HUM 202-Week 8_Slides

Instructor: Dr. Lorenzo L. Kellam III, . BEST CONTACT METHOD: Canvas Messaging YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SageonNation Office: MNB 251E Office Hours: By Appointment via Zoom email:Lkellam@BCCC.edu Voice:(410)209-3167

Learning Objectives

• Islamic Creativity and Global Knowledge Systems: Calligraphy, geometry, architecture, poetry, and scientific transmission

• Introduce Next Week (Week 8) discussion assignment

HUM 202 — Week 8 Preview

South Asia I: India & Nepal

Hindu and Buddhist art, devotion, ethics, liberation, and mindfulness

Big question: How does South Asian art teach philosophy and ethics, not just belief?

This week, students analyze how visual form, ritual design, and sacred narrative guide reflection on dharma, karma, suffering, compassion, mindfulness, and liberation.

Art can become a philosophical tool — a visual path toward ethical reflection and spiritual insight.

Why this topic matters

South Asian art as a teaching system

South Asian artistic traditions do more than express devotion.

• They teach how to think about duty, action, suffering, compassion, and release.
• Temples, stupas, mandalas, and sculpture guide viewers through meaning, not just image.

This week centers India and Nepal.

• Hindu art often encodes dharma, karma, and moksha.
• Buddhist art often emphasizes dukkha, mindfulness, compassion, and nirvana.

Ask not only “What do I see?” but “What is this artwork teaching?”

Key concepts for discussion

Definitions students can carry into their initial posts

• Dharma — ethical duty, right order, and responsibility.

• Karma — the moral consequences of action.

• Dukkha — suffering, dissatisfaction, or unease.

• Mindfulness — disciplined awareness and attention.

• Moksha / Nirvana — liberation from attachment and cyclical suffering.

Art as ethical or philosophical instruction

What students should look for in a temple, stupa, mandala, sculpture, or painting

• What idea does the artwork teach — duty, compassion, detachment, order, mindfulness, or liberation?

• How is the viewer meant to learn — through movement, repetition, contemplation, ritual, or narrative scenes?

• How does form become meaning? Circular structure, sacred pathways, icon placement, and symmetry all matter.

A strong post explains how the artwork instructs the viewer, not just how it looks.

Example lens: The Great Stupa at Sanchi

Architecture as teaching, memory, and philosophical movement

• The stupa is not only a building; it structures ritual movement and reflection.

• Gateways and carvings communicate stories and sacred associations.

• Circumambulation turns walking itself into a form of learning and devotion.

Smarthistory presents Sanchi as both architecture and narrative teaching tool.

Example lens: Mandalas

Visual structure as mindfulness practice

• A mandala can function like a map of the spiritual path.

• The eye moves from outer complexity toward centered focus.

• Its design can teach order, impermanence, and disciplined attention.

The model paragraph in this week’s prompt points to mandalas as philosophical tools, not decoration.

Liberation, suffering, and mindfulness

How form expresses ideas that matter

• Buddhist art can encode dukkha, compassion, mindfulness, and release from attachment.

• Hindu art can encode dharma, karma, devotion, and the movement toward moksha.

• Ritual use matters: how people move, look, meditate, or gather is part of the meaning.

Students should show how these ideas are built into design, story, or ritual practice.

Humanities comparison

Connect Week 8 to earlier HUM 202 units

• Compare South Asian philosophical art to Islamic geometric spirituality, African American memory art, or Latin American public murals.

• Forms differ — mandala, mural, monument, or pattern — but purpose can overlap.

• Across traditions, art can teach ethics, preserve memory, and shape collective meaning.

How to build a strong initial post

Analysis over summary

• Use at least two assigned sources.

• Label your sections or use very clear transitions.

• Choose one artwork and explain what it teaches.

• Show how suffering, compassion, mindfulness, karma, dharma, or liberation are built into form.

• End with a brief humanities comparison.

A strong post says “this design teaches…” rather than only “this artwork shows…”

Questions to push analysis further

Useful for class discussion and peer responses

• How does form teach ethics?

• How does ritual shape meaning?

• What does the viewer or practitioner have to do to learn from this artwork?

• How is liberation represented without becoming merely decorative?

• What is similar in purpose to another tradition studied in HUM 202?

Week 8 learning resources

Use at least two in the discussion post

Video / multimedia • Buddhism: An Introduction to the Buddha's Life (audiobook preview / overview) • Hindu Art and Architecture Museum essays / articles • Buddhism and Buddhist Art — The Metropolitan Museum of Art • Hinduism and Hindu Art — The Metropolitan Museum of Art • The Great Stupa at Sanchi — Smarthistory • Mandalas: Mapping the Buddhist Art of Tibet — The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Official links to these resources are included on the course page. This slide deck previews the ideas students should watch for while reading and viewing.

HUM 202 Capstone Project

• Creativity, Civilization, and Meaning-Making
• Final Assignment Overview

Purpose

• Analyze how art, literature, and music shape civilization, identity, memory, and power.
• This is a formal academic project (not personal reflection).

Choose ONE Question

• 1. Second Moment of Creation
• 2. Art as Memory
• 3. Creativity & Power
• 4. Art as Ethics

Build a clear thesis.

Project Options

• Option A: 3–5 page essay
• Option B: Digital presentation (15+ slides)
• Option C: Both (optional)

Essay Requirements

• Chicago Style
• Thesis-driven
• Use course + academic sources
• Include bibliography

Presentation Requirements

• 15+ content slides
• Clear thesis
• Analysis (not just images)
• Chicago citations

Sources

Use:

• Civilizations (PBS)
• 3+ academic sources
• Avoid Wikipedia & blogs

What I’m Looking For

• Strong thesis
• Cross-cultural analysis
• Use of evidence
• Clear organization

Due Date

• Submit on Canvas
• May 4, 2026 by 11:59 PM

🧠 How to Think Like a Humanities Scholar Do NOT summarize. Instead: Analyze. Ask: • Why was this created? • Who was it created for? • What message does it send?

AI-Generated submissions Will be required to be rewritten in 2 days or receive a 0 (zero)

Remember to post!