Category: Religion and theology

Write and submit a 175-250 word response to the question posed below. Bring another assigned reading from the week into your response, and explain how it relates to the question.

In what ways are the political and divine realms connected in at least one of the texts assigned for this week? Be specific in your description.

Assignment Instructions

For this Site Visit, students will perform field research by attending a religious service outside of their own religious tradition. The goal is to immerse each student in an unfamiliar religious context (example: Christians should perform field research on a non-Christian religion, like Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.)

At the top of your paper, please include the name of the religious site visited, the date visited, the names of any individuals you may have interviewed, and the particular sect or denomination of the religion that practices at the site.

[If you visited a Muslim mosque, was it Sunni or Shiite? If you visited a Jewish synagogue, was it Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform? If you visited a Buddhist temple, was it Theravada or a Mahayana sect?] You may want to ask this when you call to find out if your visit is acceptable.

Your research should ideally progress in three stages:

Stage 1Preliminary research

Before going to the service, it is a good idea to do some preliminary research on the religious tradition. For example, if youre attending a Hindu ceremony, you will want to read the textbook chapter and watch the PowerPoint presentation on Hinduism. Additionally, I strongly recommend that you call the site youll be visiting and let them know youre coming to do research for a class project. Ask them if theres any dress code requirements, or anything else you should keep in mind. You may also want to ask if they will allow you to take notes during the service. (Some Jewish denominations, for example, do not allow writing on Shabbat {Saturday}.)

Stage 2: Field research

Attend the service and observe closely. You may want to take notes. Some students have found it helpful to attend services in groups, and youre welcome to do this.

Stage 3: Supplementary research

After your visit, research any elements of the experience that were unfamiliar and that left you with questions, including but not limited to the practices, symbols, dress code, and conversations encountered at the site. In other words, research each practice and find out why its done in this particular sect.

Examples:

If you go to a Jewish service and you see the men wearing kippahs (or yarmulkes), you dont want to write in your essay, There were these men and they were wearing these funny hats but I dont know why. This is where your additional research comes in. Find out what the hats are called, and find out why theyre worn.

If you go to a Muslim mosque and you see the worshipers washing their hands and feet, you dont want to write in your essay, Everyone was washing their hands and feet but I dont know why they did that and it was pretty weird.

Upon completing these three stages, write a detailed and insightful essay. It should demonstrate a general understanding of the religious tradition; use your research to explain your experience at the site. What did you see around you? What did the place of worship look like? Did you see any religious art or religious symbols there? How were people dressed? What rituals were performed?

Finally, include your personal reaction to the service. How did you respond? Did you enjoy the visit or did you feel uncomfortable? Were your opinions about the religion challenged or confirmed by the site visit?

Reflection and Application Assignment 1

(to be used as HD assessment)

Assignment Instructions: In a short-essay format (approximately 300-400 words), engage the following reflection and application prompt to demonstrate your critical thinking on the subject. Your entry should have a clear thesis and draw upon course materials and examples to support your argument. Quotations should include in-text citations.

PROMPT: In our study of religions weve seen how classification, definition and identification are methods by which humans make the world knowable, but in so doing they also can have real-world effects on people and communities and studying the ways in which religion/people are classified can also reveal something about the classifier. In a well-organized short answer (approx.. 300-400 words), respond to the following:

• Describe a specific example from your readings that helped you understand how classification and definition of religion(s) is a socially constructed phenomenon which shapes and impacts understanding. Offer enough details to orient your reader well, do not assume they know what you are referencing. (This example should come from course readings, cite where you are getting the example from. Failure to use a course example will result in a zero.)
• Explain the influence that environmental and historical contexts have had on the social construction of the religion identified in the example above.
• Analyze how the classification and definition systems used to identify this religion have also created barriers for some and opportunities for others. Where and how are there discriminatory attitudes present within this social construction?

You will need to submit this assignment here for class points and then AGAIN in the HD Assessment Assignment.

follow the directions given to complete this assignment there is only one attempt for this assignmnet. there are some video’s for this assignmnet and I dont know how to attach them so if you need them please reach out to me so that I can open it up so that you will be able to download them.

Topic: Four Films, One Book Prompt, and Course Reflection Due Date: at the beginning

• Fiddler On the Roof or Exodus Judaism February 23
• Conclave Christianity March 16
• Malcom X Islam April 13
• Siddhartha Buddhism May 4
• What I learned in Religion 115 May 11

Length: Two-page reflection/research papers

These three films and one brief book exemplify a life experience of each religious tradition treated in this course. These assignments are not film/book reviews; rather, they are intended to ground and broaden your learning proficiency with a vibrant film or book illustrating the compelling truths at the heart of each religious tradition.

Select one specific theme of each film/book that evinces the heart of the religious tradition. For instance, in Fiddler on the Roof, the role and importance of tradition for the Jewish people and how that plays out for Tevya and his family is a possible theme. In the film Conclave, you can consider the contemporary conflict between traditionalists and progressives in the Catholic Church. The role of conversion and submission for the lead character in the film Malcom X is important. In the book Siddhartha, you can examine the nature of nirvana or the state of enlightenment.

In this thesis-driven brief essay, you should argue logically toward a compelling end. Also, be attentive to proper formatting. Avoid an overview with a general thematic treatment. Do not write in the first person. Employ Chicago style sheet instructions. Give your work a provocative title. Part of this assignment is to execute a concise professional argument; therefore, length does matter. Do not write over the two-page limit.

Reflection Paper Topics (two pages)

• Fiddler on the Roof or Exodus Judaism February 23
• Conclave Christianity March 16
• Malcom X Islam April 13
• Siddhartha Buddhism May 4
• What I Learned in Religion 115 May 11

Reflection papers will be graded according to the following standards (see Grading Rubric on Canvas):

A The paper advances a critical argument with a clear thesis, content, and supporting data or evidence. The paper is well organized, with a clear introduction, engaging prose style, correct grammar, and proper formatting that adheres to Chicago Style instructions. Overall, the work demonstrates outstanding writing.

A- The paper advances a critical argument with a clear thesis, content, and supporting data or evidence. The paper is well organized, with a clear introduction, engaging prose style, correct grammar, and proper formatting that adheres to Chicago Style instructions.

B The paper demonstrates very good writing, clear organization, and proper formatting that adheres to Chicago Style instructions.

C The paper demonstrates good writing, clear organization, and proper formatting.

D The paper demonstrates poor writing and analysis and improper formatting.

F The paper demonstrates minimal effort, failing presentation, and improper formatting.

Rewrite No grade is given because of unacceptable writing, formatting, and generally poor performance by student, or erroneous data. Student must rewrite paper for a grade. Moreover, a student may be asked to rewrite the paper if the professor deems the student is not writing at their highest level.

please follow the directions given for this assignmnet there is only one chance to complete this assignmnet.

please follow the directions given to complete this assignmnet. for this assignmnet I will have to open it for you so that you will be able to doneload all of the powerpoint videos to complete this assignmnet.

please follow the directions given to complete this assignment.

Research and write a multi-paragraph essay in which you explain whether the ten plagues of Egypt were 1) miracles of God, 2) a series of scientific phenomena, 3) mythical stroies of things that never happened, 4) some combination of the above options. Your essay should be: typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, and 1-inch margines on a Google Doc.

Writing a Good Book Review

Book reviews play an essential role in historical scholarship. They offer context for and critical assessment of new publications, ideally from the perspective of people who have worked on similar problems or used similar sources in their own work. Reviews also allow scholars to keep up on new literature, because there is never enough time to read every book. For those who are new to a field, book reviews offer a quick way to listen in on the conversations that animate current and former scholarship. A good book review does not merely report on such conversations, however. It participates in and advances them. As Karin Wulf has written, The most effective review brings readers those who have read or might read the book, but often those who have not and may not into a broader, informed conversation about the topics the book addresses.

I. The Basic Elements of a Good Book Review

Anyone who reads your review should be able to answer three questions about the book you’ve reviewed: what is author’s argument and what is its position in larger debates on the topic? How did the author structure their argument and what evidence did they use to make their case? And Is the author’s argument strong or weak (in the reviewer’s estimation)?

1. A summary of the authors argument. What was the topic and what was the author trying to do? What was his or her aim in writing the book? How did she or he frame the questions? How did she or he propose to get answers to them? In order to do justice to a book, part of what you must do is to enter into the authors project and describe it for your audience. This does not necessarily mean that you take the authors approach or views as the last word on the subject (see point three). But you must show that you understand what that approach was.
2. A synopsis of the author’s use of evidence. You should summarize the contents and the main findings of the book. What is the books thesis–its main, central claim–and how does the author make an argument for it? What kinds of evidence are used?
3. A critical evaluation of the book. Be flexible in how you think about this! It may be that you find a book either completely persuasive, or completely misguided. But there are many possibilities in between. Perhaps the book offers a partial perspective on a larger question. Or maybe it raises questions more than it provides answers, by showing that the conventional wisdom wont do yet leaving us unsure what to put in its place. You will think of other possibilities. Think carefully about the verdict you want to render. Its very rare that a book merits complete approval or complete dismissal. Above all: avoid bland and vacuous judgments such as this book was interesting or this book was boring. Commentaries such as these suggest that you are not taking yourself or the book seriously.

Your review should do all these things, but how you do them is where good writing enters in. One possibility is to address each point in turn, then move onto the next. This approach gets the job done, but the effect can be formulaic or mechanical.

II. Reading for the Argument

Before you write, think about how you are reading. Dont be a passive reader; be an active reader. Here are some suggestions for things to do and think about as you read. Always take notes as you read, not just after you’re finished.

• Try to get inside the authors argument, that is, inside their way of thinking about a problem and presenting it.
• Figure out the authors aims. Try to figure out what your author is trying to do. Is the author filling gaps in the existing literature? Is the author trying to overturn some dominant interpretation? Is the author merely trouble-shooting on a paradigm that is otherwise sound?
• Pay attention to language. Any author has a language or vocabulary of his or her own. What terms are central to the argument? Is the author using those terms in a special way?
• Pay special attention to the use of evidence. What kinds of evidence is the author using to make their case? Is the evidence new? Is it old evidence that your author is examining in a new way?
• Prefaces, introductions, and conclusions are often good sources of information on this. For instance, was the author trying to support or refute other authors? To correct misconceptions, or to point out something that has been missed? To make a political or moral point?
• Keep an eye out for the authors underlying values. What are their assumptions about human nature? About how society works? Are they fundamentally optimistic or pessimistic? You don’t need to incorporate these insights into your review explicitly; but it can help decipher your author’s argument to have a sense of their worldview.

III. Due Diligence

Like any good piece of expository writing, your book review should have the following qualities:

1. You should refer in detail to the authors arguments. Keep the focus of your writing on your author’s arguments, not on yourself. For example, dont resort to phrases like I think or it seems to me. You are trying to reconstruct the core of the authors argument. Instead, pay attention to the language and the major steps with which the author makes their case.
2. You should document your use of sourcesin this case, the book you are reviewing. Direct quotes should always be in quotation marks, and paraphrases should be referenced as well. Since there is only one work being discussed, you may put page numbers in parentheses at the end of the sentence, and give a full bibliographical citation at the beginning or end of the paper: Author, Title (Place of publication, date of publication). The title may be either italicized or underlined. The same goes for reviews you consulted in writing your own: if you want to quote them directly, you’ll need to document your use of the review you’re quoting. More broadly, it’s OK to repeating a criticism that you picked up some other reviewer — as long as you give credit where credit is due, either in the body of your text (“as so-and-so pointed out in her review of the book for The Journal of Academic Stuff…“) or in a footnote.
3. You should always proofread your writing before turning it in. Always always always proofread a paper and make corrections if necessary before turning it in.