The purpose of this essay is for you to develop detailed
and nuanced knowledge on one of the topics discussed throughout this course
that you are particularly interested in. In this vein, the guiding questions
for the paper are as follows:
·
How and why is your
choice of topic important to Buddhism?
·
How and why is your
choice of topic important to you personally?
Because it is recommended to start thinking about your
topic early, two preliminary components have also been assigned. These are the
book report and the essay outline, both of which will help stimulate and
organize your ideas prior to writing the final essay.
As an orientation course the choice of topic is very broad.
You may choose to write about purely historical or doctrinal points, taking
ques from the subjects assigned to each of our twelve lessons, or you may take
one of these subjects and incorporate it into a piece covering more
contemporary topics. The only strict requirement is that the foundation of your
essay topic must be grounded in something discussed over the course of the
class, and use at least some of the suggested literature related to that topic
for the basis of a critical analysis.
Your paper must contain a minimum of 8 sources, of which 5
must come from the reading list provided below. It must also include citations
from or otherwise make reference to at least 1 primary source.