MODERN LANGUAGES CAMP: ZEN & CROSS-CULTURAL VALUES: RETREAT, ENCOUNTER, AND DISCOVER

FULFILLS:

MODL 391, 3 credit hours.

Notes: this counts toward requirements of Asian Studies major or a Japanese minor and any experiential learning credit needed for any degree. Extra paperwork necessary through the office of Student Academic and Career Development to receive the experiential learning credit.

Learned about this class at the Language Fair, but not a UNL student?

In this course, students can experience Zen meditation on the beach of Lake McConnaughy, discuss the thoughts behind the experience at the Biological Station, and compare cultural perspectives about happiness between the Zen culture and the cultures where students are from.

Your students can apply for the course at the site of Cader Point Biological Station:

https://marketplace.unl.edu/cpbs/2024-class-application.html

Then they need to apply to be a visiting student:

https://wam.unl.edu/admission/start

When they are accepted as visiting they can get them a code and then they can register via MyRed.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. Masaya Honda is a faculty lecturer of Japanese at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln since 2021. He has previously taught western and eastern philosphy courses at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska-Omaha, and Doane University and has over 7 publications. He was also a jyokyo (assistant teacher) of Zen based martial arts holding a 4th degree blackbelt. He can be contacted at s-mhonda1@unl.edu.

COURSE DATES:

July 21st to August 4th

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course offers you a retreat with Zen activities and philosophy at UNL Cedar Point Biological Station. In this course, with a simple Japanese language practice, you will practice meditation by sitting, walking, and exercising on the beach of Lake McConaughy as well as in the nature trails around the station. Then, you will bring the experience back to the station and, with a daily topic question, analyze and discuss the experience against the philosophy behind the practices. We will also have weekend Zen activities such as creating arts and dishes. Through these, you will learn how to properly approach foreign culture and how to project and to realize your own vision of happiness for the future.

Benefits:

• Fostering physical and mental health
• Increasing mind-body coordination
• Increasing focus
• Developing intercultural competence
• Developing the capacities of critical thinking & problem solving

Goals:

• Find ingredients to happiness
• Design happiness of your own
• Through exploring Zen culture
• Through developing intercultural competence

Objectives:

• Learning how to speak in simple Zen language
• Learning how to meditate while sitting, walking, and exercising
• Learning throughts behind Zen practices
• Creating Zen arts and Zen dishes
• Learning how to approach thoughts and habits of foreign culture

Activities:

• Zen language practices: basic Japanese language; Zen terms; Zen dialogues (Koan)
• Zen meditation practices: sitting; walking; exercising (martial arts)
• Zen arts practices: poems; calligraphies; paintings
• Zen dish practices: vegetarian dish with Japanese ingredients and flavorings; desserts

Assignments: the final project

• Hand in daily notes about your thought experiments
• Create a 15 min-long self-video about Zen & happiness
• Include Zen activities that you performed in the video
• Include critical and respectful analysis of Zen practices and thoughts in the video
• 2,000 word-manuscript about what is your idea about happiness and how to achieve it

Grading:

• Daily attendance (60%)
• Daily notes, 13 notes total (20%)
• Final video and manuscript project (20%)

Detailed documentation which describes what to expect each day in each area of study.

Enroll Now!