RESEARCH PAPER

RESEARCH PAPER – DUE 7/27 at 11:30 pm in D2L Assignment Dropbox

Students will write a 5-6 page (double spaced; 12 point Times New Roman font; 1-inch margins) research paper on race, religion, and current events related to the Black Lives Matter Movement. The central question you are tasked with answering is as follows: Is religion is a force for social change and social justice, or is religion a force for maintaining the status quo? In other words, I want you to use current events, sociological theories, and the history of systemic racism in our country to assess whether religion is helping advance or impede needed change in 2020. You are asked to frame your argument using the events of history, but I want you to focus primarily on the role of religion in current events.

There is much you could write about for this assignment. To help spark your thinking, I’ve included below some ideas below. You are, of course, free to draw on events not on this list, which is by no means comprehensive.

· The role of pastors and the black church leaders in the funeral services of George Floyd and other movement martyrs.

· Pastors who have spoken out against institutional racism and pastors who have remained silent.

· President Trump’s staged photo op outside St. John’s church in Washington, DC, holding up a Bible after using military violence to attack peaceful protestors.

· Historical legacies of racist white ministers and plantation owners using religion/ the Bible as a justification for the institution of slavery.

· Historical legacies pastors and the black church helping advance the civil rights movement of the 1960s (e.g., Martin Luther King, Jr., Theodore Hesburgh).

· Religious groups and leaders who have marched with protestors.

· Religion as a tool for racial reconciliation.

· Civil religion as a lens through which the advocacy of Colin Kaepernick can be interpreted.

Assignment Requirements

· Include your name, the date, and the class name at the beginning of the paper. I do not have a specific format in mind. You do not need a separate title page, although you can certainly include one.

· Include a paper title, Introduction with a thesis statement, a Conclusion, and a Bibliography or Works Cited.

· Papers must be double-spaced, use 1-inch margins, include page numbers, and use Times New Roman font.

· Papers should not manipulate character spacing in an attempt to alter the length.

· Papers should be free of spelling or grammatical errors (deductions will be taken for such errors).

· Papers must be 5-6 double spaced pages, NOT including the bibliography.

· PLEASE INCLUDE A WORD COUNT AT THE END OF THE PAPER, PREFERABLY AFTER THE LAST PARAGRAPH OF THE PAPER BEFORE THE BIBLIOGRAPHY.

· A and A- papers generally 6 pages, demonstrating effort going above and beyond the minimum.

· All submissions must be Word or Pages documents. UPLOAD YOUR PAPERS TO THE D2L ASSIGNMENT DROPBOX on 7/27 by 11:30 pm. If you have difficulty uploading your papers, you can email them directly to Prof. Mundey ([email protected]) without penalty. Late papers will be docked a full letter grade (i.e. 10 percentage points). 11:31 pm is considered late . Don’t wait until the last minute to upload your papers to D2L since slow Internet service and/or other technical difficulties may slow down the upload process.

· Papers must conform to one of the citation styles on the Purdue University Writing Lab website. I do not care which of these styles you choose, but you will be graded on whether you apply the style of your choice consistently and correctly. If you cannot find the citation style you want to use on the Purdue website, ask Prof. Mundey if it is acceptable to use. If you are already or are interested in becoming a Sociology major, I recommend using ASA (American Sociological Association) style, but this is not a requirement.

· YOU MUST LIST WHICH STYLE YOU ARE USING AT THE END OF THE PAPER NEXT TO THE WORD COUNT.

· You must reference (i.e. quote and/or cite) at least 5 books, book chapters, dissertations, theses, or journal articles (not journal book reviews) that we did NOT read in class.

· The following DO NOT count as one of the 5 books/book chapters/journal articles you are required to cite, but you ARE free to cite them if you want: Time Magazine, Huffington Post, Newsweek, US Weekly, cnn.com, encyclopedias.

· The class textbook & other class readings do NOT count as one of the 5 books/journal articles you are required to cite. You are, however, free to look at the bibliographies of the works we read in class to find new citations. You can cite class readings, but they don’t count as one of the 5. The idea here is for you to do original research.

· All direct quotes must use quotation marks and include PAGE NUMBERS. If no page numbers are available, use the n.p. abbreviation or whatever other abbreviation stipulated by the citation style of your choice. You should be able to find a page number for 99 percent of all journal articles. If you are having difficulty finding this info, be sure to click on the “full text” version of the article, which usually allows you to download/view a pdf.

· Cite ALL sources used, including class handouts and power point slides.

· BE SURE TO USE QUOTATION MARKS FOR MATERIAL YOU ARE QUOTING DIRECTLY OFF OF THE HANDOUTS/SLIDES.

· HOW DO I CITE CLASS SLIDES/LECTURES? If the citation style of your choice does not specific how to cite class handouts/power point slides, I suggest you do something like the following. In text parenthetical references = (Mundey Social Class Handout). Footnotes = Peter Mundey, Social Class Power Point, April 30, 2015. When citing an author/source I cite on one of the class handouts or power point slides, please cite the author, not me.

Assignment Tips for Success

· DO NOT CITE/USE WIKIPEDIA AS A SOURCE.

· DO NOT CITE/USE THE DICTIONARY/ENCYCLOPEDIA AS A SOURCE. This is good for high school writing but not college-level writing.

· Do not rely heavily on websites, newspapers, magazines, etc. for your research. Focus on books, dissertations, theses, and academic journals.

· Simply doing google searches to find your searches is not enough, although you may find some acceptable sources using google scholar.

· Cite articles from scholarly journals; they don’t have to be sociology journals.

· How can I tell if an article is scholarly in nature? Such articles generally have issue and volume numbers.

· Use major section headings and subheadings to organize your ideas. This is not required, but is a useful and typically results in a higher score on the organization component of the rubric.

· Include a strong thesis statement at the end of your Introduction (typically the last sentence or the last two sentences of your introductory paragraph). A thesis statement outlines the argument of the paper in a short, concise manner. It might sound something like this: “Events X,Y, and Z illustrate religion’s disruptive potential in shaking up racial injustice and promoting greater equality.” Or, as Marx first argued, religion is like a drug that pacifies people, keeping them from taking action against racial injustice, as seen in events X, Y, and Z.” These statements do a good job of outlining exactly what your paper is about. The more specific the better, even if you think you’re giving away the punch line of the paper. You want the reader to know what your argument is from the outset. If you can’t fit your argument in 1 sentence, no problem. Two or three sentences is fine as well.

· Proofread your work and/or have colleagues, classmates, or friends proofread your work.

· Do not wait to the last minute to start your paper.

· If you are struggling to find academic sources, I suggest you use JSTOR. I also recommend searching for keywords/terms on the websites of three of the major academic journals in the field of sociology: Social Problems , American Sociological Review , and Social Forces . After locating specific articles you want from the search results, download the actual articles from the SSU library website, which has access to each of these journals. 

· CONSULT THE GRADING RUBRIC BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER YOU WRITE YOUR PAPER. CHECK THE RUBRIC TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT MISSING ANYTHING BEFORE TURNING IN YOUR PAPER.

· Follow the example paper outline below, or organize your paper in a similar manner.

Example Paper Outline

I. Introduction: Summarize your topic & thesis.

a. Your paper must have an argument and this argument must be encapsulated in a strong thesis statement.

b. Tell the reader what this paper is about

c. What is going on in 2020 regarding to race and religion?

d. Indicate what events from history you will use to provide context for the events of today.

II. Section 1: Theories about race and religion

a. What do sociological theorists have to say about race and religion. Examples of theorists you could cite might be Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Christian Smith, Aldon Morris. You can certainly cite others if you want.

III. Section 2: History of race and religion

a. Talk about events pre-2020 regarding race and religion.

b. Examples include race and religion in the Jim Crow South, plantation owners and pastors using the Bible to justify the enslavement of persons, and the role of religion in the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

IV. Section 3: Contemporary events on race and religion

a. How do you see religion mattering in present day events

b. You don’t have to discuss everything happening today. Consider focusing on 1-2 events.

V. Conclusion

a. Summarize the main takeaways and most important arguments of your paper.

b. What do you conclude about religion based on the past and present.

c. What does your paper say about religion and social change.

Grading

A. Meets all requirements with great precision and understanding of course material. Goes above and beyond, showing creativity and a level of engagement with the material and outside academic resources that demonstrates careful thought and consideration and significant effort.

B. Meets all or nearly all requirements. Some minor flaws in accuracy and/or some concepts could be developed with greater sophistication, creativity, or use of academic sources.

C. Most basic requirements met, but some errors and omissions. Does the minimum, but not much more. Demonstrates cursory knowledge and engagement of the topic.

D. Significant errors and omissions present throughout. Missing key components of the assignment requirements.

F. Major omissions and errors. Shows little effort and/or a significant misunderstanding of the assignment and its required components.

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