Describe and compare two religious rituals, selected from a list of topics below, on the basis of recorded footage.
After selecting from the list of topics and refining it as needed, you will view recorded footage of your choosing of two religious rituals from two different religions or denominations within a single religion and write a two-part comparative essay. The first part will consist of a detailed description of each ritual on the basis of what you viewed (not written sources) and the second part will consist of comparison of similarities and differences as well as some accounting of the reasons and/or significance for them (i.e., “so what?”).
**If you have any religious background/affiliation, that tradition cannot be the only one used for this assignment.**
Detailed instructions: Make sure the video footage you choose is authentic, non-polemical (i.e., not produced to harm the group in question), and unbiased (i.e., footage without elements which might influence your observations). Raw footage is best. Documentaries or educational videos are usually not acceptable since they often analyze/explain the rituals instead of just record them. How-to videos are usually not acceptable for the same reason. Exceptions to these rules are made on a case-by-case basis, so ask your assigned grader if you have any questions about the acceptability of your chosen topic or footage.
The first part of the essay should thoroughly describe the rituals as viewed on the footage alone. Do not describe the rituals on the basis of other sources, such as books or articles, unless certain components of the ritual are not recorded or clear in the footage. Even then, other sources should be used only to supplement. Be detailed and be descriptive. Pretend that your reader has never seen these rituals and that you are their eyes and ears.
The second part of the essay should present the points of comparison between the two rituals you observed in terms in terms of how they are similar and how they differ (e.g., the lay and clergy individuals involved and their role/s, the purpose/function/result of the rituals, the material objects used, frequency and formality, etc). You should offer some thoughts as to why these similarities/differences are present or why they are significant. As this is a survey course, I do not set a high bar for your ideas about the “so what?” question, but I do expect that you make a genuine effort to draw some conclusions.
Writing requirements: Your essay must have clearly organized and logically divided paragraphs, a brief introduction with thesis (introducing what your topic is and what points of comparison you found)and a conclusion (recapping what you covered as a mirror image of your introduction), and correct grammar and punctuation.Your assigned grader or the writing center can help you on these points if you need it given sufficient advance notice.
For this portion of the assignment, Im looking for a rough draft of the final essay, at least a couple of paragraphs, to make sure you are on the right track for the assignment. Are you providing your own observations, or are you providing background information on the rituals? This way we can ensure youre writing the essay according to the guidelines for the assignment early rather than just grading a final paper and having you be worse off.
You are not required to have the full essay completed at this point, but the more substance we have to work with, the better the feedback we can leave you to ensure you complete this project successfully.
