Theology 3724. (Spring, 2015).

Theology 3724. (Spring, 2015). Second Paper Assignment: HARD COPY due at the BEGINNING of class, Monday, April 27th. (1) Ethics and Morality Prize Option: (see Fordham Center for Ethics Education for submission details). “In 1,000 – 1,500 words, you are encouraged to raise questions, single out issues and identify dilemmas of personal or social significance. Essays should articulate with clarity the ethical or moral issue and analyze what it has taught you about ethics and yourself.” How has any one text, character, or passage from the semester challenged your prior understanding of ethics? To succeed (for my class), you will have to be very specific. Focus on a specific instance of an idea, or on a specific passage. So, if you’d like to talk about emptiness or skillful means, be sure to situate these ideas in relation to specific passages from our texts. The same goes for your own “understanding of ethics.” Use specific examples from your life (or life in general) to illustrate your reflections. The key to success will be articulating, clearly, how the passage or idea in question challenges you. (2) Please expand on our analysis in class of Santideva’s techniques for motivating his audience. What are some of the characteristics of human beings that he wishes to inspire? How, specifically, does Santideva’s rhetoric respond to these characteristics? Please be sure to focus your paper on a concise argument by focusing on one or two verses and how they work. Given the work already done in class, you will have to advance the argument somewhat (not simply repeat what we’ve already said about fear, violence, and so on) and choose different verses than those covered in class to make your argument. (3) Use one argument from Thich Nhat Hanh’s The Heart of Understanding to critique the behavior of the Prince in Life of the Buddha. How would the Prince respond to Thich Nhat Hanh’s argument? Who is right? OR: imagine how the Prince in Life of the Buddha would critique one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s arguments from The Heart of Understanding. Be sure to use specific passages from the texts to support your analysis. 2 (4) Choose one passage from Vimalakirti. How does this passage explain the meaning of any one opaque passage from the koan compositions that we read (“The Highest Meaning of the Holy Truth,” “Wu-men’s Preface,” “Chao-chou’s Dog,” “Chü-chih Raises a Finger,” or “Nansen Kills a Cat”)? After your introductory paragraph, be sure to explain what the Vimalakirti passage means (using concepts from class). Then use the passage to interpret the koan. Your thesis statement should clearly articulate how the Vimalakirti selection helps you to understand the koan. Writing Guidelines: The paper will be evaluated using the following rubric: Thesis Statement/Statement of Argument (20 points) Use of Evidence (25 points) Clarity of Argument and Prose (40 points) Creativity and Overall Interest of Argument (15 points) (1) THESIS & EVIDENCE Every paper should have a clear thesis statement in the first paragraph. A thesis statement will state an argument that you will defend in the paper. This argument does not necessarily need to answer the complete prompt, as posed above. But it does need to argue something. Furthermore, the entire rest of the paper should explain your argument and defend your argument. In defending your argument, please be sure to use specific evidence from our readings. The more specific the better. You must make an effort to provide an original thesis that shows careful consideration of the question at play and takes a stand on an issue of interest. While a strong thesis need not be overly creative, it must show some of your own thought. To repeat. It is much more important to me that you have a clear,well-defended argument than it is that you thoroughly answer the question that I have posed. The purpose of the paper is to get you to think about the material that we’ve worked on and to practice constructing a clear, well-defended argument. While “A” papers take a strong stance on something, “B” papers often list a series of ideas but do not connect these ideas together. They do not make a single, coherent argument. 3 Defend your original thesis with relevant evidence. All paragraphs in the paper should defend the thesis. Each paragraph should have one main idea (ideally stated in a topic sentence), and each sentence should make one point. ONE idea at a time! (2) CLARITY Please be sure that you define all of your terms. If you are using any fancy vocabulary or terms from class, please be sure to explain what you mean by them. In reading over your paper, please ask yourself the following. Does the reader have enough information to understand each sentence that I’ve written? Does each paragraph have one, single, clear topic? Does every single paragraph help to defend my argument? If I’ve included a quotation in the paper, do I explain why I’ve included it and what it means? Clarity of prose entails: simple, clear sentences; topic sentences; transition sentences; paragraphs of reasonable length, each with only one main point; accurate use of technical vocabulary from class; explaining quotations used, rather than hoping that quotations will do the explanatory work for you. Low “B” and “C” papers suffer from poor organization and sometimes lack a thesis altogether. As your reader, I won’t be able to follow where you are going, from paragraph to paragraph (or often from sentence to sentence). Format, etc. (1) The paper should be three to five pages in length. (2) Please use 12 pt. font, with normal (1 inch) margins, double-spaced. Please give your paper a title, number the pages, and include your name, the class title, and the date in a single-spaced heading on the first page. (3) The paper is due at the beginning of class on Monday, April 27th. I will only accept hard copies (unless there is an extenuating circumstance). Given the size of the class, there will be strict penalties for lateness. Late papers will be penalized 1/3 grade (“A” to “A-”, “B-“ to “C+”) per day. All extensions must be requested at least 3 days in advance. (4) Parenthetical citations will suffice. No need for a bibliography. Examples: “Then, one day, he heard songs depicting groves,” (Life of the Buddha, 61). In the Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti, the Buddha explains the meaning of a Buddhafield (Vimalakirti, 15-19).