ARTICLE-RESPONSE PAPER

“Racial Justice” Due: 23 February

“Gender Equity” Due: 29 March

Go to the library and find an article related to two of the research-essay units: racial justice and gender equity.

• The article must come from a peer-reviewed journal. If not a peer-reviewed article, student will receive 1/2 credit.
• Write a three-page paper summarizing the article, quoting when beneficial or necessary.
• The paper should begin with bibliographical information pertaining to the article, formatted thusly: 

Patterson, Mark J. “A Sword Between the Sexes: Combating Gender Equities from a Biblical Perspective in a Postmodern World.” The             Journal of Christian Feminism 8.2 (2008): 415-433.

 Organize your summary according to these guidelines.

• The first paragraph should introduce the general subject of the article and conclude with a presentation of its thesis (or main idea).
• Then explain how the article writer defends, explains, and/or elaborates upon that thesis (or main idea).
• Quote from the article when necessary or useful.
• The concluding paragraph(s) of the paper should present your review of the article: Was the article convincing? Important? Well written? Useful? Challenging?

Be sure to attach a copy of the article using a paperclip.

 Papers will be evaluated using the following criteria:

• Structure
• Thoroughness and clarity of summary
• Support and details
• Following directions
• Grammar and mechanics
• Diction and style

Research Essay

First three pages due (optional): 17 April

final-draft due date: 26 April

Write an 8-10 page research paper. The paper may be on any topic related to one of the three units of the course: racial justice, faith and doubt, and gender equity. The essay should make use of at least five secondary sources, none of which may come from the Internet unless the Internet source was first published as a print source. You are encouraged to use readings from class as sources in your paper, though be sure you understand the difference between primary and secondary sources. Properly integrate sources into your paper, and use the MLA style of citing sources.

Research Essay Proposal due date: 3 April

Each student will give a short presentation explaining the tentative plan for his or her essay. The presentation must include the following elements:

1.      General subject of your essay

2.      Specific thesis of your essay

3.      How you will defend that thesis

4.      Why you chose your subject

Annotated Bibliography due date: 10 April

 Submit an annotated bibliography of the research you have conducted for your research essay.  An annotated bibliography is simply a list of sources you have found along with notes that you have taken about each source.  The annotated bibliography should include ten sources, each one of which should be handwritten using the MLA style on a note card.  None of these sources may come from the Internet, with the exception of Internet sources that were first published in print.  Fasten a rubber band around the note cards before you turn them in.  Write your name on the first note card.

 On one side of the note card, list the source using the MLA style.  The upper corner of this side of the note card should also include a brief key—for example, “Racism in O’Connor’s “’Revelation’”—so that later you can immediately remember the important ideas in the source.

 On the other side of the note card, summarize the relevant ideas presented in the source that you think you might use in your essay.  You may also write out direct quotes from the source that you think you might use in your essay.  Be sure to include relevant page numbers from the source so that you can quickly access the relevant information and quotes. 

POSSIBLE RESEARCH ESSAY TOPICS (These are just a few.)

UNIT ONE: RACIAL JUSTICE

• What are the common characteristics of racism in America, and how might they be combated?
• What is a proper biblical approach to racism?
• How do rap or hip hop artists represent race in music?
• How do other elements of popular culture—television, film, media—represent race in America?
• How can churches become more multicultural?
• Was Malcolm X too radical?
• Why was Martin Luther King Jr. so successful as a civil rights leader?
• How do African American expressions of Christianity differ from white expressions of Christianity?
• How has racism affected your chosen vocation?
• How can a multicultural school/church/workplace flourish?
• Defend your interpretation of any of the texts analyzed during this unit (MLK, Washington, Du Bois, Ellison, Hughes, Malcolm X).

UNIT TWO: FAITH AND DOUBT

• How is paradox central to the Christian faith?
• Are humor and Christianity compatible?
• What might be a Christian response to the problem of prayer or the problem of evil (the problems discussed in class)?
• Why do people lose their faith?
• What are the biggest challenges to the survival of Christianity in the twenty-first century?
• Why does God allow bad things to happen?
• What influence should religion have on politics?
• What affect does a Christian university have on the faith of its students?
• Defend your interpretation of any of the texts analyzed during this unit (O’Connor, Milton, Donne, Dickinson, Arnold, Hopkins).

UNIT THREE: GENDER EQUITY

• Christians should embrace feminism. Argue pro or con.
• What are the common characteristics of sexism in America, and how might they be combated?
• What strategies might be employed to secure equality for women in the university/workplace/church?
• What is a biblical approach to feminism?
• How are women represented in American popular culture (film, television, media, etc.)?
• How can young women build self-esteem in a patriarchal culture?
• How has sexism affected your chosen vocation?
• Should women be allowed to become pastors? Why or why not?
• What are common themes in women’s literature?
• How might women overcome a “glass ceiling” in the workplace?
• Are gender roles learned or innate? (nurture versus nature)
• What causes eating disorders and how can they be prevented?
• How do representations of women in the media influence women and gender relations? How might this negative influence be combated?
• Defend your interpretation of any of the texts analyzed during this unit. (McKinney, Chopin, Perkins Gilman, Chisholm, Neuhouser, Woolf, Eggebroten).

Popularly and Scholarly Sources
Learn to differentiate between popular and scholarly sources use them appropriately in your research.

Incorporating Sources Into Your Research Paper
Learn to structure, analyze and use sources to support an argument in your research paper in this tutorial.

Why You Need to Cite Sources
Learn some of the reasons it is important to cite sources when writing a research paper.

Primary & Secondary Sources
Learn to distinguish between primary and secondary sources use them appropriately in your research.

Generating Search Terms
Learn to generate effective search terms for database or web searching in this tutorial.

What is a Library Database?
Learn about what you'll find in library databases, how they differ from the free-web and when to use them in this tutorial.