RELI V2607

Apart from reading, just about none. 200-300 pages a week, but not necessary to read it all. Focus on primary texts and "Inner Revolution". Optional 10-page research paper, very manageable midterm and final, and weekly discussion posts.

One essay, one in class midterm, one final project and an extra credit assignment. Weekly discussion posts and readings which are very doable. Overall super manageable, I don't spend more than 1-2 hours a week outside of class. The grading is also amazing.

This looks like the first review in quite a while... some things are the same, some different. I first wanna say that Indo-Tibetan Buddhism has so far been the greatest class I've taken at Columbia. Thurman totally pulls the rug out from under traditional Western thought while simultaneously showing how entrenched we are in it... this comes up in his book "Inner Revolution" which you read all throughout the semester. It's a unique course for a number of reasons, beginning with how Thurman doesn't treat the subject matter as some bs theoretical thought experiment, but truly believes what he says. That goes further than might be obvious. His personal connection to the material gives it real depth, and if you're engaged in it you may find that it can... dare I say... make your life more meaningful. No class I've taken so far has been more influential to my everyday thinking, and taking it during the election of 2016 was especially profound... i know i wasn't the only one who found those two days a week the most inspiring. Thurman's a badass, super funny and self-deprecating, very quotable, very famous, definitely prone to tangents (which almost always DO relate and come back to the material), very political, and seriously knowledgeable. Sometimes doesn't give thorough explanations of the Sanskrit terms, but very thorough explanations of esoteric buddhist concepts, many of which h…

Prof. Townsend is amazing, genuinely one of the best professors at Columbia. It's kind of strange to me that she does not have a gold or silver nugget. She is incredibly knowledgeable but also extremely kind and is very understanding. The course content is very intellectually stimulating and you will learn a lot -it is very complete and covers almost every basic aspect of Buddhism- but also not too difficult or stressful (coming from a STEM major with little to no experience with history/religion or writing, but with a general curiosity towards Buddhism). The discussion posts and readings are doable and actually interesting. This should be a no-brainer global core for anyone, it's very interesting, chill, and 4 credits.

you can't possibly do ALL of the readings. i mainly read the primary sources, thurman's book inner revolution (if i had time), and the intro book. weekly course postings that you either need to spend time on or not depending on the TA, a midterm that required more time than given (and graded either easy or hard again depending on the TA), and a final research paper on a topic of your own choice. all doable.

so i was kind of apprehensive about taking this class, after reading some of the below reviews. but i have to disagree with many of the negative remarks. i think he's gotten a bit more organized in his lectures, and there is indeed a structure to the class. yes, he goes on tangents, and yes, sometimes he's a little boring. but i think the positives outweigh the negatives. i learned a LOT about buddhism, which i knew literally almost nothing about before. additionally, i also learned much about thinking about religion, which i appreciated, not being religious myself. i enjoyed taking a class with such an academic celebrity (it's quite something when your professor talks about his personal conversations with the dalai lama; which he's quite pleased with, but irregardless...). thurman can be incredibly funny in class (intentionally or not) and has some funny stories to tell (but because he is self-proclaimed "senile" he often repeats them). i enjoyed his lectures, learned a lot, and would recommend taking this course with him. my only real complaint was that he didn't write some sanskrit terms on the board, and often talked fast about some things without pausing to let us catch up. and he didn't miss all that many classes, only four i think. it's understandable that he has obligations, and because there were four TAs for the class, it seemed like it was also an opportunity for th…

A lot of reading (easily can be not done), a midterm ( really easily graded if you get an TA), final paper. 1 hr a week discussion groups, and class attendance is factored in.

This class can be a complete waste of time if you want it to be. Maybe there is some truth to the fact that there is something of value to be learned from Thurman's brilliance, but it is obscured by the lack of structure in the class. Unless you are really interested in THOROUGHLY doing ALL of the readings and willing to listen to his random lectures, I wouldn't recommend this class. Easy grading, though.

Listening to a lot of verbal diarhea, outside readings you can skip, mid-term, final, and a short essay that will be read by the great American buddhist himself.

If a professor polarizes students into two camps, they he is leaving a significant portion of the student body disaffected and alienated -not exactly the hallmark of a good instructor. Similarly, a "tangential" approach to "esoteric" material is hardly encouraging. Poorly construed thoughts aside, Thurman is, I think, a pathetic windbag who uses his academic position to expound on a number of themes pertaining to politics and mass culture, using eastern religion as a vehicle. He did not seem to me truly interested in explaining Buddhist philosophy in any comprehensible way. The class is large, the lectures bad, and the TAs mildly useful. Oh, and Big Bob will likely be absent a lot because of other commitments. Don't believe for a second that your tuition obligates him to be present for your education. If you want a quick three credits, take this course. You won't learn a great deal, but it will be only mildly irritating. I pulled an 'A' and didn't break a sweat.