Description
Research Topic and Question
This is the first stage of your final paper assignment. In this stage, you will identify a general topic and question which you plan to research for your final paper.
How should you go about identifying a topic and question?
Scan through the topics and readings in the syllabus. Are there any that particularly interest you?
You can also pursue a topic that is not addressed in the syllabus. However, make sure you can locate enough literature to write about your topic.
You can also look to current news and current affairs for a topic you could potentially write about. But make sure that it is related to religion and moral issues.
Examples of how you should formulate a research question
Your submission should be 2–3 sentences long.
“What are the Buddhist religious justifications for tree ordination in Thailand? This paper will examine how monks in Thailand drew on Buddhist ideas, scriptures, and doctrines to support the tree ordination ceremony, which aimed at reducing deforestation.”
“How did medieval Muslim exegetes make sense of the Qur’anic verses that discuss fasting? My paper will trace Muslim debates on the issue of fasting by looking at their commentaries on relevant verses in the Qur’an.”
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REL 381 Spring 2024 Syllabus (Liew)
REL 381 – RELIGION AND MORAL ISSUES
Spring 2024 (Session A)
iCourse and ASU Online: log in via MyASU or Canvas
Instructor:
Email:
Zoom Office Hours:
Han Hsien Liew, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Tuesdays, 2:00–4:00 p.m.; or by appointment
https://asu.zoom.us/j/6936403379
TA: Mu-Lung Hsu ([email protected])
Cambodian Buddhist monks in ordaining a tree in a campaign to reduce deforestation ©
Equator Initiative
Course Description
This course surveys the different ways in which religion relates to contemporary issues of moral
concerns such as identity, bioethics, gender and sexuality, environmentalism, politics and
violence, and the “mystical marketplace.” Each week, these issues will be examined through the
lens of various religions. This manner of coverage is not meant to be an exhaustive study of how
all religions treat a particular issue; instead, it aims to highlight the diversity in approaches
among several religions toward the issue at hand.
Learning Outcomes
1
REL 381 Spring 2024 Syllabus (Liew)
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
1. Understand and explain the role religion plays in various moral issues encountered
today.
2. Reflect on how the interplay of religion and moral issues affects your daily life.
3. Develop a greater level of cultural literacy on various religious traditions worldwide.
4. Synthesize information and articulate complex arguments using clear and coherent
prose.
Course Materials and Readings
All readings, films, short videos, and podcast episodes are available online on the course Canvas
website. Please check regularly for updated materials.
Assignments and Grading Criteria
Weekly Discussion Board (x7):
20%
Quizzes (x6):
30% (5% each)
Final Paper:
50%
– Research topic and question: 5%
– Annotated list of books/articles to be consulted: 5%
– First draft: 15%
– Final draft: 25%
*Extra Credit:
3%*
Weekly Discussion Board (20%)
Every week, there will be 1 or 2 discussion prompts posted on the Canvas discussion
board based on the week’s readings. You are required to produce at least 1 substantial
written response (at least 100 words or about 1 paragraph) to one prompt. I will award
0.5% extra credit each time you respond to comments made by your classmates, up to
3%. Tardy or shoddily written responses will result in a low grade for this portion of your
overall grade. Discussion board responses are due at 11:59 p.m. on Sundays.
Quizzes (30%)
These are short quizzes to assess your understanding of the assigned readings. Each
quiz, to be taken on Canvas, will consist of multiple-choice, true-false, and short-answer
questions. Quizzes are due at 11:59 p.m. on Sundays. There will be no quiz during Week
7 to give you more time to work on your final project.
2
REL 381 Spring 2024 Syllabus (Liew)
Final Paper (50%)
The goal of this assignment is for you to formulate your own research question and then
answer it by way of an engaging paper of 7–10 pages. Beginning Week 1, you should
start thinking of a question related to religion and moral issues that intrigues you. It may
be based on one or more of the weekly topics, a subject not addressed in the syllabus, or
a topic in the current news that is related to the course themes.
You will be guided through this assignment in stages. The first stage (Week 2) requires
you to formulate a research question that is feasible and answerable with available
sources. Before handing in this assignment, you are encouraged to consult with me
regarding your topic of interest. By the second stage (Week 3), you will have identified a
preliminary list of at least 5 works (books, articles, and/or audio and visual sources; at
least 3 of which should be academic books or articles) to be consulted for your project,
with one or two sentences explaining how each work will contribute to your research. In
Week 5, you will be required to hand in a first draft of the paper (2–3 pages), consisting
of at least an introduction and one section covering the historical and contextual
background of the topic. The final draft of the paper (7–10 pages) will be due on Friday,
February 23rd, at 11:59 p.m. More detailed instructions are available on Canvas on the
“Preparing for the Final Paper” page. The assignment page for each component of this
exercise will also contain more information on what you should be doing.
Grading Scale
A+ 98–100
B+ 87–89
C+ 77–79
A
A-
B
B-
C
D
94–97
90–93
84–86
80–83
E
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