Essay for Religion 105: Comparative Religion
You are responsible for an essay of three pages in length. The essay is worth 10% of your final grade. If you are in the Tuesday/Thursday class your essay is due on December 1st. . The essay must have a thesis statement and a Works Cited page.
You are required to have at least one primary source, three sources besides the textbook, and three on-line sources. Do not cite from Wikipedia, Answers.com, etc. Use scholarly sources.
The system of citation for your essay is the Modern Language Association's The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. The textbook, Think World Religions by Roy R. Robson, is a good place to start your research. At the end of each chapter the textbook includes a "For Further Study" section which gives suggested books and websites. The syllabus for this class also includes a list of several additional helpful texts.
If you are doing research into Christianity, make reference to the Bible (The New International Version is an easy version to read).
If you are doing research into Islam, make use of English translations of the Quran. An on-line version can be found at: http://www.jannah.org/qurantrans/
If you are doing research into Hinduism, make use of English translations of Vedas, Upanishads, or Bhagavad Gita. An on-line version of Upanishads can be found at: http://www.hinduwebsite.com/upanishadindex.asp . An on-line version of Vedas can be found at: http://www.hinduwebsite.com/vedicsection/vedaindex.asp
If you are doing research into Shintoism, make use of English translations of the Kojiki, the Nihongi, or the Kogoshui which can be found at: www.sacred-texts.com .
If you are doing research into Buddhism, make use of English translations of the the Pali Canon or Tipitaka. Translations in English are available on the Internet at: http://virtualreligion.net/vri/buddha.html
or http://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/buddhism_scripts.asp .
You can find help for writing a thesis statement at: How to write a thesis statement and outline
A complete Style Guide Resource for MLA from Guide to online schools.com can be found at: Guide to online schools.com.
You can find help on how to avoid plagerism at: Avoiding Plagiarism
Tuesday/Thursday Class Follow this schedule:
- Declare a topic no later than the third week of class, September 22nd.
- Submit your thesis statement on the fifth week of class, October 6th.
- Submit a rough draft of your essay on the tenth week of class, November 10th.
- Turn in completed version of your essay on the thirteenth week of class, December 1st.
The following criteria will be used for grading the essay:
- title page (5 points)
- thesis statement (5 points)
- Works Cited Page (5 points)
- One primary source (10 points)
- Three sources other than textbook (10 points)
- Three on-line sources (10 points)
- citation (5 points)
- minimum of three pages (20 points)
- originality and approach (5 points)
- grammar, structure, and logic (5 points)
- format and use of manual of style (5 points)
- turned in on time (15 points)
Topics for essays: Choose one of these topics or submit a different topics. Your topic must be approved by your professor.
- Report on one of the following mystics: For Judaism -- Isaac ben Abraham of Posquieres (Isaac the Blind) author of Bahir, Rabbi Judah Hachasid author of Sefer Hachasidim (the Book of the Pious), Rabbi Moses de Leon author of the Zohar; for Christianity -- Thomas a Kempis author of Imitation of Christ, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross; for Islam -- Rabi'a al-Adawiya, Jalal ad-Din Rumi, Al-Qushairi, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali.
- Explain the philosophical, theological, and/or social contributions of one of the following religious leaders:
- Gautama Rishi (systematized the Indian philosophical system known as Nyaya)
- Kanada (founder of Vaisesika school of Hinduism) See also Nyaya-Vaisesika
- Kapila Muni (founder of Sankhya system an atheistic, dualistic philosophy)
- Shankara (founder of monistic Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism)
- Patanjali Maharshi (compiled the Yoga sutras)
- Saicho (founder of the Tendai school of Japanese Buddhism)
- Kukai (founder of Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism)
- Honen (founder of Jodo or Pure Land sect of Japanese Buddhism)
- Judah haNasi, Judah the Prince (editor of the Mishnah)
- Maimonides (Medieval Jewish philosopher and theologian)
- Pope Leo I (leader in Christological debates of fifth century)
- John Wycliffe (professor at Oxford and father of Protestant Reformation)
- Zayd ibn Thabit (chief editor of the Qur'an)
- Abu Hanifa (founder of the Sunni Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence)
- Al Ghazali (Islamic philosopher who legitimized Sufism for orthodox Muslims)
Contact professor Lorenz at slinjersey@msn.com