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Primary Source Texts
Read & Discussion
(online)
The
purpose of this assignment
is to familiarize you with some of the more popular and important texts that
inform some of the religions of Asia.
What is a "Primary Source Text"?
A "primary
source text" is authored by and/or used by people within the religion. As
an example, the Bible is the primary source text for Christianity. Your textbook
for this course is an example of a secondary text - it is not used by these
religions but, rather, tells about them from an "outsider's"
perspective. Primary source texts are (and inform) an "insider's"
perspective.*
In this course, you will read
and discuss four primary source texts. These are all relatively short. With possible exception of the Analects
of Confucius, each can actually be read in an evening (although you may
want to take more time to reflect on and think about what these texts have to
say).
Four primary
source texts:
All of these texts are being read in
translation. There are various translations available, each with its pros
and cons (some easier to understand and more or less literal translation). The
use of different translations can be valuable as each may shed light on the
other.
You
can purchase your text in the campus bookstore, in any good bookstore in your
community (e.g. Barnes&Noble), or online through Amazon (or other
online book sellers). You may also be able to borrow these texts from a public
or college library (they are on reserve in the Woodbridge campus library). These texts are also
available
at various locations on the Web. Just make sure that whatever text you use contains the
"full-text" rather than select chapters (I have indicated, above, the
number of chapters you should find in each text). If you are unsure of the
version/edition you have selected, ask your mentor about it.
For each of four primary texts,
read at specified points as you study each religion, you are to participate
in discussion of specific passages. Three posts per text: your own
initial post plus a response to posts from two of your classmates (12 posts
total) Plus an additional concluding post and replies reflecting on the texts in
general.
For each text:
Post #1:
- Select a passage you like:
- Cite (chapter & verse, NOT page
number) and quote the passage (may copy and paste from an online
source)
- Offer your own, original interpretation
and/or application of the passage (how it might relate to your life or
our own culture)
- Also select a passage that puzzles you:
- Cite (chapter & verse) and quote the
passage
- Explain what about it puzzles you? (post
this so that others might offer their understanding of the passage and
shed some light on it for you)
- Go to the Primary Text forum on the
discussion board in the course site; look for the thread for the
text you are discussing.
- Before you post
your interpretation, scan through the existing posts
to make sure no one else has already offered an interpretation of
that passage. If that passage is already under discussion, then you
can use your interpretation as a reply (your post #2, noted below)
and you will have to pick a different passage to post as your
initial interpretation (your post #1). Duplicate passages will
not count.
- Same with your puzzling
passage - if someone else has already posted that one, then
pick another to post as one that puzzles you.
- Post as a reply to
the existing thread for the text in question (cannot add
new threads to this forum)
- Include both passages in your
single post
- Identify (change) the
subject line by the chapter & verse of the two passages
that you are discussing
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Review posts from classmates:
Post #2:
Reply to a classmate, offer an alternative interpretation and/or application
to the passage a classmate has interpreted
- Change the subject line
to indicate the chapter & verse of the first passage your
classmate has cited (the first passage they offer their understanding of
that you are addressing in this post)
Post #3:
Reply to a different classmate, attempt to explain the passage that
puzzled them
- Share your understanding of the passage
- Change the subject line
to indicate the chapter & verse of the second passage your
classmate has cited (the puzzling one you are addressing in this third
post)
Note: For each of the four
texts, you should end up discussing three different passages
in three different posts (including the passage you interpret in your
first post) (12 posts total)
Repeat process for each text in
turn:
- Bhagavad Gita while you are studying
Hinduism
- Dhammapada while you are studying
Buddhism
- Tao Te Ching while you are studying
Taoism
- Lun Yu (Analects of Confucius) while
you are studying Confucianism
Conclude discussion
of these primary texts with some general observations:
- Which text you liked most, and why
- Which text you liked least, and why
- Read
and reply to what your classmates had to say about
their most and least favorite of these texts: In what ways did their reasons
for liking or disliking a particular text resonate with you or offer you a
different perspective you'd not considered?
If
you miss or otherwise neglect the discussions, you can demonstrate your
familiarity of the text(s) for partial credit: write a personal response,
addressing the following:
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What would you say is the most important main idea or theme of this
text?
-
What was your overall impression of the text? Did you like it? Why
or why not?
-
What most impressed you about this text? What most puzzled you (cite
some specific passages)?
-
What universal and eternal truths could you see in the text (cite
some specific passages)? How could you see these truths applying to your own
life and/or our own culture?
- Did you detect any similarities between the text
and some other sacred text you may be more familiar with (such as one from
your own religion) (cite some specific passages)?
Grading
based on:
Five
threads each worth 10% of the grade for this assignment (base
grade starts at 50% for even just a single post). Basically, minus one grade
level for this assignment for each text (or concluding thoughts) not discussed.
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Three
posts for each of four texts = 10% of this assignment grade
per text. Your initial post for each text (introducing two passages to the
discussion) is weighted twice as heavy as your replies to
classmates.
-
Concluding
thoughts (on the texts you liked most and least) along with replies
to classmates on this, is worth another 10% for the primary text discussion.
Quality
considerations: Individual discussion posts will get a quality
grade based on the five star rating system in the discussion forum. five stars =
A+. 1 star = D-
- Clear familiarity
with the texts (discuss the texts, not the religions in general
nor about something from any introductory material associated with the
texts)
- Quality:
insight, originality, depth of reflection into the passages you
discuss
- General clarity
of expression
- Proper
citation of passages discussed (reference "in
text" citation format: ch#:vs#)
- Response
to classmates' comments relate specifically to things your
classmates had to say and offer new insights, explain
disagreements or differences of opinion you may have.
Assignment grade will not be posted until the end
of the course (once you have completed your discussion of all four texts and
concluding thoughts on the texts or submitted your last R&R
paper).
*An "outsider" is someone who is not a follower of
the religion they discuss; an "insider" is someone who is a
follower of the religion they discuss. In other words, we can be informed by
someone outside or inside of a given religion. Either may be more or less
knowledgeable, more or less biased or objective, and have any number of
"agendas" for discussing what they do, that will inform the way they
present the material.
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