Anthropology 121 Ritual Observation Project Introduction

This project has three purposes: (1) to have you experience a religion other than your own, (2) to have you apply anthropological principles learned in class to a specific situation, and (3) to have you experience anthropological fieldwork.

Choosing a Religion for Study

Your first task will be to choose a religion. Because we live in a large metropolitan area, we are surrounded by a great diversity of religious practices. This makes this project possible and exciting. Some questions you may ask in selecting a religion to study are: Do you know someone who could be an informant? Do you know the location of a specific church/temple/etc.? Will the ceremony be at least primarily in English? An answer of “no” to any of these questions does not mean you cannot study that religion; it just means it may be a bit more difficult. If you have no idea what religion you would like to study, consider looking at The Encyclopedia of American Religions. Possibilities include Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Pentecostal, Baptist, Adventists (including Jehovah’s Witness), Fundamentalist, Mormon, Coptic, Greek or Russian Orthodox, Unitarian, Christian Science, Jewish, Muslim, Baha’i, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, New Age, Pagan, or Wicca. Note that with certain religions you will need to make a further choice between different subgroups (e.g., Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstruction Judaism). The paper is not a book report and no specific amount of reading is required. However, you are responsible for finding out the meanings associated with the different aspects of the ritual (i.e., you need to know enough to do the analysis required of you). Possible sources include an encyclopedia entry, a chapter in a book on world religions, or even a children’s book. You might also find a booklet in the Lobby or Gift Shop of the church/temple. Good information can often be found online. Another way of obtaining information is to attend or discuss the ritual with an informant who is a participant in the religion. Make sure to cite any sources you use!

Doing the Fieldwork

The ritual can be a public ceremony such as a Sunday morning church service, a rite of passage such as a wedding, or even a ritual held in a home. Make sure that it is a religious ritual and substantial enough to do an analysis. Make plans ahead of time to go to your site. If you do not have an informant to go with, call ahead and make arrangements. Tell them who you are and why you want to attend, find out when and where services are, and ask any additional questions such as how to dress. If you are unsure about this last point, err on the side of being too conservative. Your dress and behavior reflects on the college.

Attend the ritual, watching for things that will help you answer the questions for the project. Consider discretely taking notes at the ceremony if this is allowed. However, never make a recording without the permission of the person you are speaking with and do not record the ritual without the permission of the person in charge. If you are unable to take notes during the ritual, make sure to write down your observations as soon as possible following the ritual. Keep all of your field notes. I reserve the right to ask you to turn them in if I have some questions about your work. If you asked for permission to attend the ritual, then sending a note of appreciation afterwards would be a nice gesture. In general, while you are attending the ritual you should do as they do. For example, if they stand, so should you. If they are all wearing head coverings and they are provided, you should wear one too. The exception is when it comes to actually participating in the ritual such as taking communion in a Catholic church. If you are unsure, ask. Do not wait until the last minute.

Fieldwork does not always go as planned; allow yourself time for unforeseen difficulties. This is not a paper that can be written at the last minute.

General Guidelines for the Paper •

Your paper should be 1.5 spaced, 12-point font, with 1-inch margins. • Save your file as either a word document (.doc or docx) or a PDF file for submission. • Include your name, class and semester on the title page. • Explain everything in your own words using complete sentences. • Make sure you cite your sources. (Resource on citations: http://libguides.lavc.edu/citing-sources) • Make a heading for each analysis section as indicated below.

Ritual Analysis

Include a separate heading for each section below. With the exception of the ritual description, the questions for each section can be answered in a paragraph or two.

I. Ritual Observed What religious ritual did you observe? Include religion (be specific), ritual, specific location, and the date. Include a picture of you that shows that you did the observation (e.g., in front of the ritual location). Do not take pictures during the ritual without getting permission! If you have problems meeting this requirement, please contact me. II. Ritual Description Describe the ritual that you observed. This should be an approximately three to four page description of what you observed, including a description of the setting, participants and religious specialists. III. Ritual Classification How would you classify this ritual? Was it prescriptive or situational? Was it periodic or occasional? How would Wallace classify the ritual (e.g., therapy, social rite of intensification, rite of passage, etc.)? Make sure to include all three classifications. Explain why you classified the ritual the way you did. IV. Symbols Describe the symbols you observed, making sure to include the meaning of each. Include symbolic elements of time and space if appropriate. V. Ritual Specialist How would you classify the ritual specialist (i.e., priest or shaman)? What characteristics led you to that decision? VI. Altered States of Consciousness Was there any evidence of altered states of consciousness? If yes, what characterized the altered state? How was the altered state achieved? If there was absolutely no evidence of altered states, contact me for further instructions. VII. Worldview What is the worldview of this religion? How was this worldview reflected in the ritual? VIII. Conclusion Write a paragraph or two on your own thoughts and responses to what you

In a personal reflection of 1,000–1,250 words, consider how a Christian might benefit from a study of other religions by addressing the following:

1. Can Christian dialogue with other religious traditions be a part of the calling to proclaim the Gospel?
2. What can Christians learn from other religious traditions?
3. Can religious experiences or teachings in other faiths be validated?
4. How can Christians think critically about their encounters with members of other faiths?
5. Be sure to support your personal reflections with examples and constructive thought

Philosophy 1330

First Reflection Paper Assignment

Woody Allen’s “The Shallowest Man”

Introduction:

Even though there are good reasons why he is not the morally shallowest person in the story, Lenny Mendel does not engage in deep ethical reflection, especially after he visits the hospital and meets the nurse. The questions of whether it is right to use a dying man as a means to lure an engaged woman away from her fiancé and whether it is good to do so by deceiving both Iskowitz and Miss Hill in the process are moral considerations that seem worthy of deep ethical reflection. Such reflection–and the duties, virtues, motives, choices, intentions, and results it could lead to– might enable Mendel (and all of of us) to overcome obstacles to moral progress such as fear, being overly judgmental, selfishness, refusing to judge, desire, low self-esteem, and lust.

Topic:

The topic for this paper is for you to judge whether personal moral progress is important enough for you to engage in the sort of deep ethical reflection that Mendel did not. Specifically identify what deep ethical reflection involves and requires—things like fair judgment, honesty, thinking beneath the surface of our beliefs, considering others in addition to ourselves–and then support why it is or is not the case that personal moral progress is important enough for you to engage in such difficult and demanding reflection. What is such progress and why is it worth all the effort?

Clarifications:

Your purpose in writing this paper is to explore the thoughts, questions, confusions, and insights you have had throughout our discussions of this story in even greater depth. It is important that you share your thinking process with me, rather than simply the conclusions you reach as a result of this process. The issues you will grapple with are difficult but you will write a better paper if you allow yourself to become entangled in these difficulties rather than avoiding them. Your paper will not be judged on the basis of its results but rather on how thoroughly you respond to the topic, the seriousness with which you have read and considered the reading, how deeply you explore the ideas and questions raised in class, and how thoughtfully you support your position. It should not re-tell the story nor should it be a report on the story or on the author. I am looking for your reflections on the story within the context of our class discussions about it; discussions whose focus has been ethics–the philosophical study of morality.

Requirements:

No plagiarism. Remember that this paper must be typed and should be at least four full pages in length. Please double-space and use 1” margins all around so that I can easily write comments. Please use 12 font or smaller. You need only an original title and your name and date as headers on your paper. There is no need for additional space between paragraphs other than the one that double-spacing automatically provides. All paragraphs should be indented. You must follow the citation protocol as articulated on the plagiarism handout for all quotes. All definitions must be coated from this reading.

Paper must be 3-5 pages, double-spaced, typed, and in 12pt. Times New Roman font and in proper ESSAY format (MLA or APA).

Directions: In concise and complete sentences (using essay format), explain your ethical reasoning! To help you form your ethical conclusion, you MUST utilize the theory of ethical egoism. For example, you may say, “I came to this conclusion by utilizing the theory of ethical egoism…” and explain (in detail) how that theory applies. Remember to utilize step-by-step the “ABCD’s of Ethical Decision Making: A Brief Guide,” when writing your paper.

If you wish to quote something directly from the readings, please use the simple format of putting the author’s last name and page number in parenthesis after the quotation and before the period: example – “Philosophy is wonderful” (Author, 1).

Additionally, feel free to use any handouts, power point presentations or posted notes in the Files Directory to help you with this assignment.

Follow precisely the steps below in analyzing this case study.

1. How would a person representing ethical egoism advise you in deciding on the
   right thing to do in the ethical scenario below? Why would they advise you as
   they do?

1. Next, indicate clearly what you think are the strengths and weaknesses in the
   ethical egoist’s advice to you.

1. Finally, what would you do in this case and why would you act this way if you found yourself in the position of the person who bought the ticket for their neighbor?

“The Lottery Ticket”

Your neighbor, with whom you are friendly but not friends, asks you to buy a random number lottery ticket for them when you are pulling out of your driveway to go to the Royal Farm Store. They say to you laughing, “Just buy my ticket with my dollar and make sure you don’t get it mixed up with yours in case mine wins!” “You bet,” you say and drive away. At the Royal Farm Store you smile to yourself and decide to actually follow your neighbor’s instructions precisely and buy them a “random number” ticket with the dollar they gave you. You then place the ticket in your shirt pocket so that you can remember that it is the ticket you bought for them. You then buy a “set number” ticket for yourself with your own money.

When you get home your neighbor is not around, so you go inside and later learn that the random number ticket you bought for your neighbor with their money won the lottery jackpot of $1.8 million. You could really use the money, as you are behind in your rent, car payments and owe $4,000 on your credit cards – not to mention that you need money to complete your college education. What would you say to your neighbor when they call you asking whether their ticket was the winning ticket? Why would you say that?

Remember: 1. What would an ethical egoist advise to say to your neighbor and why?

2. What would you say to your neighbor and why?

Choose a topic that is difficult or challenging to explain (“to explain” is not necessarily to “defend” as students are required to do in writing an argument paper). For this specific purpose, some good topics include hoaxes, unusual sightings (e.g. UFOs, bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster), the supernatural or paranormal, with one crazy online resource that gives us plenty of opportunity to apply abductive reasoning is the Museum of Hoaxes at http://www.hoaxes.org/ or apply abductive reasoning to events that are the subject of conspiracy theories, unsolved crimes or other court cases, etc.

After you choose your topic, explain the topic you chose and why it is interesting or controversial. Present good arguments on more than one side of the issue (e.g. competing explanations of the facts). Analyze both arguments that you have presented. Then present your own argument for your theory that you feel will best explain this phenomenon. Are there any holes in your theory? Is there any information that would be likely to strengthen or weaken your case?