a seminar on religion, law, & politics around the globe
syllabus • readings • assignments • links
Professor Thomas Hilbink • 110 Gordon Hall • 413-545-2003 • hilbink@legal.umass.edu
office hours: Wednesdays, 11 to 1 (or by appointment)
The Paper:
One paper will be required for
the course. It will focus on the many ways religion, religious institutions
and actors, and religious beliefs played out in the current presidential election.
More details on this project will be distributed in the next few weeks.
Click here for a .pdf version of the Fall 2004 paper prompt
If there is one skill every college student must master before leaving college
it is good writing. I take writing very seriously and you may find that your
perception of what constitutes good writing is drastically different than mine.
You are thereby forewarned. If your writing skills are shaky, or you need a
refresher, I recommend you buy a copy of Strunk and White's Elements of Style.
I have zero tolerance for
plagiarism. Aside from the clichés
about cheaters only cheating themselves, I think plagiarists (Steven Ambrose
included) are (or, in Ambrose's case, beyond contempt. If you are caught plagiarizing
you will receive an F for the course and I will pursue disciplinary proceedings
to the fullest extent. If you are unclear on what constitutes plagiarism, consult
the University policy (see under "Academic Honesty").
If you are dissatisfied with your performance on the paper,
I am happy to discuss ways to improve your writing for the following paper or
for the future. However, regrading of papers will occur only in extenuating
circumstances. Grade grubbing is highly discouraged. Any paper regraded may
be raised or lowered from the original grade.
Papers not turned in by the deadline will be accepted. However, grades will
drop a letter grade for each 24 hour period they are late until submission.
In other words, timely papers will be those collected at the deadline. A paper
turned in at any point after that will be considered late. A paper turned in
after the deadline will drop one letter grade. A paper turned in the following
day (after the deadline time) will drop two letter grades, and so on.
I prefer that papers be turned in as hard copies (on paper). However, you may turn in papers electronically only if you first receive permission from me. Papers are not considered submitted until I can open them on my computer. Thus, it is your responsibility to make sure you email the document in a format my computer understands (such as rich text format (.rtf) or public document format (.pdf)).
Religion and the Election Project
Fall 2004
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few months, you are well aware that there is an election coming up. You may or may not have noticed the central role that religion is playing in this election. From George Bush’s overt born-again Christianity and John Kerry’s Catholicism to the role of churches at the local level and the image of Islam internationally you don’t have to look hard to find an example of religion and politics in the current scene. Your primary project for the first half of the semester is to delve into this topic and write a report on one aspect of this multi-faceted matter.
Before giving you some basic parameters for the project, let me state that I am willing to be flexible on the shape your project takes provided that you discuss your ideas with me well in advance. While everyone last semester chose to do a rather traditional paper, I would be willing to accept a film/documentary project or a play (along the lines of The Crucible) if you wish to do something of that nature (and these are just examples). I have some ideas about what I would like, but recognize that you might have your own vision of what you’d like to do and that may well be acceptable. That said, I offer some ideas for the project that might help provide some direction.
You should first spend some time surfing the web, looking at articles and websites that discuss the issue. You need to familiarize yourself with the parameters of the issue before you take your next step. Next, I would like you to choose a topic to study. After identifying the topic you wish to study, you should then design a way to study it.
Perhaps you will attend (if possible – some religions (i.e. Mormons) will not allow non-adherents to attend ceremonies) the meetings (mass, services, etc.) of a religious group over a period of weeks and study how sermons and other parts of the worship are tied into politics and the election. You might choose to interview various religious leaders to understand how they think about the interaction of religion and politics in our society. Perhaps you will design and conduct a survey of the congregants of one church to gather information about their views on religion and politics. Perhaps you will attend meetings of groups on either side of the debate and interview people to find out about their religious beliefs. Throughout all of this, you need to also be finding out about how the group you study thinks about the legal and political realms (i.e., Do they believe that they should be politically engaged or politically aloof? Do they believe that they should accept and follow the law no matter what or should they disobey or resist when it conflicts with their morals?).
Some possible topics might include:
Finally, you will be expected to write-up your findings in a report. This report should be at least eight pages in length, however I am more concerned about how well and thoroughly you present your findings rather than how long the paper is. This report should follow basic paper format (thesis statement, paragraphs detailing findings, footnotes, etc.), but will also need to include collections of the articles, documents, etc. that you collect over the course of the project. I will discuss final paper format at greater length as the term progresses.
No matter what you choose to do, you must meet with me to discuss your study design before you begin carrying it out (before September 22nd). It is your responsibility to find a time to meet with me (either at office hours or by appointment). Because the project is due on November 9th (one week after the election), I expect you to begin work on this project early in the term as such work cannot be accomplished in a week or overnight. Thus, you will be expected to stick to the schedule laid out below. Failure to meet deadlines will result in a lowered grade for the project.
I will write out and distribute separate details on each stage of the project as we approach that stage. Additional information will be available on the website.
September 22nd: Written Project Proposal due in class.
October 13th: Written Project Progress report due via email.
October 22nd: Three articles or documents due in my Inbox for distribution to class (for October 27th session).
October 27th: Class session on issue of religion and the election using articles and documents you’ve gathered during your research (imagine show and tell for grown-ups). Presentation of projects.
November 3rd: Discussion of the election and religion aimed at gaining an overview of how the various studies tie together.
November 10th: Final project paper due.
5 points: Timely and satisfactory completion of scheduled tasks
15 points: Field-work evaluation (complexity, creativity, effort)
10 points: In-class presentations of findings (October 27th)
10 points: Final report