Critical Response Papers

Your critical response papers should be based solely on the course readings referred to in each of the questions below.  Each paper should be one to two pages long, double-spaced, with one-inch margins. Take care to organize your response clearly and to support your points with appropriate quotations from the relevant texts.  Each paper should be proofread carefully for spelling, grammar, and typographical errors.  You must complete six of these during the semester, and they must be submitted at the beginning of class on the dates indicated below, or e-mailed and received by me before class on those days, unless you are ill or have a family emergency.  You are strongly encouraged to resubmit your first two response papers after revising them in the light of my comments.


Due 9/6:  Do you think that Salzman is sympathetic to the main character’s religious experience or does he explain it away as a medical problem?  Quote one passage in support of your position.

Due 9/15:  Rosaldo makes the point that all understanding is partial and "positioned."  Using a concrete example, discuss the implications of this insight for understanding other cultures and their religious traditions.

Due 9/22:  Analyze the selection from the Book of Genesis (ch. 2-3) in terms of Wendy Doniger's idea that myths produce a kind of "double vision."  What does she mean by this, and how does it apply to the account of human origins found in the Genesis selection?

Due 10/13:  Select one episode from the Gospel of Matthew and one from The Story of Gotama Buddha that you think best exemplifies the roles that each figure plays in their respective religious tradition.  Explain why you selected this episode and clarify what it says about the significance of each figure.

Note change in due date:
Due 10/25:  Based on your reading of Luther's "Freedom of a Christian,"  identify two issues central to Luther's reform of Christian belief and practice and explain how these issues are reflected in the churches profiled in the video, "Protestant Spirit USA."

Due 11/17:  Based on your reading of Barbara Gunn's "To Be a Pilgrim," do you think she is a pilgrim?  Why or why not?  Support your position with specific quotations from the text.

Due 11/29:  Write a critical review of the video, "Catholicism: Rome, Leeds, and the Desert," giving particular attention to one of the rituals portrayed in it.  What key aspects of Catholic tradition does this ritual embody and how does it embody them?

Due 12/1:  Quoting at least two specific passages from the Therigatha, discuss how gender affects the experience of the women described in this text.


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