Posted: March 12th, 2023

Islam Project

Hello, basically the paper is like if you are going to watch an Islam ritual and write the paper about it.

INSTRUCTIONS for PROJECT

“A Description, Analysis, and Critique of Religious Ritual”

Paper & Presentation

Purpose:

To observe, analyze, and critique a central ritual in a religious tradition (

ISLAM
) with a view toward understanding how the religion takes shape in the actual “performance” of the rite. You will want to refer to Ronald Grimes “Mapping Ritual” and Tom Driver, “Liberating rites: Understanding the transformative power of ritual” (especially the section on Liminality and Communitas) both of which can be found in the module on “Ritual Observation, Analysis, and Critique.”

Requirements:

1. 10-12 page paper (3000 words, APA format), see instructions below.

2. Formal outline, and bibliography. Make sure you include our

Textbook (Luttio, M. (2017). Introduction to the Study of World Religions. Lynn University Digital Press), the readings on Ronald Grimes, Victor Turner, and Arnold Van Gennep)

3.
Power point slide show (10-12 slides), detailing a summary of your findings.

This 10-12 page essay (3000 words), will describe, analyze, and critique your visit to a religious institution (including a thorough description, detailed analysis, and critique).

The

Islam
ritual you choose to attend must be a “main” event (not an informal/occasional one).

When you attend if anyone asks who you are, you should introduce yourself as a student. Oftentimes someone will come up to you, assuming that you are a potential convert; you may wish to gently inform them that you are simply a student of religion broadening your horizons in religious tolerance and understanding.

On a separate title page be sure to list:

§ name of the site visited

§ religion of the site (including branch, denomination or sect if applicable)

Make sure you also include an Abstract, an Introduction, and a Conclusion.

Here are the 3 main sections (make sure you include the subsection titles and address each of the questions posited here):

PART I: THE DESCRIPTIVE TASK (1000-1200 words)

Key Question to ask: “What is going on here?”

[Note Well: This segment should be answered strictly on the basis of what you saw, not on the basis of previous experience, theoretical knowledge or questioning of the participants]

The purpose of this section is to give a complete description of what you observe.

To begin, give a brief narrative account from beginning to end of the sequence of events which you observed. This is the “overview.” Next (we now get granular), use Ronald Grimes’ article, “Mapping the Field of Ritual” to describe each of the following. Pay special attention to the questions he asks surrounding each of the following:

• Ritual Space

• Ritual Objects

• Ritual Time

• Ritual Sound

• Ritual Language

• Ritual Identity

• Ritual Action

PART II: THE ANALYTICAL TASK (800-1000 words)

Key Question to ask: “What does it mean?”

[Note Well: These questions should only be reviewed and answered once the first part (writing down your Observation) has been completed] Make sure you include ALL 5 of these questions as subsections to this part of the paper.

1. The Sacred (vs. Profane): Where, if anywhere, is the sense of the “sacred” manifested? How is it marked-off and distinguished from the “profane”? How is it acknowledged? (Verbally? Gesture? Ornamentation? Other ways?)

2. The Divine: Briefly, what images/concepts of God/Divine are fostered and conveyed by the rite? How does this occur or get accomplished?

3. Beliefs and Values: What specific Beliefs and Values are reinforced by the rite? How does this process occur? In other words, how is it accomplished? What beliefs and values are censored-out or negated by the rite?

4. Liminality: Where and how, if at all, is the sense of “liminality” (time out of time) apparent? How was it created? Make sure you use Tom Driver’s material to define/explain liminality. Remember, if there is no “liminality,” there is no meaningful ritual; so pay particular attention to this question!

5. Meaning and Ritual Dissonance: Every religion/ritual has an “official” meaning (usually found in the textbooks on religion dealing with dogma and theory). In contrast to this, there is also a “pragmatic” meaning (which usually is the “actual preferred meaning” for the group or individual as practiced). It is this latter one (the pragmatic meaning) that this final project focuses on. In light of this, the final question in this section is:

Is there any “ritual dissonance” that you became aware of; where what you learned on a theoretical level is different from the actual practice of the religion (as experienced in the ritual). Ie., what you saw vs. what you read. For this question you should refer to your textbook, as well as other bibliographic materials you have researched, in contrast to the “participant observation” of the rite.

PART III: THE CRITICAL TASK (750-1000 words)

Key Question to ask: “Does it work?” “How/how not?” [Note well: Part III is to be done only after Part I and II are completed] As in part II, make sure you include ALL 4 of these questions as subsections to this part of the paper:

1. Essence: Does this rite, both in its form and content, express the essence of this religion? (a brief explanation of what is the essence of the religion may be necessary)

2. Subversion: Do any parts of this ritual “subvert” or “undermine” the sense of the divine/God or core valued?

3. Communitas: Does it produce “communitas” (a la Victor Turner)? Cf. Driver 152-165. How might it be improved? This question will require you to clearly define what is meant by “communitas” and then apply it to this project. Pay close attention to Tom Driver’s material on Liberating Rites (in Canvas). Does this in fact occur in the ritual you observed? How so? How not? How might it be improved so that it does in fact occur?

4. Transformation: As my Notre Dame doctor father use to say, “The test of all true authentic religious ritual is whether you leave the ritual gathering a changed person (to some appreciable degree) than when you arrived.” So, finally, the question is — does this ritual produce/engender personal and social transformation? In other words, is there an efficacy to the ritual? How might this be improved? Remember, transformation (personal or social) will not occur without the presence of “liminality” and “communitas.” Thus, the efficacy of the ritual must be evaluated and critiqued employing these two matrices. Again, make sure you include an Abstract and an Introduction at the beginning of the paper, and include a Conclusion here at the end of the paper.