CURRENT EVENTS RESEARCH PAPER (50 PTS) Each student will independently complete a short paper of 3 double-spaced pages. The assignment will be worth 50 points. All papers must include the student’s...

CURRENT EVENTS RESEARCH PAPER (50 PTS)

Each student will independently complete a short paper of 3 double-spaced pages. The assignment will be worth 50 points. All papers must include the student’s name and be submitted electronically in the “Current Events Research Paper” content folder on Blackboard, formatted as a Word or PDF document, and due by the last class session (see schedule of assignments). Late papers will be penalized 20%.

GUIDELINES FOR CURRENT EVENTS RESEARCH PAPER

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  Browse various online and print news outlets (for example, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, TIME Magazine, Huffington Post, pbs.org) and/or media that specifically covers religious topics (for example, patheos.com has many blogs devoted to various religions and religious issues).

  
  


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  Identify an “issue” or “crisis” or any other kind of disruption (whether for the devotees or people affected by some action of the devotees) that is afflicting one of the religions covered in class (or subset of a religion). Read at least 3 articles that discuss the issue or problem.

  
  


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  Compose a 3-page, double-spaced, (12-font) paper that a) summarizes the issue, problem, or disruption briefly (this should be about 1 page), b) explains why it is an issue from the perspective of the worldview inherent to that religion and/or why it is problematic for non-devotees (approximately 1 to 1.5 page), and c) proposes potential solutions to the issue (about ½ a page).

  
  


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  Include a Works Cited Page for all articles read on the topic.

  
  


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  Use parenthetical citations within the text when citing your sources. (Note: anytime you use information from a source, even if not quoting, you MUST cite it in order to avoid plagiarizing).