Cultural Warfare Spring 2007
Posted April 25 at 11:40 AM
For the final paper, please choose one of the options below. Your paper should be in the range of five to eight pages, double-spaced, 12-point font.
Option 1: Book Review
Write a critical book review of either Alan Wolfe’s Transformation of American Religion or Noah Feldman’s Divided By God. Your paper should be in the range of five to eight pages, double-spaced, 12-point font.
A critical review should include the following elements
1. Identification of topic. The topic is the particular issue the author wants to deal with. What is the author trying to do? Pay attention to indications that the author is trying a new approach to an old topic or problem.
2. Identification of the thesis. What is the author’s view on the topic?
3. Discussion of evidence, methods and argument. What kinds of evidence (data) does the author use? What research methods are employed? How does the author argue his/her case, i.e., how does the author try to persuade the reader?
4. Summary of the book. What are the major points the author makes? If you do this well, a person who reads your review will be able to learn what the book is about without reading it.
5. Critical evaluation of the book. How well does the author make his/her case? Does the evidence citied support the thesis, or would another explanation be better? Is the evidence itself adequate to the task? Should other kinds of evidence have been considered? What other issues still need attention?
6. Be sure that the review contains complete bibliographic information about the book, and about any other materials used or consulted in preparing the review.
Please note: the purpose of the review is to summarize and assess the book. It is not important to evaluate the writing style, and it does not matter whether you found the book dull or interesting. Stick to the essentials!
Option 2. Was Madison more right than he could have imagined?
According to Noah Feldman, James Madison was initially opposed to a constitutional amendment concerning religion because he thought it unnecessary (Divided By God, 11-12 and 19-21). In light of Feldman’s book as a whole, and even more in light of Alan Wolfe’s Transformation of American Religion, would Madison think he was right about this if he could see the American religious scene as it is in the early 21st century?
Your paper should show a command of key relevant material in these books.
Option 3. Are we looking at the same thing?
In Divided by God Noah Feldman says there are dangerous divisions in the United States concerning religion and government (page 5). But Alan Wolfe, in Transformation of American Religion, says, “We are all mainstream now.” Religious fanaticism poses no threat to American government (page 4). Is one of these authors right and the other gravely mistaken -- or are they looking at very different things?
Be sure to identify the topics, major concerns and relevant findings of these two books. Helpful hint: think about footnote #3 on page 253 of Divided by God -- do you buy this?
Option 4. Has American Religion Gone to Market?
Alan Wolfe declares, “American faith has met American culture -- and American culture has triumphed” (Transformation of American Religion, 3). Is this so? If it is, has American Christianity sold out its core convictions in order to achieve popularity in a consumer-driven religious marketplace? Consider in particular the chapters on morality and sin.
You may wish to note the discussion of sermons on the Prodigal Son beginning on page 168. This section is based on a book by another sociologist. That book has been severely criticized by your very own professor (see class handout from April 25)!
Option 5. Non-sectarianism and the Scopes Trial
Trace the development of non-sectarianism and its role in American history and how it influenced the Scopes trial and the evolution debate (question submitted by Lillian T.). Make use of Feldman’s Divided by God and other relevant course materials.