Faculty of Social and Life Sciences

World Religions (REGAWF) May 28, 2013

Kristian Niemi kristian.niemi@kau.se

Examination: Hinduism & Buddhism

What Write an essay on the topics of (1) Hinduism and (2) Buddhism. (1) Hinduism. Choose one of the following: (i) Bhakti as exemplied by two saints.
Choose two of the saints in Hawley & Jurgensmeyer. Present them and discuss. In the discussion, include the concepts of nirguna and saguna.

(ii) Veda and Bhakti

Sometimes the Vedic and Bhakti is said to be contrary poles of a phenomena. Explain both terms and discuss the statement above.

(iii) Hinduism polytheism, monism, and theism.

Describe the terms and explain in what sense can Hinduism be said to be polyteistic, monistic, and teistic, respectively.

(iv) Discuss the vedic and sramana.

Explain the vedic and sramana, and describe how the latter has aected the former.

(v) Discuss purushartha, including the dierent ways of attaining moksh. (vi) Describe the rite kartik puja. (vii) Critical discussion of hinduism and the caste-system. Sources: (primary) Hawley & Jurgensmeyer + lectures. (secondary) Additional literature as needed. (2) Buddhism. Choose one of the following: (i) Discuss similarities and dierences between Hinduism and Buddhism. (ii) Discuss monks and laymen, the sangha and the community.
Possible points of discussion: dierent levels of practice. Dierent roles in the religion.

(iii) Explain and discuss the dierences between Mahayana and Theravada.
Karlstad universitet, 651 88 Karlstad Universitetsgatan 2, Telefon 0547001000 Postgiro 78 81 071 Org. nr. 2021003120. www.kau.se

Faculty of Social and Life Sciences

World Religions (REGAWF) May 28, 2013

Kristian Niemi kristian.niemi@kau.se

(iv) Explain and discuss whats meant by Japanese religion.

The discussion is to include, but not be limited to, an explanation of why the entity of Japanese religion isnt reducible to one of its parts.

(v) Discuss Buddha.

Include denitions of the term; descriptions of buddhas; possible dierences between branches of Buddhism.

(vi) Explain the signicance of Gautama Buddha.

Note: this is not to be a recount of the biography of Siddhartha Gautama, even though it might be meaningful to briey describe it or details from it.

Literature: (primary) Earhart + lectures. (secondary) Additional literature as needed. When By the end of next week (Sunday, June 9th). How The essay is to be written by computer (for formalities, see page 4), and turned in digitally, at Its Learning. Theres a section called Assignments on the course website at Its Learning. In that folder, theres an item corresponding to this assignment. Thats where the essay is to be submitted. Length This essay should be 4 to 7 pages long. The space taken by possible cover pages, images, tables or the like does not count into the 47 pages. Four to seven pages of text; of content.1 Additional sources You may use additional sources. In fact: youre encouraged to do so! But keep in mind to always quote and reference sources properly.2 This is especially important if you use any other sources than the course literature. You may use images and the like but if you do, then remember to properly name the source of the image.
1 2

For formalities, like font size and the like, see page 4. More on references at page 4.

Karlstad universitet, 651 88 Karlstad Universitetsgatan 2, Telefon 0547001000 Postgiro 78 81 071 Org. nr. 2021003120. www.kau.se

Faculty of Social and Life Sciences

World Religions (REGAWF) May 28, 2013

Kristian Niemi kristian.niemi@kau.se

Grading
The essay should contain discussions of the terms introduced, and the subjects of lectures, literature and other material. Describing those, is a good starting point. To round o with own opinions and thoughts is even better. To have looked a bit further, found information at other, credible places and used them in the discussions, is better still. In all cases, direct quotations must be properly referenced.3 Passing A grade of passing is earned by being able to clearly describe, and discuss (a) the content of the lectures; (b) the literature; The question given for the essay must have been answered satisfactorily. Each essay should contain a proper bibliography and references are to be cited correctly.4 New terms should be introduced, explained. An understanding of terms and subjects must be shown, as well as the ability to look at the dierent religions from (at least also) a descriptive perspective5 . A level of respect and understanding for other cultures should be shown. Once more for claritys sake: the essay should contain not only a description of facts, but also discussions about them. Passing with distinction A grade of passing with distinction is earned by not only meeting the conditions for passing, but for additionally discussing the subjects independently. To show a degree of original, critical thinking. To not only discuss the topic in a satisfactory manner, but to do it well. To go beyond the content of the lectures, and draw own conclusions. To think for yourself; to argue. To look for additional, credible sources of information and use them properly in the discussions.
3 4

For more on references, see page 4. For more on references, see page 4. 5 For information on descriptive perspective, look through your notes from the rst lecture.

Karlstad universitet, 651 88 Karlstad Universitetsgatan 2, Telefon 0547001000 Postgiro 78 81 071 Org. nr. 2021003120. www.kau.se

Faculty of Social and Life Sciences

World Religions (REGAWF) May 28, 2013

Kristian Niemi kristian.niemi@kau.se

Formalities
The rst page A cover letter is optional. Whether you use a cover letter or not, the rst page must include your name and the title of the course. It is helpful if you use the header of the document, to include your name and the title of the course at every page, but it is not mandatory to do so. Page and paragraph The page should have normal margins. If you use Microsoft Word, just leave the defaults as they are.6 The font should be set to 12pt Times New Roman. Line spacing should be one and a half. References You do not need to cite references after every bit of information that you have taken from the lectures, or from the course literature. You do have to cite references when 1. using direct quotation; 2. using material other than lectures or course material; 3. including images or the like. Bibliography A bibliography / list of references must be found at the end of every journal. This bibliography will include both the course literature and any possible, additional sources that has been utilized.

Bibliography and references

Proper citation Direct quotes are to be enclosed within citation marks: Like so, followed by referencing the source either using footnotes or by using parentheses. It does not matter which, but be consistent throughout the text.
6

2.54cm fairly close to 1 inch top, bottom, right and left.

Karlstad universitet, 651 88 Karlstad Universitetsgatan 2, Telefon 0547001000 Postgiro 78 81 071 Org. nr. 2021003120. www.kau.se

Faculty of Social and Life Sciences

World Religions (REGAWF) May 28, 2013

Kristian Niemi kristian.niemi@kau.se

Citation in text: examples

Using parenthesis
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus sit amet accumsan lacus. Sed facilisis feugiat scelerisque. Phasellus consectetur nibh vel diam rutrum tempor eu id lorem. The Popol Vuh is the most important surviving work of Mayan literature. (Eliade 1967, p. 92) Vestibulum fermentum pellentesque nulla nec lobortis.

Using footnotes
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus sit amet accumsan lacus. Sed facilisis feugiat scelerisque. Phasellus consectetur nibh vel diam rutrum tempor eu id lorem. The Popol Vuh is the most important surviving work of Mayan literature.1 1 Vestibulum fermentum pellentesque nulla nec lobortis.
1

Eliade 1967, p. 92

The bibliography, or list of references. This is where you list all sources used. The exact formatting of the list is not important, but should be consistent. All required information must be there, though. Required information, regardless of type of source : author; title of source; when its published and by whom. For books, the title is cursivated. For articles, the title is within quotation marks. See example below! (Books: Eliade, Eck, Gersh, Hawley. Articles: Lorenzen, Osbeck.) For online sources, the URL to the source must be included, as well as date visited. Dont forget the name of the source (probably the name of the website, if author isnt clearly stated), and the title of the article. See example below! (Wikipedia, BBC/Judith Burns.)

Karlstad universitet, 651 88 Karlstad Universitetsgatan 2, Telefon 0547001000 Postgiro 78 81 071 Org. nr. 2021003120. www.kau.se

Faculty of Social and Life Sciences

World Religions (REGAWF) May 28, 2013

Kristian Niemi kristian.niemi@kau.se

References
Burns, Judith. Religious education in schools is a priority say MPs. First published Feb. 17, 2012. Date visited: Apr. 4, 2013. url: http://www. bbc.co.uk/news/education-17068153. Eck, Diana L. Banaras: City of Light. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982. Eliade, Mircea. Essential Sacred Writings From Around the World. Original title: From Primitives to Zen. Harper Collins, 1967. Gersh, Harry. When a Jew Celebrates. revised 1986. Behrman House Inc., 1971. Hawley, John Stratton and Mark Juergensmeyer. Songs of the Saints of India. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Lorenzen, David N. Introduction. In: Religious Movements in South Asia (600-1800). Ed. by David N. Lorenzen. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004, pp. 144. Osbeck, Christina. More purpose than meaning in RE. In: Journal of Beliefs & Values 33.3 (2012), pp. 325328. url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/ 13617672.2012.732813. Wikipedia. Icon. url: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icon (visited on 02/02/2011). Saints. url: http : / / en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Saints (visited on 02/02/2011).

Karlstad universitet, 651 88 Karlstad Universitetsgatan 2, Telefon 0547001000 Postgiro 78 81 071 Org. nr. 2021003120. www.kau.se