Choose ONE ISSUE covered in the course and compare how it relates to TWO RELIGIONS of your choice. 

Topic: Choose ONE ISSUE covered in the course and compare how it relates to TWO RELIGIONS of your choice.

An “ISSUE” may consist of one of the following themes or it may be a combination of two or three related themes:

The gender of God

Gods and Goddesses

God language

Incarnation and gender

Reincarnation and gender

Founders’ attitudes to women

Adam and Eve

Women as sexual temptresses

Life-cycle rituals

Celibacy and/or Marriage

Spousal obedience

Dowry

Adultery

Divorce

Child marriage

Remarriage

Interfaith partners

Polygamy

Motherhood and Fertility

Preference for sons

Menstruation

Female circumcision

Women’s ordination/ prayer Leadership roles

Women as models of holiness

Women as spiritual teachers

Clothing and women

Other themes may also be chosen but please contact the lecturer beforehand to ensure that they are relevant.

The essay is due at 9am Monday 15 April. A penalty of 5% per day will apply for late submission (10% for a weekend) up to a maximum of 50%.

Your essay should be single spaced with the UNSW Law Cover Sheet (see page 12) attached.

It should be clearly structured with an introduction and conclusion. Subtitles may be used. The essay should :

1. provide a brief description of the issue in both religions and
2. explicitly identify various similarities and differences between the two religions on the issue.

It should also contain a complete bibliography (= list of sources) of all sources actually cited, and an appropriate referencing system of your choice. Sources can include books, articles and appropriate websites. A standard bibliography for this essay would have at least five sources. You should not include scriptural books in your bibliography.

When quoting scriptures, simply provide the book, chapter and verse (eg Quran 5:43; Genesis: 1:17-24; Matthew 17:2-6; Laws of Manu 9:55). There is no need to reference the lecture material but if this mentions a scriptural passage or other work then you should reference that.

The word count includes text, references, tables and appendices but does not include the bibliography. A 10% variation on the 2000-word limit either way is acceptable.

Essay submission will be online via Turn-It-In on Moodle. There is no need to provide a hard copy.

You can only submit once on Turn-it-in; you cannot submit “practice” drafts.

The four main criteria for marking are: contents; structure; language; and research.

Corrected essays will be available for collection from the Enquiry Desk after the official date for the release of results in each Session.