Please follow instructions closley. Professor takes these papers very seriously. Thank you!
Assignment:
The questions below are designed to help you create meaningful connections and produce your own thinking about the course material—they are a “prompt” to start your thinking process. You should not just answer the questions in order but use them to create a thesis-based paper. See below for the paper requirements (length) and grading.
Topics:
Choose ONE (1) of the options below and write a paper at least 1300 words long. See below for requirements and grading. For each assignment, I list the readings and videos I had in mind when I wrote the assignment. You do not need to use all the readings I list–it’s more meant as a guide.
CHOICE A: Gender Roles and Christianity
Both Roman Catholicism and Evangelical Protestantism debate the concept of gender complementarity and its importance. In this essay, analyze the positions that support and oppose gender complementarity. What is important to each side of the debate?
Relevant Readings: “Empowered by the Word,” “Complementarity,” “Tender Warriors,” “Nuptial Agreements,” “How Complementarians Cherry Pick Verses about ‘Biblical Womanhood’,” “Mixed Messages from Rome,” and “Womanpriests Bodies in Persona Christ”
CHOICE B: Gender and Theology
Both Roman Catholic theologians and Evangelical biblical interpreters embraced feminist approaches to challenge traditional teachings. In this essay, choose some central examples from our readings to analyze what progress these feminist approaches created—and the extent to which that progress does and does not remain within the Christian tradition. What helps reconcile feminism with tradition, and what requires tradition to change?
Relevant Readings: “DeMythologizing Ourselves,” “Rosemary Ruether: Feminism and GodTalk,” “Empowered by the Word,” “How Complementarians Cherry Pick Verses about ‘Biblical Womanhood’,”
CHOICE C: Sexuality, Gender, and Christianity
The reading on purity culture (“Sex and the Single Evangelical”) argues that purity culture sees female sexuality as “sacred and dangerous.” The reading on womenpriests’ bodies looks at how female sexuality challenges the traditional image of “priest.” Evangelical feminist groups split over the question of homosexuality, while other evangelical men’s groups emphasized men’s roles in heterosexual marriages. In this essay, examine how female sexuality has been defined and regulated in these traditions and where those definitions are challenged.
Relevant Readings: “Sex and the Single Evangelical,” “Womanpriests Bodies in Persona Christ,” “Tender Warriors” plus also discussions of female sexuality in “Demythologizing Ourselves”
CHOICE D: Create your own connections
I have noticed (and appreciated!) that in the annotations that many of you are creating your own connections and thinking among the various assigned readings. I would encourage a paper where you create your own topic, based on how the various readings and video (you don’t have to use all of them) relate to each other. Here your thesis will be your own explanation of the relationship you are creating among the materials. Hint: Try to avoid the phrase “in my personal opinion” or similar. That often leads students to state positions but not give enough explanation and evidence to support that position.
Let me knowwhat articles you would like and I will send them to you. Thank you!
Requirements and Grading:
Required Minimum Length: 1300 words
Note: this is my best guess at the length of a paper that creates an argument and uses appropriate explanation and evidence to support it. You should write a paper that achieves those goals, rather than automatically stopping at 1306 words or similar. Longer papers are fine; shorter papers will likely be missing enough content.
Graded Requirements:
All papers will be graded based on the following requirements. A rubric is available (and should be visible on the dropbox).
Due date: Friday November 19 in dropbox (by midnight). Extensions always granted; penalties for extensions determined based on reason for lateness. See Course Policies.
Thesis: All papers must have a clearly stated thesis that addresses the assigned topic of the paper.
• A thesis does not merely state the topic of the paper.
• A thesis requires an explanation, with supporting evidence, in the body of the paper.
• A thesis’s strength or weakness comes from how well developed it is and how original (that is, how much it expresses your own thinking) it is.
Quality of argument: this shows both your understanding of the main concepts and your ability to express your own thinking about them. See the rubric for stronger and weaker performance in this category.
Use of material from class to support your reflection; this is the evidence you need to back up your claims.
“Material from class” largely means the assigned readings and videos. A strong paper shows understanding of the relevant readings and videos, but alos explains how they support your overall thinking.
Quotations can be stronger in some cases than paraphrasing.
Paraphrasing also requires citations in the body of the paper.
Note: you have access to the annotations on the various assigned readings. These can be used to help you understand the readings. You may not copy annotations into your paper—that is considered plagiarism. All writing must be your own. See Course Policies.
Writing:
Strong organization based on the main points of your paper
Clear style
Correct grammar, punctuation, etc.
Use of correct citations and a works cited page
See below for links to resources for citation methods and a link for how to cite powerpoints.
HINT: citations can be helpful for seeing how much of your paper is reporting information you have learned and how much is your explanation of the material. If you need to cite every sentence, then you need to say more about the information in the paper.
CITATIONS:
For citation formatting (style, how to cite a written source, a website, etc.) (it doesn’t matter which style you use, as long as you are consistent).
MLA:https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html
APA:https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa6_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_tations_the_basics.html
Chicago:https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html
How to cite powerpoints (note that you can use my powerpoints, of course, but again you do not just want to list information):
https://library.purdueglobal.edu/writingcenter/apacitationforpowerpointslide
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
The sources listed in the assignment, plus class notes, should be enough to write this paper. If for any reason you look up information from any other source (any website, prezis available on the internet, sample essays available on the internet, etc.) you MUST cite these other sources that are helping you with your paper. I do not forbit using other sources—though I strongly encourage you to contact me, in person or via email, with questions instead. If you are writing the paper last minute, I still recommend contacting me and handing in the paper a day late with a mild grade penalty (see syllabus). But under no circumstances should you use the words, ideas, or even factual information from any source in your paper without citing it. It is plagiarism and it will result in a much lower grade, which I determine on a case by case basis, as well as any reports to the associate dean that I decide is necessary.
Final advice:
I highly recommend not using “I”, “In my opinion”, or “It is my personal belief”. This paper should be about what you think but also why you think it. Students can often fall into a trap of stating an opinion without providing a clear explanation. This leads to lower grades NOT because you are “wrong” but because you have not sufficiently explained your reasoning/thinking.
BEFORE HANDING IN YOUR PAPER, do a final visual check:
Does every paragraph, besides the introduction and conclusion have at least one quotation from a relevant text? If not, you have parts of your paper that are more description than points supporting your argument.
Do you make sure not to end a paragraph with a quotation? Make sure you draw a conclusion after the quotations.
Are any paragraphs more than a page long? Are there several short paragraphs on a page? Try to avoid either too long or too short paragraphs as each approach reveals organizational weaknesses.
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