Assignment:
For this assignment, you will be required to choose one of the four topics listed below and write a 1,500-word research paper on the chosen topic. Please consult the MLA Handbook to reference and Dr. Norris' Tips for Excellent Papers in Blackboard for everything you need to write a solid research paper.
Choose ONE of the Following Topics
- Matriarchy Versus Patriarchy-The Treatment of Women within Religion throughout History: Do not focus on just one religion or just one individual within a religion. Instead, compare ancient versus modern religions, or compare across several modern religions, but show the similarities and differences in the treatment of women (beliefs, practices, symbols, rituals, patterns and themes).
- Indigenous Versus Colonial-The Differences between the God of the Native Americans and the God of the White European Settlers: Do not just provide a listing of similarities and differences, but compare and contrast by exploring underlying themes, beliefs, rituals, symbols, and practices.
- Moral Versus Immoral-The Moral Teachings of Religion: Compare and contrast the moral teachings of various religions (ancient, indigenous, and/or modern), particularly regarding their history, cross-cultural connections, similarities and differences. Make sure that you include a scholarly discussion of the difference between morals and ethics.
- The Historical and Modern Reasons for Hostility between the Religions of the People of the Book: Explore why the Abramic Religions have been at war in one way or another throughout their history. Discuss and review ancient and modern reasons. Is this hostility primarily based upon religion or does it have socio-economic and socio-political roots as well?
References
You must provide a minimum of five (5) references (books, journal articles, interviews, feature news articles, documentaries, etc.) of which only one may come from the Internet (except for full e-books and online academic articles). The Internet source must be a scholarly, professional expert source.
Please DO NOT use any of the following sources as one of your references:
- Hopfe and Woodward textbook or other course textbooks
- Wikipedia, encyclopedias or dictionaries
- Original sources, such as the Bible, the Torah or the Quran