1. Summary (1-2 paragraphs depending on the number of readings): Provide a comprehensive summary for each of the readings (primary and secondary). The summary should explain the main idea of the reading. For example, I might write the following:

2. Analysis (1-2 paragraphs): Offer an analysis on the readings that identifies one major themes in the reading as it relates to questions of religious imagination or worldview. Name specific events, characters, tone, setting, and/or other elements of the reading as evidence that clearly supports your reading.

The analysis is your opportunity to focus your reading and begin to interpret the ideas we will engage in class discussion. If there is more than one reading for a given week, identify a theme that the readings share in common and articulate how the readings demonstrate that theme and/or support your assessment. Be sure to provide one or two quotations and/or excerpts from the readings that support your reflection.

Journal entries must be typed and properly formatted in either APA,

EVIDENCED-BASED ANALYSIS: After class weeks 1-7, students will complete an analytical reflection in which they identify one idea for further exploration or research. The reflections should be approximately 500 words, written in complete sentences and properly formatted. Students must complete 4 analyses. If a student chooses to complete more than four, the instructor will choose the four highest grades among the submissions.
Each reflection should do the following:
(1) identify a common element or theme in two or more of the readings for the week
(2) explain where this element/theme occurs in each of the readings
(3) cite one passage or quotation from one of the readings that clearly provides evidence to support your claim that this element/theme is held in common. Use in-text citations with page numbers to document evidence.
(4) in your own words, reconnect the quotation cited to your main idea, making it clear why this quote or passage is good evidence to justify your claim
(5) repeat steps 3 and 4 for each reading you are examining
(6) despite the above commonality, briefly identify one fundamental difference in the way this element or theme emerges in the readings (such as the way a different historical or cultural context engenders a different emphasis on the theme)

After reading the Bhagavad Gita (from the Hindu Epic, the Mahabarata), watch the following 30-minute lecture on the Bhagavad Gita. Episode 2:https://mercer.kanopy.com/video/bhagavad-gita-choice-and-daily-life (Links to an external site.)

Then, watch either episode 3 or 4 depending on which theme of the text interests you most.

Episode 3 on Discipline and Duty: https://mercer.kanopy.com/video/bhagavad-gita-discipline-and-duty (Links to an external site.)

Episode 4 on Union and Purpose: https://mercer.kanopy.com/video/bhagavad-gita-union-and-purpose (Links to an external site.)

After completing the above, submit the following written exercise: In 2-3 paragraphs, citing specific evidence from the film and the texts, explain what you think is the central message of the Bhagavad Gita and why.

the audience would become an important part of the recipe for deviance when we got into constructionism. This becomes clear when looking at labeling theory. Howard Becker, a classic and prominent labeling theorist suggests that, “Deviance is not a quality of the act a person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others or rules and sanctions to an ‘offender’. The deviant is one to whom the label has successfully been applied; deviant behaviour is behaviour that people so label.” We hear something similar in “Race: The Power of an Illusion” when looking at who could become a naturalized U.S. citizen based on their race… “Whiteness was what the common white man said it was.”

Do you see what both statements have in common? It’s power. The powerful are far more likely to be able to label someone or a group of someones and have that label stick. Once a negative label sticks, people become stigmatized. An idea behind labeling theory is that when this happens, people are more likely to take on a “deviant” identity.

For Assignment , use the segment on immigrants, race and citizenship (“Race: The Power of an Illusion”) along with what you’ve read about constructionism and labeling (here people are constructing “deviants”) to write a story about someone’s journey into “deviance.” You can use a person from the film itself, ie. Takao Ozawa or Bhagat Singh Thind, or just make up someone all together, ie. Isaiah or Melanie.

Lableing theory is not particularly testable but it makes sense intuitively. Maybe some of you have seen a friend or family member go from being a straight A student to dropping out of school. Maybe you’ve had a similar experience yourself. Think back to middle school. Who were the kids getting picked on and who were the kids doing the picking. What we saw in the film was a much more extreme and harmful version of powerful, white men determining the fate of those they deemed “lesser than”.

So, don’t get too caught up in your head here, this is meant to be fun. In the past, I’ve made up a story about a new kid who joins our group of friends (the name is usually Bob). We all take Bob to his first college party and find out he doesn’t handle his liquor well. We take him out a few more times, but eventually determine that he’s just no fun to be around (we’re really much nicer people than this). So people start posting embarrassing pics of Bob and spreading rumors about him, ignoring him and so on. We’ve labeled Bob a social deviant. Moreover, he’s accepted this as truth. What happens to him now?

What might have happened to an immigrant denied citizenship because of her race? She too was labeled “less than” or a social deviant.

Construct a “deviant” for me. Be sure to address the power of your audience (those doing the labeling) and to keep things a little less gloomy, also include a scenario of what might have been if your character had been treated with respect and acceptance. You should be able to complete this assignment in 2 pages.