Order 1016624: Conceptualization of Angels in Islam vs Coptic Orthodoxy
ANGELS AND DEMONS THL 3790.01 • Spring 2018 Fr. Francis J. Caponi, O.S.A. MWF 10:30-11:20 • Tolentine 309
Research Papers: Guidelines and Timetable
Length: 10 pages, including bibliography
Research Discussion: Students are welcome, but not required, to meet with me anytime up to Monday, March 19th, to discuss themes and bibliography.
Outline: No later than 5:00 p.m., Friday, March 23rd, students must submit by email a one-page outline of their proposed paper. (See the example below.)
Paper Submission: Papers are due at the start of class on Monday, April 30th.
Guidelines for Papers: Checklist
__________1. You may use both sides of the paper, as long as the paper is of sufficient quality to maintain easy legibility on both sides. The paper must be STAPLED in the upper left-hand corner.
__________2. Use 12-point font with 1-inch margins all around.
__________3. Double-space.
__________4. The first page is not numbered, but all succeeding pages should be.
__________5. The paper must have no marks on it (pen, pencil, white-out, etc.).
__________6. The paper must be carefully proofread, with proper attention given to spelling, grammar, and punctuation. This is a major part of the grade.
Bibliography
Students may use books, articles, websites, television programs, class lectures and notes from previous courses at Villanova, conversations with experts/specialists, etc. All such sources must be properly documented (see next section). The bibliography must contain no fewer than 8 items, at least 4 of which must be published works (either ebook or print). If in doubt about the acceptability of a source, check with me.
Format
In all matters concerning quotations, punctuation, footnotes, and bibliography, students are to follow Kate L. Turabian, Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Dissertations, 8th Edition, revised by Wayne C. Booth et al. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2013). A copy of this is available on the Blackboard content page for this course. Students are to use the “Notes-Bibliography” style (chapter 17), with footnotes, not endnotes. Be sure to look at the examples provided on pp.392 and 394.
Topics
Anything substantial, interesting, and related to what we have covered in class. For example:
• how angels/demons have been portrayed in art, architecture, literature, film, music (e.g., demons in 18th century theater, angels in American cemetery statuary)
• angels/demons in non-Christian religious traditions • efforts to investigate scientifically angels/demons • historical incidents (the Angel of Mons, the Angel of Peace at Fatima) • the influence of the book of Revelation on subsequent depictions of Satan • popular conceptions of angels/demons in a particular culture
Policies on Extensions; Penalties for Lateness
1. Requests for extensions should be made only for a serious reason, generally an unexpected situation beyond the student’s control. I decide whether this is the case or not. Athletic events, job interviews, and non-emergency travel plans do not qualify.
2. A request for an extension must be made at least 48 hours in advance, i.e., before 11:30 a.m. of Saturday, April 27th.
3. Requests can be made only via email.
4. Papers can be submitted only at the start of class, unless I have specifically given a student permission to do otherwise.
5. Students must submit their own papers, unless I have specifically given a student permission to do otherwise.
6. Papers submitted after the start of class will be docked 5 points.
7. Papers submitted after the assigned date will be docked 5 points per day.
Please note: An excused absence is not the same thing as a paper extension. For example, you may be excused (with proper documentation) because of an athletic event or job interview, but your paper is still due at the start of that class. You must ask permission for another student to submit it.
N.B. Printer problems do not excuse late submissions. Make sure you complete your paper with time to spare, in the event that the closest printer is unavailable.
Angels and Demons: THL 3790.01 • Research Papers - Guidelines and Timetables • Spring 2018 / Page 2
Outline Example
Name Course title and number Date
Topic: Persian influence on the later Old Testament and post-biblical portraits of Satan
Goal: This paper will consider the contested question of whether, and to what degree, Persian/ Iranian ideas played a role in the development and final forms of the depiction of Satan in post-exilic Judaism, both canonical and extra-canonical.
Key Points/Questions: 1. The general question of whether, where, and to what degree Persian ideas and language
influenced Second Temple Judaism has by no means received a uniform answer in recent decades.
2. Scholars may make vague references to “undoubted Persian influence” on post-exilic demonology, but offer few specifics. Often, these claims are based on similarities of plot and character - parallels, rather than clearly demonstrated dependencies.
3. Rather than regarding Satan as a “foreign import,” is it possible to regard other religious traditions, such as Zoroastrianism, as catalysts which caused the Jewish religion to develop latent elements in its own traditions?
Important Vocabulary: 1. pseudepigrapha 2. apocrypha 3. dualism
Bibliography:
Barr, James. “The Question of Religious Influence: The Case of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 53, no. 2 (June 1985): 201-235.
Carus, Paul. The History of the Devil and the Idea of Evil. London: Kegan Paul/Trench, Trüber & Co., 1900.
Hamilton, Victor P. “Satan.” In The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 5. Edited by David Noel Freedman, 985–989. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
Langton, Edward. Essentials of Demonology: A Study of Jewish and Christian Doctrine, Its Origin and Development. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2014.
Russell, Jeffrey Burton. The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1987.
Angels and Demons: THL 3790.01 • Research Papers - Guidelines and Timetables • Spring 2018 / Page 3