By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Become familiar with some of the key authors and texts in East Asian philosophies.
• Understand the most important problems involved in comparing modes of thought from different cultural traditions.
• Understand, analyze, critique and defend arguments deployed in philosophical discussions.
• Critically analyze the forms and styles of philosophical interpretation and argumentation presented in the course readings.  
• Explain the role and significance of philosophical interpretations from diverse contexts and perspectives.

Students are required to regularly attend the sessions and actively participate in class discussions about the texts assigned. Regarding the temporalization of these readings, please see the schedule at end of this syllabus. Student participation and preparedness are crucial. Students are therefore required to read the assigned texts in advance and must come to class ready to engage in debates and discussions.

The course is divided into different units. Each unit has a representative text at its core. We will do our best to follow a cycle of synchronous and asynchronous activities and tasks around each of these core texts: 

A) Context. During the second half of each session, the instructor will summarize the most important aspects about the historical, cultural, biographical contexts related to the assigned thinker and/or philosophical trend and/or text to be read at home and discussed the following week. Since this will be a short, schematic summary, the instructor may also point students toward a few reliable short scholarly articles or chapters in case they wish to deepen and/or amplify any of the aspects summarized. The instructor will use a slide presentation and will make it available after the session. 

B) Reading and preliminary notes. At home, students will read the assigned text and prepare for the following session. For each unit/reading there will be specific questions posted on Aula Global, but they will always ask, in one way or another, to summarize the main content of text, highlight a few significant aspects (concepts, ideas, features), select a few passages, and offer some critical, personal reaction to all this. Students must (a) read the text and (b) start thinking about and drafting their preliminary responses to these questions. 

C) Discussion. During the first half of the following session, the instructor will lead the discussion about the assigned text. The questions posted on Aula Global will be used as a guide for discussion and students will share their preliminary responses. 

D) Personal response. To close the cycle, students will write their critical, personal response to each text from home on an individual reading journal to be kept throughout the course. Each student will be given access to his/her individual document. For each unit/reading there will be specific questions posted on Aula Global. Responses can be very short: less than one page for each reading. Students can also use the reading journal to include any additional thoughts, ideas, images, drawings, etc. The instructor will visit the document from time to time to check on each student’s progress throughout the course. 

General notes and suggestions:

• The slide presentations on the historical, cultural and biographical contexts will only be a quick guide—do not expect to find a full narrative in the slides. There is a reason for this: the instructor expects students to actively engage with the oral presentation to be given around the material synthesized in the slides and produce their own understanding of the context. In other words, this is not a passive activity but rather a task that students have to perform actively too.
• For best results in critical comprehension, please follow the cycle of activities mentioned above and read the assigned texts at the right moment to generate your own preliminary but personal reaction to the text: after the instructor has provided the relevant context but before class discussion. You should ideally have one week to read each assigned text at the right time. It is always tempting to postpone your own reading until the instructor and your peers have provided theirs. In my experience, though, students who read the text first by themselves and then contrast their reading with others’ end up developing better critical skills—and performing much better in the final assignments such as synthesis exercises or book reviews.
• Read the texts carefully and actively: summarize their content, try to identify their main concepts or ideas, underline relevant passages, draw diagrams, draft personal reactions, etc. To read carefully means also to think and write. If you have read the text in this active way, answering the questions (drafting rough, preliminary answers) should not take you more than 30 minutes.
• Some of these texts may be quite long and/or quite difficult. Be prepared for that. Plan ahead, organize your time and allow yourselves appropriate chunks of time to read with full attention. When there is a longer text, please read ahead—do not wait until the very last days. In my experience, this is a key aspect if you want to enjoy the course.
• Your own interpretation of a text may not necessarily coincide with other people’s interpretation of the same text. This does not mean that your reading is wrong—it only means that you have to find convincing ways to explain your points.
• Make sure to write or revise your personal response to the text in the reading journal after the session. If you have worked properly before and during the session, polishing up your final personal response in the journal should not take you more than 10-15 minutes. 

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Become familiar with some of the key authors and texts in East Asian philosophies.
• Understand the most important problems involved in comparing modes of thought from different cultural traditions.
• Understand, analyze, critique and defend arguments deployed in philosophical discussions.
• Critically analyze the forms and styles of philosophical interpretation and argumentation presented in the course readings.  
• Explain the role and significance of philosophical interpretations from diverse contexts and perspectives.

Students are required to regularly attend the sessions and actively participate in class discussions about the texts assigned. Regarding the temporalization of these readings, please see the schedule at end of this syllabus. Student participation and preparedness are crucial. Students are therefore required to read the assigned texts in advance and must come to class ready to engage in debates and discussions.

The course is divided into different units. Each unit has a representative text at its core. We will do our best to follow a cycle of synchronous and asynchronous activities and tasks around each of these core texts: 

A) Context. During the second half of each session, the instructor will summarize the most important aspects about the historical, cultural, biographical contexts related to the assigned thinker and/or philosophical trend and/or text to be read at home and discussed the following week. Since this will be a short, schematic summary, the instructor may also point students toward a few reliable short scholarly articles or chapters in case they wish to deepen and/or amplify any of the aspects summarized. The instructor will use a slide presentation and will make it available after the session. 

B) Reading and preliminary notes. At home, students will read the assigned text and prepare for the following session. For each unit/reading there will be specific questions posted on Aula Global, but they will always ask, in one way or another, to summarize the main content of text, highlight a few significant aspects (concepts, ideas, features), select a few passages, and offer some critical, personal reaction to all this. Students must (a) read the text and (b) start thinking about and drafting their preliminary responses to these questions. 

C) Discussion. During the first half of the following session, the instructor will lead the discussion about the assigned text. The questions posted on Aula Global will be used as a guide for discussion and students will share their preliminary responses. 

D) Personal response. To close the cycle, students will write their critical, personal response to each text from home on an individual reading journal to be kept throughout the course. Each student will be given access to his/her individual document. For each unit/reading there will be specific questions posted on Aula Global. Responses can be very short: less than one page for each reading. Students can also use the reading journal to include any additional thoughts, ideas, images, drawings, etc. The instructor will visit the document from time to time to check on each student’s progress throughout the course. 

General notes and suggestions:

• The slide presentations on the historical, cultural and biographical contexts will only be a quick guide—do not expect to find a full narrative in the slides. There is a reason for this: the instructor expects students to actively engage with the oral presentation to be given around the material synthesized in the slides and produce their own understanding of the context. In other words, this is not a passive activity but rather a task that students have to perform actively too.
• For best results in critical comprehension, please follow the cycle of activities mentioned above and read the assigned texts at the right moment to generate your own preliminary but personal reaction to the text: after the instructor has provided the relevant context but before class discussion. You should ideally have one week to read each assigned text at the right time. It is always tempting to postpone your own reading until the instructor and your peers have provided theirs. In my experience, though, students who read the text first by themselves and then contrast their reading with others’ end up developing better critical skills—and performing much better in the final assignments such as synthesis exercises or book reviews.
• Read the texts carefully and actively: summarize their content, try to identify their main concepts or ideas, underline relevant passages, draw diagrams, draft personal reactions, etc. To read carefully means also to think and write. If you have read the text in this active way, answering the questions (drafting rough, preliminary answers) should not take you more than 30 minutes.
• Some of these texts may be quite long and/or quite difficult. Be prepared for that. Plan ahead, organize your time and allow yourselves appropriate chunks of time to read with full attention. When there is a longer text, please read ahead—do not wait until the very last days. In my experience, this is a key aspect if you want to enjoy the course.
• Your own interpretation of a text may not necessarily coincide with other people’s interpretation of the same text. This does not mean that your reading is wrong—it only means that you have to find convincing ways to explain your points.
• Make sure to write or revise your personal response to the text in the reading journal after the session. If you have worked properly before and during the session, polishing up your final personal response in the journal should not take you more than 10-15 minutes.