R 201:EASTERN RELIGIONS

The research project is to be an empathetically objective, carefully researched interpretation in written form of some feature, teaching, person, or practice of one of the religious traditions we are studying. Which tradition you choose, broadly speaking, will be in large measure determined by the due date for which you register. Thus, a research project due at the time of the first exam (Jan 31) must be on some expression of Hinduism or Jainism (broadly conceived). A project due at the time of the second exam (Feb 21) must be on some expression of Buddhism or Sikhism (broadly conceived). And a project due at the end of the course (Mar 17 at Noon) must be on some expression of one of the religions of China or Japan (broadly conceived). In any case, it must follow the following guidelines.

It is suggested that you discuss every stage of your research project with your teammate(s) for the course, using your teammate(s) as a source of constructive critical feedback of your work. Remember that you are to have a teammate do a constructive critical review of the next to final draft of your paper before writing a final draft, so plan accordingly. The Peer Review Guide for the Research Paper may be helpful to have clearly in mind in writing the paper.

Your are encouraged to do your project in the form of a creative website or PowerPoint presentation, if you like, but it still must follow the guidelines as given below.

MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT

The main objective of this project is to have you empathetically get inside the religious phenomenon you are describing and bring it to life within brackets (i.e., within a perspective of neutrality) as a representation of a living religion. It should not just be an account of its objective fratures and an explanation of its outwardly "different" aspects in a neutral way but it should represent your best efforts to bring out and make plain what it means and feels like to be a participant, making accessible for your reader the religious experience of insiders.

That is to say, while a description of the objective features of your chosen phenomenon (your topic) is important and not to be left out, the central focus should be upon its lived meaning, its meaning in practice for participants. Think of your task as one of building a bridge for your reader's imagination to enter into the phenomenon, understand it, and get a feeling for what it is like 'on the inside' -- and to do so neutrally ("in brackets"), in a manner set off from having to react to it.

The paper is not to be a comparative essay. Use comparison, if at all, only as a foil for conveying aspects of the subject chosen that cannot be easily conveyed otherwise.

Instead of a literal paper, the research project may culminate in the production of a creative website, utilizing text, pictures, audio, video, animation, etc. (If this option is chosen, it must still nevertheless rely upon at least four major academic sources in addition to whatever other sources are used.)

Whatever topic you choose, therefore, your task is to bring out what it is like for a participant to be involved with the phenomenon you choose to research. (For topic choice, see guidelines below.) In other words, first learn what it feels like to be involved, and then identify and describe what that is, bringing out the meaning found in living participation. It may help to put your paper or a significant part of it in the form of a story. (One good model for this is found in the book, Had You Been Born in Another Faith, by Marcus Bach, on reserve. Another model is Leonard Biallas' World Religions: A Story Approach, also on reserve.) To the extent that you find evidence of significantly differing viewpoints among insiders regarding the subject of your research, take those differences into account.

Although you will need to do research outside of lectures and our textbook, what we will be covering in class is vital to your accurate comprehension of the topic you choose within its religious and historical context. Your research must take account of what we are covering in class in so far as it is relevant. If material is covered in class that is relevant to the paper but is not taken into account in writing the paper, the paper will be considered to have a major weakness.

BACKGROUND PREPARATION FOR YOU

In preparation for your paper, re-read with care my "Essays on Religious Studies II: Empathetic Objectivity in the Descriptive Representation of Religious Phenomena." There I set out guidelines you may follow to insure that your paper will be empathetic (the "Test of Empathy") and objective (the "Test of Neutrality"). Often students, in their desire to be empathetic, lose track of the necessary neutrality and objectivity -- their description fails to be "bracketed" and ends up coming across as if the writer was a true believer and advocate. Other students, in their concern to be objective, never reach a sense of empathy for lived meaning (or convey it in their papers). It is especially important that you follow these guidelines in order to maintain the necessary balance between the two poles of empathy and objectivity. When in doubt as to what they imply for your paper, check with me.
The Peer Review Guide for the Research Paper may be helpful to have clearly in mind in writing the paper.

EXAMPLE PAPERS

Several example R201 papers illustrating the research project are available for your review on the R201 library reserve list entitled "General Course Readings.".

TOPIC CHOICE

With this research project you are not free to write on just any topic you like, or do the research for it in any way you like, or write it in any way you like. The purpose of the directives and guidelines which follow is to have you learn through practice the discipline of empathetic objectivity in the interpretation of religious phenomena. Nevertheless, within these guidelines, you have a very wide range of choices.
The topic you select is to be from one of the traditions being covered during the section of the course during which it is being researched and written. Generally, the more specific the topic (e.g., within a specific sub-tradition, in a specific locale, at or in a specific time), the better.
The topic you choose must focus on a religious expression very different from the religious expressions with which you are personally familiar or with which you personally identify. It should rather be something you know very little about and represent a challenge to your ability to empathize with it. One purpose of the project is to stretch and develop your capacity to empathize with the strange and unfamiliar.
Your choice of Paper Option I and topic of your paper must be submitted in writing to me (for review, approval and/or redirection, and bibliographic suggestions) not later than two weeks before it is due (Jan 15 for the first set of papers, Feb 5 for the second set, and Feb 26 for the third set). You are encouraged to do this via email. You should also submit at the same time at least three of the best sources we have in the library for that topic. To do this you should first consult the appropriate R201 reserve list (i.e., "Sources on Religions of India," "Sources on Buddhism," "Sources on Religions of China" and "Sources on Religions of Japan"). The Annotated Bibliography for the course, which has annotations for each of the books on reserve an valuable books in the Reference Section of the library, may prove very helpful as well. You will receive feedback from me on your choice at the next class session. Do not ignore the biblographic suggestions I give you at this time. Simply ignoring them will not be well received.
Teammates may choose the same phenomenon to write about, but if they do they must consider it from different, complementary angles. In other words, they should not simply write about the same topic (nor jointly write the same paper). Some topics lend themselves to this more than others.
Preferably, the topic should pertain to one (or to some combination) of the six ways of being religious discussed in class. (Explicit reference to the idea of ways of being religious is not required, but you must explain any such references you make.)
A good place to start is to become familiar with the lists of example topics listed below. Another is to take a close look at my book, Six Ways of Being Religious, on reserve -- especially pp. 51-68 (which discusses each way in general), ch. 4, "The Ways of Being Religious Exemplified," and the anthology of readings in chs. 9-14 (which focuses in depth on examples of each way of being religious in both Buddhism and Christianity).

SOURCES

Research for the project is expected in all but extraordinary cases to include a minimum of 3 major scholarly sources on the subject in addition to our course reader (or 4 major scholarly sources if Kessler is not used), and to draw upon class lectures and assigned readings when relevant. An Internet source will not count as a major scholarly source except in unusual circumstances that are cleared with me.

Building first upon the basic understanding of the tradition supplied in the R201 lectures and required course readings, these major scholarly sources are to serve as the foundation for your understanding of the topic you have chosen. All other sources (e.g., Internet sources) are to be critically weighed in light of what these sources have to say.

For most of you in the class, the scholarly sources you will use will be books available in the R201 Reserve Holdings and the library reference collection. You are expected to consult these first, especially those I have specifically recommended to you. Click here to review an annotated bibliography of these holdings. Depending on your topic, sometimes books not on reserve may be helpful. Books in other major academic libraries within the state are generally acceptable. Popular encyclopedias such as the World Book Encyclopedia or Microsoft Encyclopedia do not count as scholarly sources.

Some topics will be more difficult to find good sources for than others, and some sources will be easier to read and understand than others. If you run into major difficulties, check with me. Don't switch topics without checking first with me well in advance.

Internet sources will not count as major scholarly sources, although they may be very helpful in writing the paper. They should not be relied upon as the major source of your information except in unusual circumstances where there is insufficient information available locally and you have cleared it with me.

Books and pamphlets produced by religious organizations (i.e., "official publications"), while sometimes informative, are usually not empathetically objective. At the very least, they will usually not pass the Ttest of Neutrality. Such sources may not be counted among your major scholarly sources. (Occasionally, good scholarly sources are available from representatives of a tradition, but this is unusual.)

When in doubt get advice from me, for not all sources are reliable for the needs of this project.

A major relevant article or combination of articles in the Encyclopedia of Religion could be such a source. This is one of the very best of scholarly sources in our library. While dated in much of its information (so beware), the Hastings Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics is often a helpful source as well. (Take note of the MLA format for citing articles in encyclopedias by author of the article and article title. For a briefer version, see below, under Documentation.)

Many of the videotapes in the media lab for the course are excellent sources of information and helps for empathetically entering into the frame of reference of participants. They will not, however, count as major scholarly sources.

You are encouraged to do your best to include some first-hand research (e.g., observation, interviews, field investigation, etc. -- see me for suggestions and contacts), and to incorporate the perspectives and experiences of actual members of the tradition you are studying. Helpful advice on conducting first-hand research may be found in Miller and Seltzer's, Writing and Research in Religious Studies (on library reserve, but do not follow their guidance for documentation). Appropriately documented, empathetically objective, first-hand research will count toward extra credit in the course. .

EXTRA CREDIT IN CONNECTION WITH THE RESEARCH PROJECT

Extra credit may be earned by incorporating some first-hand research (see immediately above) in addition to library research.
Extra credit may also be earned by having a thoughtful, knowledgeable representative of the tradition which your Research Project is about read a draft of your paper and give you constructive critical feedback by means of which you will be enabled to make necessary corrections to pass the Test of Empathy. This must be documented by way of a special acknowledgment at the end of your paper of the person's assistance, giving name, status the person has in the tradition in question, nature of the assistance given, how agreeable (or not) the person was with the draft she or he read, and what changes you made in it as a result.

TEAMMATE CRITICAL REVIEW OF PAPER DRAFT

Once you have a readable draft of your paper -- preferably, one that is nearing its final state -- have at least one of your teammates give it a thorough constructive critical review in light of the guidelines given here, making use of the Peer Review Guide for the Research Paper. Then revise your paper in response.

Acknowledgment of the assistance you have received from your teammate(s) must be given in a note after the concluding paragraph of your paper.

FORM OF FINAL PAPER

The final paper is to be between 5 and 10 typed, double-space pages (unless it is being done in the form of a specially composed website -- in which case it should be at least of that length if printed out).

The term paper (whichever option you choose) is expected fully to address the assignment as given and be

coherent,
the result of your own work (i.e., avoid plagarism at all costs),
neatly typed with double-spacing,
free of minor spelling and grammatical errors (i.e., proof-read and corrected before you write your final draft), and
characterized by full and accurate documentation in MLA format (Modern Language Association format, the format used in Humanities courses at Western) for all sources on which you have directly relied (even when not quoted directly), including interviews and things from the Internet. See the section on Documentation below. For further specifics on MLA format, click here. (MLA format is also required to be incorporated into research project websites.)

Failure to meet these minimum expectations will result in a substantially lower grade than you otherwise might deserve, and perhaps no credit for your work at all.

POSSIBILITY OF RE-WRITE

See me individually if you wish to receive feedback during its development. In any case, re-writes for an improvement of the paper and an improvement of the grade are encouraged (though simply making minor spelling and grammatical corrections will likely not improve your grade significantly. Papers due on Mar 17, to be eligible for a re-write, must be turned in by Mon., Mar 10.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR COURSE CONTENT DURING WORK ON PROJECT

Please note that not taking one of the examinations for credit does not relieve you of responsibility for mastering the course content for that section of the course (e.g., completing the assigned reading). Your paper (whichever option you choose) is expected to reflect mastery of that content so far as the content is at all relevant to your paper. In any case mastery of that content will put you in a more secure position to evaluate your sources critically. Your not having to take the exam is for the purpose of freeing you to focus more effectively on your paper.

DOCUMENTATION

"Documentation is the process by which credit is given to the appropriate source for every borrowed idea used in a paper. Such ideas may be in the form of direct quotation, summary or paraphrase. Regardless of form, proper credit must be given in a specific conventional style that allows the reader to trace your sources. For literature courses [and religious studies courses taught by me] that style is MLA, which uses parenthetical documentation where references are placed in parentheses within the text itself. This eliminates the need for foot notes or end notes. The parenthetical note refers the reader to a works cited entry which includes complete publication information for the source." (From the WOU English Department's "Style Directions")

More specifically, for most parenthetical notes, the reference will be of the form: (author's last name followed by page number) -- e.g. "(Cannon 42)" -- with no comma or "p." between. Then in your Works Cited or Bibliography, your reader will easily be able to identify the source. Where more than one source is by the same author, the parenthetical note will have a comma after the name, followed by an easily identified abbreviation of the particular source, which will then be followed by the page number -- e.g., "(Cannon, Six Ways 42)". (For a full explanation of MLA documentation, consult chapters 4 and 5 of Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 4th ed., on Library Reserve for R201. For short but fuller description of MLA documentation than that found here, click here.)

Special note: MLA parenthetical citations from an encyclopedia, such as the Encyclopedia of Religion, or any other collection of essays should be to the author of the article or essay (not to the editor of the collection). An author's name is usually given at the end of an encyclopedia article (sometimes as initials which must then be looked up elsewhere for the full name). In your "Bibliography" or "List of Works Consulted," each article or essay referenced should be listed separately by the author's name and the title of the article or essay. Encyclopedia of Religion references should look like this: e.g., "Cragg, Kenneth. "Muslim Worship." Encyclopedia of Religion. 1987 ed." And the reference in the text of your paper should look like this: (Cragg xx), where xx is the page number of the reference. If there is more than one source reference by Cragg, then it should look like this: (Cragg, "Worship" xx), or some other abbreviated version of the article title.

CHECKLIST TO KEEP IN MIND IN COMPOSING YOUR PAPER

Have your first paragraph clearly introduce your reader to your topic as a whole and have a final paragraph close your essay in a summarizing way.
Make clear the larger context in which the subject of your paper is situated -- e.g., the subtradition in which it stands, its cultural and/or national context, its historical era, the larger pattern of religious life of which it is a part.
Think of your paper as building a "bridge of empathetic communication" between someone outside the tradition you are studying (e.g., a friend who is not taking the class) and insider participants within that tradition. Make sure that you bring out the meaning and significance of the matters you are covering for insider-participants. Sometimes a story or narrative structure to your paper will help. (For some examples, see Bach, Had You Been Born in Another Faith, and Biallas, World Religions: A Story Approach, on library reserve.)
Imagine a knowledgeable insider from the tradition in question being one of your readers. Strive to write in such a way that your paper will not only merit his recognition (e.g., that you have interpreted the topic accurately from an insider's perspective) but also his or her pleasure that you will have done it well.
Avoid all exaggeration and sweeping generalizations; when you make any claim that might be somewhat controversial, be sure to give it convincing support.
Avoid overmuch quotation; a paper simply filled with quotes will be regarded as the work of someone else and not by you.
Make sure each empathetic description is properly "bracketed" -- i.e., presented in a neutral way. In other words, avoid presenting any religious conviction as if it were simply factual (and thus acceptable by outsiders) and avoid having your presentation be in any way biased by your own religious convictions.
Your paper should not presuppose any special knowledge or acquaintance with specialized terms on the part of your reader. Beyond general common knowledge, it should more or less stand on its own. So, explain each special term and reference (e.g., "the way of right action," "halacha," or "magisterium") that might not be clear to your reader.
Put each reference (both in the text of your paper and in your bibliography or works cited) in proper MLA form, including encyclopedia articles. For a review of MLA format, click here.
Review the grading criteria listed below.

EXAMPLE TOPICS

In what follows, I list a great range of possible topics. They are meant to be suggestive, not to limit your options. Each 'paragraph' represents a cluster of possible topics; it does not represent a topic unto itself. The language remains very general. In several cases, a single phrase represents a possible topic, sometimes a cluster of possible topics.

The topic you end up actually selecting should in most cases be more specific, or should at least focus on more specific examples than those here listed. Also, it should be 'located' within a specific tradition within the larger religion. (Be wary of claims by members of a specific tradition that they speak for all of Hinduism or for "the only true Buddhism.")

Thus, when I list "pilgrimage to shrines and holy places," you should consider focusing on pilgrimage to a specific place in a specific time -- e.g., contemporary Vaishnava pilgrimage to Benares. Or, when I list "Buddhist meditation," you should consider focusing on a specific tradition of Buddhist practice -- e.g., vipassana meditation in Theravada, or more narrowly upon vipassana meditation at a particular Buddhist center in contemporary Burma. Beware of tackling too much, e.g., a whole tradition such as Confucianism or even Pure Land Buddhism. On the other hand, don't pick a topic that is so narrow and minute that it has little or no significance with respect to the tradition in which it stands.

To make sense of these topics, it is advised that you begin by skim reading a relatively brief overview of the tradition in question: e.g., in my R201 Lectures (2003), or in the relevant chapters of Ludwig, The Sacred Paths of the East. On Buddhism, see Cannon, Six Ways of Being Religious, ch. 7.
Possible topics include:

a general feature of the tradition (e.g., the characteristic polytheism of Hinduism, the marked aesthetic dimension of Japanese Shinto, the this-worldly social and moral commitment of Confucianism),
a specific teaching or doctrine (e.g., Hindu karma yoga {the Hindu way of right action}, Hindu bhakti yoga {the Hindu way of devotion}, Daoist pursuit of immortality, Buddhist teaching of the insubstantial nature of all things),
a basic idea or belief within the context of religious life (e.g., Mahayana Buddhist shunyata [the "empty" Buddha-nature of all things], Hindu brahman [the ultimate principle of all reality], Confucian li [ritual propriety]),
a historically significant person (e.g., Gandhi, Confucius, Zhuang-zi, Honen, Nichiren),
a specific movement or sectarian expression, a religious organization,
a religious social role (e.g., priest, guru, monk),
a life-cycle ritual,
a form of worship (e.g., Hindu darshana {viewing of the deity, as in an image}, Hindu puja {ritual worship}, pilgrimage to shrines or holy places, Buddhist veneration of the image of the Buddha and use of incense, traditional Chinese veneration of ancestors, prayers {norito} at a Shinto shrine, Zen tea ceremony {chanoyu}), a religious festival, a basic attitude inculcated by the tradition (e.g., Hindu ahimsa, Daoist wu-wei {"no-action"}),
a specific moral code or practice,
a general ritualized practice (e.g., traditional Chinese feng-shui {geomancy}, wholistic healing, or divination),
a social structure inculcated by the tradition (e.g., caste, monastic life),
a specific method of meditation and ascetic discipline,
a work of religious art or architecture (within the context of religious life; e.g., Tibetan Buddhist mandalas {visual image for meditation}, a Buddhist stupa {relic shrine}, the dancing Shiva image, the aniconic Shiva lingam, a Shinto shrine),
a form of religious music or chant,
a sacred story or myth within the context of religious life (e.g., the divine origin of the Ganges river, one of Vishnu's avataras {incarnations} to save the world, one of the important stories of Krishna as divine lover, the Shinto creation myth, Amitabha's Vow, Gautama's Enlightenment, ),
a divine personage (e.g., Krishna, Kali, Guan Yin/Kuan Yin, Jade Emperor, Amaterasu), paranormal experience or shamanistic practice (e.g., vision quest, healing, exorcism, communication with the dead).

You are not limited to this list. These suggestions are meant to be suggestive of a great range of possibilities within each category.

Note: Some of these topics are phrased in general terms. The topic you end up actually selecting should in most cases be quite specific, or should at least focus (where appropriate) on one or two specific examples. Also, wherever possible it should be 'located' within a specific tradition within the larger religion. (Sometimes it can be confusing when a specific source presumes, for example, to speak for all of Hinduism or for 'authentic Hinduism.') Thus, when I list "pilgrimage to shrines and holy places," you should consider focusing on pilgrimage to a specific place, possibly in a specific time, and for a specific religious group.

Beware of tackling too much, e.g., a whole tradition such as Zen Buddhism, or even just Rinzai Zen. It will almost always stretch you too thin, resulting in your never getting beyond the surface.

GRADING CRITERIA FOR RESEARCH PROJECT PAPERS

1. Does it address what the assignment and questions ask and expect? Is it to the point? (If you are at all in doubt what is expected asked, make sure that you check out your understanding of these matters with me.) Specifically, does it follow the guidelines given on this web page?

2. Does it meet the minimum requirements for written work in the course? Is it coherent? Is it a result of your own thinking? (Clear evidence of plagiarism is sufficient grounds for an "F.") Is it double-spaced? Is it free of minor and distracting spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors? Is it neat and legible? Does it give full references to all sources relied upon in MLA format (including encyclopedia references listed by author and title of encyclopedia article)? Does it stand on its own, enabling a reader to understand it without presupposing special knowledge of course texts or the meaning of technical terms?

3. Is it reasonably accurate, complete, and fair in its representation of the views and experiences and practices of others being discussed? Does it draw upon at least 4 scholarly academic sources (which may include Kessler).

A grade of "B" will require meeting these two additional criteria with areasonable degree of success:

4. Does it give an accurate and clear, reasonably thorough account of the objective features of the topic under consideration? Does it make clear the historical and cultural context of the phenomenon being explained? Have appropriate qualifications been made and taken into account, avoiding sweeping generalizations that are unsupported and perhaps unsupportable? Have the best available sources on the topic been drawn upon? Are relevant matters from class sessions and assigned readings taken into account?

5. Has it developed and expressed an empathetically objective comprehension of the topic under consideration? Does it (or could it) pass the tests of empathy and neutrality? Has it reasonably overcome the effect of your own biases and crossed over to the insider's perspective and begun to experience the 'threshold effect'? Has it built a bridge of empathetic communication so as to allow the reader access to the perspective and understanding of insiders?

A grade of "A" will ordinarily require in addition meeting this criterion:

6. Does it bring the phenomenon to life, such that the meaning found in living participation is brought out and made clear to the reader's imagination? Does it bring out what motivates and inspires the participation of insiders? Does it help the reader begin to cross the threshold of empathetic understanding? Does it approach the topic freshly, thoughtfully, and originally? Are concrete examples used to sharpen and clarify any abstract points that might otherwise be unclear or ambiguous?

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