Texting God

 

The "Texting God" series of assignments includes two small and one large assignment for this course that you will do outside of class time. Specific directions and grading rubrics for each project are available on this page and on the course Camino page, and ideas for possible final projects and video tutorials for library resources are available from the Research tab to the left. You can use this table of contents to scroll down quickly to each part of the assignment.

If you are interested in writing an extra credit report, use the link to the left for directions and a list of eligible events.

 

The professor provides feedback on assignments directly on Camino. When she finishes evaluating your work, you'll get a comment to that effect in your scu.edu email. The feedback may have been done in one of two ways, either through Camino's feedback option (Speedgrader) or in Microsoft Word (using the Review tab). Here are videos for how to find and view feedback in both formats.

Exercise #1: A Personal Tavola
Due: Monday, October 7 by 10:30 a.m. on Camino
image + 3 pages, double-spaced (image on fourth page)

Create an image and write an accompanying paper that present the "sacred" moments in your life. For your image, follow the pattern of the Tavola of St. Clare, with your image in the center and scenes or symbols of the sacred moments from your life around the periphery. In your accompanying paper, explain the scenes around the perimeter—what each is and why each is so significant for you. Close with a statement about what all the scenes have in common—that is, what makes a moment in your life sacred or significant, and finally define what the term "sacred" means to you.

 

Use any software program you like to write the paper, as long as you can manipulate the margins, pagination, heading, body and footnotes to correspond to course requirements. Those requirements are laid out on the style sheet, along with tips for how to set those styles in Word, Google Docs, and Pages. If it's easier, use the following templates to start your paper; they have the right margins, font, etc. already built in (though in Google Docs, you may have to copy the formatting of the body or notes to new parts of the body or new notes using the paint roller tool).

 

Microsoft Word	Google Docs	Pages (Apple)
download this file, open it, and start typing	download this file, open a new Google Doc file, and drag this file into the window	download this file, open it, and start typing

 

Embed your image in your paper as the final page (page 4), then use the assignment drop box on Camino to upload your paper:

 

• if your paper is in Microsoft Word, just upload it at the assignment paper drop box;


• if your paper is in Pages, use "File > Export to" and select "Word," then upload that paper to the assignment paper drop box;


• if your paper is in Google Docs, use "File > Download as" and select "Microsoft Word (docx)," then upload that paper to the assignment drop box.

 

Here are two short videos to show you how to use this page and the style sheet, and how to upload your paper to Camino (like any YouTube video, you can click the cross-shaped icon in the bottom right corner of the window to toggle to full-screen):

 

6.52 How to use this Assignment page and the Style Sheet

3.53 How to upload papers to Camino

Topic Statement
Due: Friday, October 25 before class begins
1-2 pages, single-spaced

The topic statement is a short paper that indicates the story or genre you've chosen for your second and third papers, and that lists the twelve sources you've found that will help you research and write those papers. You can use this worksheet to keep track of your sources as you find them. Papers will only be accepted if all of the sources are in the proper bibliographic format; please observe the other requirements of the style sheet as well (Times New Roman 12 pt; heading flush left at top of first page; page numbers). Here is a sample of what the paper should look like; notice that the sources are arranged not alphabetically by author—as they will be in the final paper—but into categories based on the prompts for papers 2 and 3 (and alphabetically within each category). Here are templates you can use for the paper (Word, Pages, Google Docs).

 

Here are some videos to help you start this project:

 

Pick your primary sources	1.54
Locate two biblical commentaries	5.16
Find sources through the ATLA Religion Database	5.40
Find more sources in other databases	2.24
Set up your document properly	4.34

Select a major biblical story, such as the exodus or the life of Christ, or a major biblical genre like apocalyptic literature, and analyze it in its original historical context.  To do this, you will need to consult the NRSV version of the text, two biblical commentaries dedicated to your cho­sen book or genre (e.g., Hermeneia, the Anchor Bible Commentary, or the New Interpreter’s Bible), and two professional journal articles on your passage or topic.  Then write a paper in which you identify the date, describe the authors, discuss the major themes in the work, and tie those themes to the historical context of the authors. The paper is worth 10 points, or 10% of your grade. Here is the rubric that will be used to evaluate your paper.

 

When finished, upload your 3-page paper in Microsoft Word format to the assignment drop box on Camino.

 

Format the paper according to the style sheet, with the proper margins, font, spacing, page numbers and heading. If it's easier, use this Microsoft Word template to start your paper; it has the right margins, font, etc. already built in (here is a Pages template and a Google Docs template).

 

Here are some videos to help you get the sources you identified in your topic statement (click on the square frame symbol in the bottom right corner of the video to expand to full screen):

 

Finding books or chapters in books: Oscar, LINK+ and ILL	4.38
Finding journal articles: Oscar and ILL	2.54

Using the same story or genre you chose for the second paper, you’ll analyze two contemporary interpretations of it, one of which must be religious (whether in film, visual art, video game, or music), linking each of their themes to their respective historical contexts, and then comparing the issues and messages in the original composition to the modern interpretations.  In an eight-page paper, cover the following points:

• present the historical context of the biblical account, tying the themes in the text to the social situation of the presumed author;


• analyze each of the two modern "modes" you have chosen, discussing how the mode constrains the available meanings and how the artist, director or musician is using the mode to convey a (new) meaning that ties to our own social situation;


• compare how the original context and meaning are similar to and different from the contemporary interpretations, and what this signals about the different culture in which we live;


• conclude by revisiting your first paper and considering how you might imagine the sacred moments in your own life differ­ently as a result of this exercise or course.

Some ideas for possible research topics are posted here on the course website at Research. It is strongly recommended that you use this fillable worksheet to track your basic ideas.

 

You will compile the exercise in the following stages; use the samples to see how the assignment should be presented, and the template as a starter document:

1.	Topic statement and bibliography  Sample  Templates: Word  Pages  GDocs	5th week	Friday, October 25
2.	Research Paper (submit to Camino drop box by the deadline specified above, the end of our final exam period)   Sample  Rubric   Templates: Word  Pages GDocs	11th week	[see above]

 

You will submit both stages of this paper to the assignment drop boxes on Camino by the deadlines listed above; no hard copy is needed. Feedback and grades will be posted there as well.

 

Format both stages of the paper according to the style sheet, with the proper margins, font, spacing, page numbers and heading. If it's easier, you can use the templates (links above) to start your papers; they have the correct margins, font, pagination, and footnote styles already built in.

 

The paper is worth 20 points, or 20% of your grade. Click on this rubric to see the learning objectives of this assignment, which are aligned with the two Core learning objectives for this course.