WRITTEN PROJECTS FOR MAGIC, RELIGION AND WITCHCRAFT

Specifications for Written Projects :
 Your report must be typed (using a computer), double-spaced on 8 1/2 x 11"  white paper and stapled on the left-hand comer. Your report should have standard margins and contain three-four pages of written text. Except for the ESSAY the use of outside sources is not required, but if you do draw from publications, include a bibliography and footnotes.
RELIGIOUS HISTORY INTERVIEW: (due March 3)
For this assignment conduct an interview someone else whose background is different from your own and then reflect on the differences between how spirituality is expressed in their life as compared to your own. Topics to address:
1.
First ideas about god (s) and higher power
2.
Experience with prayer and/or worship
3.
Have you been initiated? (e.g. baptism, communion, bar mitzvah, quinceanera)  Describe…
4.
Do you believe there is a God?
5.
Do you have a personal relationship with your God? (e.g. prayer, voices, conversations)
6.
When did you become aware of religious practices other than your own?  What impact did that have on your own practice?
7.
Have you used drugs/alcohol in your religious practice?  Have they helped you communicate with your God?
8.
Do you believe in salvation?  If so, have you been saved?
9.
How does your spiritual practice affect your personal life?  (e.g. social activities, restrictions regarding sexual expression)
10.
What connections (if any) have you found between sex and religion?  

 Reflections:  Step back and reflect on why you practice religion as you do.  If you’ve interviewed someone else, reflect on the differences in their background (age, gender, ethnicity, and class) that may explain the differences between you and them.
FIELD OBSERVATION:  (due March 17)
For this exercise you will need to attend a religious event you have never been to before. Come with the eyes and ears of an anthropologist and make note of everything the "natives" do. You can go alone, be the guest of a "key informant," or go with a co-researcher from class. In writing your report, try to use terms we’ve discussed in class. Make special note of how this research experience affects you. Be prepared to present a brief oral report as well.
Possible Field Observation Topics:
12-Step Meeting Mainstream Worship Service (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish)
Sweat Lodge  Buddhist Meditation (Chinese/Thai/Japanese)  Islamic Temple
Nation of Islam  UFO Meeting  New Age Practices   Jehovah’s Witness  Thai Chi
Hare Krishna Center  Palm/Card Reader  Vedanta Society  Hindu Temple Passover Seder
Wicca (Witchcraft)  Pagan Ritual  Native American Ceremony  Tantric Puja  Easter Sunday Service

 Outline for Field Observation:
Title Page: (name of paper [pick something creative!], your name, name of course, instructor’s name, date of completion)
Introduction: (where you went, who went with you (e.g. co-researchers/key informants), what you studied and what you were able to observe)
Field Research Methods: What methods did you use? (participant-observation? interviews? )  Include reflections on how you felt (Did you experience culture shock?)
Description of Cultural Activities:
Physical Environment: (size and design of space, furniture arrangement, visible symbols, colors, smells, and sounds)
 Time: (time of day, length of ceremony, awareness of time)
 Participants: (age, gender, economic/social class, dress, roles played in gathering)
 Ritual Activities: (formal and informal activities, symbolic behaviors)
 Cultural Behaviors: (language, dress, initiations, cultural rules/protocols specific to this gathering, sample interactions /behaviors)

 Conclusion/Interpretation:  (What religious ideas were expressed?  What is the cultural context of the gathering? (ethnic, historical, political, social)  Was there an individual/personal or collective/community emphasis in the ideas and actions expressed?  What needs does this culture satisfy and how does it satisfy them?  (Why do people attend? What values, assumptions, and beliefs are expressed?) In what ways are the cultural practices effective?)
Areas for Further Research: (If you were return, what would you focus on?)
ESSAY (due May 5)
For this assignment you can either expand upon one of the midterm essays or select a topic that interests you as a researcher/writer, creating a 3-4 page paper with bibliography and footnotes.  Papers can be organized as follows:
1. Title Page (pick something creative!)
 2. Introduction/Statement of Problem/Issue
 3. Discussion of Findings (the body of your essay--divide into subtopics)
 4. Conclusion (include your own analysis)
 5. Areas for Further Research (be creative!)
 6. Bibliography (see format below)


INVENT A RELIGION:  (due May 12)
For this assignment you will need to take into consideration what makes a religion attractive to new followers.   With this in mind, you are invited to invent a new religion!  Things to Consider:
1. Central Beliefs
2. Rituals and Practices
3. Initiations
4. Standards of Conduct
5. How new members will be recruited (target audience)
6. Benefits of Membership (why recruits will want to join)
7. Symbol(s)

 How to Organize:
1. Introduction
2. Body of Work (divided into sections)
3. Conclusion
4. Bibliography (if outside sources were used)

Things to Keep In Mind For Written Assignments

1.
When using a computer, back-up your work on a thumb drive
2.
Proofread! Read your paper aloud to catch awkward sentences.
3.
Use “spell check,” but remember the three forms: their / they’re / there …and two / to / too
4.
Spell alter and altar correctly!
5.
Leave one space after a comma.
6.
Spell out numbers under 11.
7.
Spell any number that is at the beginning of a sentence.
8.
A sentence needs a subject and a verb—otherwise it’s a fragment.
9.
Write in your own words! If you want to maintain the exact wording of another source, use quotation marks or single space and indent the copied section and then use footnotes.
10.
Don’t use words that you don’t understand.
11.
Avoid “run-on-sentences,” by keeping your ideas focussed.
12.
Follow rules for proper hyphenation—divide words between syllables, making sure the second half begins with a consonant.
13.
“Keep punctuation marks inside of quotation marks.”
14.
Get help by turning in an early rough draft and/or using the campus writng center in Humanities 100/102.  (818) 947-2810
Bibliography Format:

*Alphabetize by author's last name, italicize publications, put quotes around articles and designate page numbers.

For a book:
 Terray, Carl
1996
Demon Haunted Town; New York:  Monthly Review Press

For an article in a magazine, newspaper, or book:
 Dalton, George
2004 "The Burning of Witches,” American Anthropologist No. 76 September 2004, p. 553.
For an oral communication (speech/interview):
 Jackson, Miranda
     2010 Personal Communication, Van Nuys, CA,  November 14, 2010
For a television program:
 Thomas, Stanley
     2009 "Voodoo in Haiti," Nova Series, PBS Television
For an Internet site:
 Chappel, Clinton (Important to FIND the author and the full name of the site)
     2010 “Sorcery in San Francisco,” http://www.geocities.com/prostitution/SF, May 14, 2010
                                                                                                                         (date retrieved)
REFERENCES/FOOTNOTES:

 For a direct quote: if it is four lines or more single space and indent, eg.
A man does not have full status in social life until he is married: has no
household of his own, and he is debarred from many privileges; hence
except for the physically and mentally handicapped, all mature Trobriands
           marry (Symons, 1979:113)
Referring to an author’s idea, but not quoting them directly:
Leakey (1995) saw than bipedalism was a natural adaptation to a savanna environment where more could be seen by standing upright.
Referring to ideas of an author without using the author’s name in your text:
The advantages of an omnivorous diet are numerous, especially in that intense foraging becomes possible in a limited area (Franklin, 2008).