FINAL RESEARCH PAPER DUE.
This class will function as a condensed version of an academic conference, with brief research presentations (5 minutes maximum) followed by a few minutes for questions. Please come prepared to give a brief presentation (5 minutes maximum) of the main points of your research: your problem (in a few sentences), your approach (in a few sentences), your main conclusions (in a few sentences), and a tiny example of your data - just enough to illustrate how your conclusions fit your data.
Those who have not yet presented their research (namely, those whose papers relate to Sufism) will have a chance to do so.
This last class is also technically our final exam period, so your take-home final exam (that is, the final version of your statement of approach to religious studies) is due. Please bring your final statement with you to turn in, and be prepared to make a brief statement (just a few sentences) about one or two of the most important points of your personal approach to the study of religions. There won't be time to mention all the different approaches you have written about, so select one or two major themes or issues that you feel are the most important elements of your approach statement, and be prepared tell us about those. It might be easiest to present your ideas clearly if you highlight a section of your statement to read out loud in class.
Aroud 4:00 Dr. Allen Hertzke, the Religious Studies Program director, will join us, and we will spend a good chunk of time talking about about your perspectives on the Religious Studies Program as a whole, and how you think the program should evolve in the coming years. There will be a survey to complete about your experience in the Religious Studies major, which all seniors are asked to complete as they exit the program.
Discussing the program will lead into the question of how well this particular capstone course did or did not fit into the program and into your intellectual development. We will discuss the goals, format, and materials of this capstone class; how it did or did not function to help you wrap up your religious studies major; and what shape it should take in the future. There will also be a questionnaire and a regular class evaluation form to complete.