Criteria for Research Projects

The projects which I have assigned for Buddhism should conform to the following criteria:

        1. Each student should select a topic in Buddhism or a particular Buddhist tradition to study. You might relate something in Buddhism to your major, something in your own religious tradition, the arts or science. Perhaps, you might be interested in digging into a historical, political, economic or cultural aspect of the Buddhist tradition or a particular Buddhist tradition. The topic or tradition which you choose must be agreed to by the instructor.

        2. A paper of approximately fifteen pages (double spaced) on the research  topic will be presented to the instructor by class time on Thursday, December 6.

        3. A preliminary report will be sent to the instructor via e-mail by Thursday, November 15. This will be a progress report on where you are in your research and can include problems and difficulties that you have encountered. The project will be graded and will also enable the instructor to give further help if you run into problems in your work.

• What have you done so far? What books, web sites, visits and so forth have you
  consulted to this point?
• What have you discovered to this point?
• What problems have you run into? What don't you understand or what confuses you?
  This is where I can be most helpful to you in my response to your report.
• What do you plan to do next? What areas that you have not covered are you going to
  cover? How do you plan to do this?

        4. The project should include some discussion of the following areas:

• the geographical, historical and cultural circumstances of the tradition or topic (who? when?).
• the political and social circumstances (leadership, political organization, economic factors, social structure) which might be relevant to the project thesis (where?).
• the religious dimensions of the tradition and topic chosen (relation to Sacred realities, mythic and ritual dimensions, religious practices, and so forth).
• any other factors which you or the instructor feel are important for the project.

        5. If time and space permit, the instructor would appreciate your view of the topic being discussed.

        6. The project will assist you in your preparation for the final examination since the project topic will be a subject of discussion on this examination.

        7. Feel free to consult with the instructor on bibliography, methods of approach, or problems which may arise in the course of developing the project.

        8. Work on the project should begin as soon as possible since it might take some time to understand a culture different than your own and present the results in an organized fashion. Also, November 15 is not as far off as it might seem.

       9. You are strongly urged to make use of the Writing Center as early as possible in the process of thinking through the project.

GOOD LUCK                                                                 Page last updated September 6, 2001