Study Hinduism Online
A RECOGNISED INDEPENDENT CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies online courses give a thorough grounding in the beliefs, practices, and traditions of Hindu culture and their impact on Hindu identity.
The Courses are taught by the Continuing Education Department of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.
There are currently five courses available:
- Understanding Hindu Identity
- The Vedas and Upanishads
- The Bhagavad Gita
- The Mahabharata and Ramayana
- Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva, and the Goddess: Readings from the Puranas
For details of the course providers, click here
Course Delivery
- All materials are delivered via the web
- Your tutor will always be available by email
- You are also be able to communicate online with your fellow students.
Don't worry about technical skills – if you can handle email then you're ready to go.
Course delivery includes:
- Student forums with tutor participation
- Recorded lectures available in video and mp3 format Lecture notes available online and as pdf
- Audio interviews with specialists in Hindu Studies at Oxford University
- Supplementary materials taken from the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies teaching and research programme.
Assessment
Assessment for each course is optional and is on the basis of successful completion of a single essay of 2000 words.
Time Limits
Courses can be completed in as little as seven weeks. There is a final deadline for essays of twelve weeks from the beginning of the course.
Enrolments
The next session of these courses begins on 11 October 2010.
Each course costs £95 fully inclusive.
(Enrolment queries? Email lal@ochs.org.uk)
Contact Us
OCHS
13-15 Magdalen St
Oxford, OX1 3AE
UK
+44(0)1865-304300
info@ochs.org.uk
www.ochs.org.uk
Courses
The Mahabharata and Ramayana
This course will make a broad study of the stories and characters represented in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and consider their religious teachings.
In both works, stories are told of the descent of the Deity to earth and the conflict that ensues between good and evil. And yet these accounts are never one-dimensional, for there is a subtlety to the storytelling that makes these great works as relevant today as they have ever been.
More information on this course
Bhagavad Gita
A detailed study of the text and the principal religious ideas contained within the eighteen chapters (700 verses) of Bhagavad Gita, the main themes of Krishna’s discourse, and the principal ideas presented.
The Bhagavad Gita is an exposition of belief and practice that has had an immeasurable influence on the formation of Hindu Dharma.
You are provided with an English translation of the chapters under consideration and discussions of the meaning and significance of these verses. We also reflect on the contemporary significance of the teachings and how they can be of relevance to the modern world.
More information on this course
Courses
Understanding Hindu Identity
This course provides a thorough grounding in the beliefs, practices and traditions of Hinduism.
Students are invited to use the knowledge they acquire as a tool for exploring the essential meaning of Hindu life as it is practised both in India and around the world.
The course gives an understanding of Hindu cultures, philosophical and theological concepts, literature, lifestyles, and rituals. It also explores issues of ethics, caste, and gender, and contemporary expressions of Hinduism.
More information on this course
The Vedas and Upanishads
Some of Hinduism's most sacred texts, the Vedas and the Upanishads are vast in their extent. This course provides you with a broad understanding of these works and the beliefs and practices they advocate.
We present a broad outline of the principal themes and then engage in a more detailed study of selected passages. By the end of the course you will have a good general understanding of the type of religion 
revealed in these works, an insight into their teachings, and have firsthand experience in the process of understanding religious and philosophical texts.
More information on this course
Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva, and the Goddess: Readings from the Puranas
The Puranas play a vitally important role in the construction of contemporary Hinduism for it is in these works that many of the stories and concepts central to Hindu dharma are to be found.
This course is structured around selected readings from three of the major Puranas, the Bhagavata Purana, the Shiva Purana and the Markandeya Purana, and is based on a close reading of specific passages that relate to Vishnu and his avatars, to Shiva, and then finally to Durga, the great Goddess.