Guidelines for Research Paper: “The Role of Religion in a Person’s Life”

For this paper, you will investigate the role of religion in the life of a person based on an analysis of their oral history. Think of this paper as 3 steps: 1) Finding the oral history, through archives or resources found at the library or other academic resources (see possibilities below); 2) Listen, study, and take notes on the oral history (it’s easier if the oral history is already transcribed); 3) Decide on key points from the transcript, issues connected to religion and interpretable with the insights you’ve gained from the course; 3) Organize the paper around a thesis, create an outline, then write the paper.

You will need a few textual resources for this paper, at least 3 resources. Our textbooks and articles are a ready resource, but you should access at least 2 other outside sources in order to verify information, support your thesis, and/or compare your analysis to other insights.

Our librarian has provided a resource page: https://library.sunywcc.edu/c.php?g=1002928

Length & Specs: 6-7 pages long, 1” margins, 12 size font, double-spaced

Value: 30% of the final course grade

Due: May 2^nd, 2022

The person you’re researching does not have to be well-known or famous and will usually not be; that said, you will need to find sufficient information from a primary source, which the oral history itself provides (many oral histories are available in written form rather than the video or audio documentation of the interview). Below is a list of links to oral history databases and links to specific complete oral histories.

The objective of this assignment is to answer the following question and by doing so, reprise some of the fundamental issues of religion and its role in human society:

What role did religion play in a person’s life?

Things to consider in your analysis …

The three sociological functions of religion:

1. A way to find answers to questions about the unknown or which are unknowable (e.g., the genesis of life, the afterlife, other realms of being, why evil exists, where and why is God, the reason for living, the list goes on)
2. The promotion of social solidarity (belonging to a group); the transmission of cultural traditions and moral guidance on acceptable forms of social behavior
3. A means of achieving assurance or comfort through prayer or other forms of worship; the guarantee that spiritual forces will be of assistance during times of crisis

In considering these, you might ask why the person made certain life choices and if s/he experienced any outcomes, positive or negative, from these choices during their lifetime. For example, did the person embrace religion for the social solidarity it provided? Did this person turn to religion in a time of anxiety? Did the religion simply transmit values and traditions to this person, i.e. it didn’timbue him/her with spiritual fervor? Did this person rely on religion to control factors that they were insecure about? How so? Did this person find religion to answer existential or difficult questions? Was religion the primary moral guidance in this person’s life or did s/he have other forms of guidance?

Specific questions which you should take notes on as you analyze the oral history …

• When did they join their faith community and was it by choice or due to circumstance (the family they grew up in)?
• If they joined their faith community as an adult, what was their motivation, i.e. was it in response to a traumatic life event or other need?
• Did they practice their religion exclusively? (no other practices at the same time)
• How religious were they? In other words, did they “live” their religion devoutly or merely at key holidays? Were they religious only in word and not deed? Did any events change their practices in a negative or positive way?
• Did social pressure play a role in their religious practice either consciously stated by them or according to your opinion, reading between the lines of their oral history? (feel free to conjecture and use your imagination, that’s part of interpretation)
• Did they ever struggle with their religious beliefs? Why? What was the outcome?
• Were they a leader in their religion or simply a follower? Explain with details.
• What aspects of this particular faith community appealed to the person? Did they leave their community at any time and convert to another religion? If yes, why?

The Religion Itself — Compare the person’s lived experience to the actual religion he or she aspired to. Use outside sources to support your analysis, such as the materials used in class and library resources (online or not), at least one of which should be an academic source.

• What are the main principles of this particular religion?
• How does this religion provide comfort or answer questions about the unknown?
• Did this person’s particular sect/group diverge from the main religion? How?
• How do adherents view the genesis of the world and the role of humans (or this particular community) in the world?
• Did this religion (or specific members) support/comfort the person or fail him/her? How?
• Do you think this person was a true believer from your understanding and research on this religion?
• In terms of trends in religious affiliation and faith in the world, how does this story fit? Is it a new community of the faithful? Is it typical or atypical? Are other people joining this religion currently? Is membership decreasing? Why or why not?

Checklist:

1. Your paper should have a thesis or argument.
2. Your paper should have a structure that supports your thesis (introduction, supportive paragraphs, and reiteration of your thesis and conclusion).
3. Your paper must include a bibliography that cites the oral history as well as other resources (three resources at a minimum)
4. The paper should be the right length.
5. The font and margins should be according to the directions.

RESOURCES[1]

Variety of Oral History Collections

http://www.library.ucla.edu/destination/center-oral-history-research/resources/selected-oral-history-collections

Kentucky Digital Library (various individuals)

http://kdl.kyvl.org/?f%5Bformat%5D%5B%5D=oral+histories&search_field=all_fields

Oral Histories of Immigrants to Ellis Island (you will need to preview and read abstracts):

https://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/oral-histories

The Story Corp Website (various individuals, do a key word search)

Home (Blocks)

Ted Talks (do a key word search or thematic search)

https://www.ted.com/topics/religion

The Jewish Experience (all of these by definition would be appropriate)

https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/american-jewish-committee

The Great Depression (various databases)

https://cnu.libguides.com/c.php?g=23300&p=136932

http://digital.wustl.edu/g/gds/

Southern Oral History Program (various databases/oral history collections)

http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/search/collection/sohp/searchterm/religion/field/subjea/mode/all/conn/and/order/creato!date!title/ad/asc/cosuppress/1

Vietnamese Oral Histories (preview or do a key word search):

http://ucispace.lib.uci.edu/handle/10575/5884

C-Span Oral Histories (“Eyewitness Accounts of Key Events in Our Nation’s History”)

https://www.c-span.org/series/?oralHistories

HERE ARE FOUR ALREADY TRANSCRIBED ORAL HISTORIES

Feroz Ali Abbasi (a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner)

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/inside/ccoh_assets/ccoh_8954358_transcript.pdf

Scott & Teresa Day (members of the Crossroad Cowboy Church)

https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/handle/1808/18256

Losang Tenzin (a fully ordained Buddhist monk who is the reincarnation of the 5^th Samdhong Rinpoche)

 Supplemental material about Losang Tenzin (https://samdhongrinpoche.com/en/)

Debra Hallow (Jewish non-profit leader of JARK)

Joseph Abboud (Orthodox Priest in Flint, Michigan of Arab-Argentinian descent)

Joan Trumpauer Mulholland (Civil Rights Activist & Participant in the 1961 Freedom Rides)

https://www.c-span.org/video/?474467-1/joan-trumpauer-mulholland-oral-history-interview

Rafael Alvarez (writer) – This is not a strict oral history, but I think it could work

https://baltimoretraces.umbc.edu/projects/greektown/rafael-alvarez/

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/27/health/rosary-religious-prayer-beads-wellness/index.html

Other Resources

Conducting an Oral History: https://youtu.be/mVv_QAFhm1A

Creating a Thesis from an Oral History:https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/oral-history/

Oral History Rubric, Religions of the World.                        

Categories of Assessment	Comments
Written Format (40%)Structure (Intro – Middle – Closure)Flow and coherence between ideasStylistic excellence
Content (40%)Existence & strength of argumentSufficient evidenceDepth of interpretation, attempt to go beyondDegree of integration of insights from the coursework
Delivery (20%)Paragraph coherence, sentence structure, spelling and editingLength of paper (6 pages)Use of Resources (at least three, including the Oral History) & a “Works Cited” / Bibliography