World Lit I Bhagavad gita

Discussion of excerpts from the Bhagavad-gita. We focus on the influence of the Vedas and Upanishads, Krishna's revelation to Arjuna of his place within a larger universe, and the context of the Mahabharata. Please note that I am not an expert in Sanskrit literature or in Hindu thought, nor do I claim to be. In addition, the students in my class have not read the entire poem, so we are discussing only those parts that are excerpted in their anthology. Finally, please note that this is a session of a general course in World Literature for second-year students at a small public university in the southeastern US. Few of the students in the class have any experience or knowledge of Hinduism, and with only about an hour to teach the text to them, I have to simplify some concepts.