Introduction to the Study of Religion

Personal Project

You may do a single, involved/extensive (time & effort) project or several smaller projects. Your mentor may make some suggestions to you based on familiarity with your interests. You may accept, modify, add to, or reject these suggestions, substituting your own ideas.

By midterm (see class schedule for proposal due date) you should present your project proposal to your mentor (briefly and informally, via e-mail). Feedback to your proposal may suggest that your initial idea may not be extensive enough to warrant the entire percentage this project should be worth. In which case you may be encouraged to expand on the idea or to do one or more other smaller projects to supplement your idea. Feedback may also suggest ways to expand the proposed project; additional, related ideas, and/or helpful resources. 

Timing of project proposal due date and schedule of other assignments is designed to give you several weeks during the second half of the semester when this is the main project you will be working on (i.e., there will be no other assignments due beyond regular, weekly reading and journaling). Take advantage of the time you are given. Do not wait to work on this until the week before the project is due and expect a decent grade. Also, should you fail to submit a timely proposal, you risk not doing the best work you might otherwise have done: you will not have the benefit of your mentor's feedback and time to revise your idea, should need be.

Grading criteria varies with project but is generally dependent upon depth of thought, originality, quality of presentation, and extensiveness of the project.

Here are some suggestions for possible projects:

Research one or more of the religions among the top five (or over 80% agreement) on your Belief-O-Matic results and/or any other religions that interest you.

Or do a cross-cultural exploration of a particular religious theme (compare and contrast different religions), focusing on any one or more of the following topics (or any others you may think of):

Resources may include: books, videos, Websites, encounters & dialogues (including and/or beyond the two required), materials published by the religion, etc. Sources are to be cited regardless of presentation.

Here are some online guides for citing sources: 

• APA Style Essentials
• A Guide for Writing Research Papers Based on Modern Language Association (MLA) Documentation

Format of presentation: two options

• May be a traditional research paper (if you choose to research just one religion or theme in some depth). Such a research paper should be at least 2000 words, plus citations and bibliography/resources list. A decent research paper would include an introduction, body and conclusion. It would not simply present basic facts but would present and explore a particular theme or thesis which you support with evidence and cogent arguments to arrive at a particular conclusion.

Here are some guidelines for writing a formal paper.

Grading criteria: Traditional writing

• Composition
• Content
• Critical thinking skills

Here's an example of an excellent research paper

• Alternatively, you might present a scrapbook/portfolio collection of information and personal commentary on a number of different religions you have investigated. Such a scrapbook might be arranged with sections on each religion or thematically, exploring comparisons and contrasts. This scrapbook gives you the option of taking a more creative approach to presenting information, including the use of pictures and items you print or cut from resources (including Web pages and materials produced by the religions).
  

  Grading criteria: non-traditional Content: How many religions have you included? How much have you had to say about the information you include? Also be sure to cite your sources! Presentation: How much care have you taken to put together an attractive presentation? Is there some "rhyme and reason" to the order of materials in the presentation?

  Sample scrapbook: (PowerPoint presentation) Cover pages Part I Part II Part III Part IV

• Create a series of Web pages exploring the religion(s) you have researched. Include a cover (home) page, navigation to other pages in your project, links to online resources you have identified. Be creative, use images when relevant, make your project as attractive and informative as possible.

Grading criteria: non-traditional

• Content: accuracy and quantity

• Presentation: appearance and navigation

• Resources referenced and acknowledgements given as needed

Some other ideas:

Religion in the News:

Make a habit of reviewing the weekly newspaper and news magazines for items related to religion (you might also be interested in watching Religion & Ethics Newsweekly). Collect items of interest to you and write your own commentary on the pieces you read. 

At the end and/or beginning, write a general commentary on the kinds of pieces you selected and why you choose these pieces. Perhaps you had a specific theme in mind, perhaps you have discovered more about your own interests (related to religion) when you step back and begin to see a theme developing in the pieces you have read and selected.

You can also choose one specific article and write a formal essay (500 - 1000 words) on the issues discussed in the article and/or the way they were presented. (An essay would be worth up to an additional 5% of your grade for this project.)

Your final presentation might take the form of a notebook or scrapbook/portfolio of articles with your own commentary interspersed throughout. Again, do not limit your commentary to simply a summary of the content of the articles; offer your own analysis and evaluation of the issues as well as the way the articles present those issues.

Grading criteria: non-traditional

• Extensiveness of collection
• Extensiveness and depth of thought of your commentary (more than just summary of content or a single sentence for each piece)
  
• For a formal essay: 

• Composition
• Content
• Critical thinking skills

Interfaith Activities:

Participate in and report on events sponsored by the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington.

Several activities are being held in September so check it out now!
Of special note coming in November: the 24th annual Interfaith Concert

Reports may be written and/or presented orally to the class (up to 5% for each visit/report). A good oral presentation would be well planned and take around 10 minutes, including any visuals or hands on "show & tell" of materials you may have collected at the event. A brief, poorly planned presentation should be supplemented with a written report to receive more credit.
You may also share your reports via the class discussion board - encouraging other to get involved (the "Encounters & Dialogue" forum seems the most reasonable place to post such reports).

Museum Visits:

Visit and report on area museums related to religion:

• The Sackler Gallery displays art and exhibits related to Eastern cultures and religions
• The Holocaust Museum
• The John Paul II Cultural Center

Reports may be written and/or presented orally to the class (up to 5% for each visit/report). A good oral presentation would be well planned and take around 10 minutes, including any visuals or hands on "show & tell" of materials you may have collected at the museum. A brief, poorly planned presentation should be supplemented with a written report to receive more credit.
You may also share your reports via the class discussion board - encouraging other to visit these places (the "Encounters & Dialogue" forum seems the most reasonable place to post such reports).

Read, journal, and review one or more books related to religion. In addition to submitting your own written reflections on the book(s), you might consider posting a "customer review" of the book(s) you read at Amazon.com

Grading criteria: traditional (for written review)

• Composition and usefulness of formal review (keep in mind the public audience of your posted review)
• Extensiveness and depth of thought of commentary (in journal format)

A review alone (500 - 1000 words) would be worth no more than 5%

Minimal journaling alone would merely be quality added to your journaling grade - You'd want to have some extensive thought regarding this reading for credit toward your personal project.

Watch and review a series of movies related to religion:

A fairly extensive list of such movies is provided at "Adherents.com's Guide to Religious Feature Films"

Be selective. You might choose a particular theme and compare and contrast several movies regarding both quality and content - how they present the religion/theme in question, to what extent the movies are educational, etc. Your aim may be to review movies related to one particular religion; to different aspects or forms of one particular religion; or you may choose to view a series of films, each related to a different religion, and discuss how those films have helped you to understand and/or appreciate the religions in question.

Beyond films related to specific religions suggested by Adherents.com, there are other thought provoking films with a more general religious/philosophical theme: films about death and the afterlife (e.g., What Dreams May Come or Defending Your Life), films about the debate between science and religion (e.g., Contact).

You may watch and review each movie independently of one another or you may write a single, more extensive paper exploring the theme of religion (or a more specific religious theme) in commercial movies, using several films as examples. Keep in mind that a review would not simply summarize the content of the film; you should also offer your own analysis and evaluation of both the issue as well as the way the film presented it.

Grading criteria: traditional (for written reviews)

• Composition
• Content
• Extensiveness: a single film and single review (500-1000 words) would not be worth more than 5% of your grade.

Pursuit of suggested optional projects:

• The writing of an original myth and/or original interpretation of a myth or other such religious story
• Creative work with Mandalas
• An essay/paper regarding religious freedom issues

Grading criteria: traditional writing

• Depth of thought (be sure to include a written reflective commentary for any creative work you might do)
• Composition
• Original/creative thinking/approach to problem
• Critical thinking (for religious freedom issue)

You may always choose to make additional Encounters & Dialogues, with accompanying reports, journaling and scrapbook, or worked into a more formal paper. These additional encounters may focus on a single religion, exploring various forms this religion takes (e.g., different Christian denominations or different Buddhist sects) or they may continue to be independent of one another.

Here's an example of what one student did.

Keep in mind that each required report is worth 5% of your grade. One additional encounter will not suffice for the full percentage of the personal project. Percentage of grade will be based on the number and quality of additional encounter reports you submit.

Any of these or other possible projects may have an oral component to them:

You may supplement your written presentation with an in class educational presentation to your peers (10-15 minutes). Such a presentation may utilize technology such as a video, PowerPoint presentation or series of Web pages you have created. As the subject warrants, you may also do a demonstration or even lead the class in an activity. For your "15 minutes of fame" think of yourself as the teacher, sharing with us what you have learned through your independent investigation. If you do plan to make an oral presentation, be sure to arrange in advance with your mentor for class time to be set aside for you.

Note: it is extremely rare that an oral presentation alone will be worth the entire percentage this project is worth. You will also need to submit some kind of product (written, electronic, artistic, etc.) even if it is little more than a presentation outline, summary, and reflective commentary on the process of researching and putting together your presentation including a list of resources used.

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