and Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, Central Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, students will learn about the rich, diverse world of Buddhist practice and experience.
LING 107: Introduction to Indo-European
Instructor: Jay Jasanoff, Fall 2025– Time – M,W – 10:30-11:45am
An introduction to the historical study of the Indo-European languages, using the comparative method to arrive at a picture of the parent language of the family, Proto-Indo-European.
MUSIC 157RW: South Indian Classical Music
Instructor: Richard Wolf, Fall 2025– Time – T, Th – 1:30-2:45pm
Analysis of south Indian classical composition and improvisational forms as performed today, as well as in the context of historical forms. Students will learn how to listen to and analyze the music through singing, reciting rhythm mnemonics, and learning to play the vina (a kind of lute). Students who so wish will also have the opportunity to play this music on instruments with which they are already familiar.
MUSIC 207R: Ethnomusicology: Seminar
Instructor: Richard Wolf, Fall 2025– Time – Thursday – 3:00-5:00pm
Music and Language. This course focuses on the practical interfaces between “music” (forms, genres, and practices) and “language” (structures, patterns, and habits of use). Over the semester students will read a diverse selection of writings from ethnomusicology, historical musicology, music theory and philosophy, linguistics, and linguistic anthropology. Readings and assignments will balance attention to theoretical treatment of music-language relations with practical exercises in listening to diverse musical and linguistic materials. Examples are drawn from different parts of the world, with an emphasis on Africa, South Asia, the Middle East, the Americas and the English-speaking world.
ANTHRO 1691: Mobility in Asia
Instructor: Ping-hsiu Alice Lin, Fall 2025– Time – Monday- 3:00-5:45pm
How does movement reshape our understanding of contemporary Asia? What happens when we shift our gaze from fixed places to flows of people, ideas, and things? In this introductory-level class in sociocultural anthropology, we explore how mobility creates new social landscapes across the region. Through anthropological methods—especially immersive fieldwork and ethnographic writing—we will examine how historical patterns of migration and present-day movements are shaped by structural dynamics of colonialism, late capitalism, labor markets, trade networks, and supply chains. Through ethnographic encounters that reveal the complexity of mobility: from maritime trade in the Indian Ocean to domestic workers in Singapore, from transnational mothers in Filipino families to Islamic networks in Southeast China, from Persian rug merchants to Japanese-Philippine solidarity trade. Through these examples, we explore how restrictive policies create new regimes of (im)mobility and forms of nationalism, while also examining the lived experiences of individuals and families involved in transnational lives. The seminar guides students through key themes including physical geography, commodity chains, religious networks, and logistics systems. At the end of the class, students will develop conceptual tools to examine the mechanics of mobility, equipping them to address the pivotal questions emerging from our increasingly interconnected world.
HIST 1966: Asia and Asians at Harvard
Instructor: Sugata Bose, Fall 2025– Time – Tuesdays- 9:45-11:45am
An exploration of relations between Asia and Euro-America during the long twentieth century through the prism of Asians and the study of Asia at Harvard. Topics and themes to include Asian visitors, faculty and students at Harvard; the University’s engagement in the shaping of policy towards Asia; and the institutionalization of Asian studies at Harvard. Students will have the opportunity to craft their own research projects.