This essay should be about six pages long (without including title page and list of cited references). For this essay, you must engage in a reflection about the course’s contents (no library research is needed; engaging only with the textbook’s contents and other course materials is REQUIRED) in order to demonstrate your understanding of the key concepts and processes discussed throughout the semester, and particularly in the textbook’s last chapters. You must:
a] Read the New York Times article, “French Muslims Say Veil Bans Give Cover to Bias” (see the folder “Recent Press Articles of Interest” at the “Student Resources” link on the course’s Canvas homepage). Briefly synthesize the article’s main argument and the information it provides.
b] Read the New York Times article, “In France, Debates About the Veil Hide a Long History” (see the folder “Recent Press Articles of Interest” at the “Student Resources” link). Briefly synthesize the article’s main argument and the information it provides.
c] Use as many specific concepts and contents (no vague reference accepted) from this course to develop a sophisticated discussion of the significance of the contents of these two articles when considered together (read “a” before “b”). They complement each other in various ways.
The process of writing this essay should be seen not so much as an exercise of restitution of the knowledge acquired during the semester. Instead, it should be seen as the requirement to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts and processes covered during the semester (religious myths, religious rituals, the difference between magic and witchcraft, etc.). Your discussion should involve all the course contents you find relevant. It is therefore perfectly fine not to engage with the entire contents of the course, even though you should keep in mind that it is expected that you will engage with several course modules/chapters at least. It is here that you must show that the course contents provide a useful vocabulary and conceptual toolbox for you to make sense of, or comprehend events taking place around the world, which involve religious beliefs, the belief in the existence of supernatural and invisible forces, and a great variety of societal contexts.
It would not be sufficient to limit your essay to a summary of the two articles’ contents. You must do more than that. You must discuss or dissert the articles’ contents. Your accurate utilization of course contents will be the major criteria used to evaluate your essay.
