World Religion

Your essay topic will be: “Racial & Religious Identity in Global History: Discrimination and Multicultural Diversity in Tension.” The essay should be written in a strictly factual, encyclopedic manner. It should include a brief introductory paragraph (75-100 words) highlighting the main issues/concerns of the topic. It should include a historically-based thesis statement, that is, a thesis statement which is based on historical evidence. The main body should then provide a summary of key historical examples (using both description and analysis). It should include reference to at least one example from each of the following: 1- European-Arab relations (see refs to “advanced race/nation” in “The Israeli-Palestinian Struggle: Primary Sources”), 2- European Christian-Jewish relations, 3- U.S. White-Black relations, 4- South African White-Black relations (see Fredrickson), and 5- U.S. White-Asian and/or Hispanic relations (see Kramer). Your essay should also include a brief explanation of how ‘globalization’, both historically and presently, relates to racial and religious identity issues in terms of both multicultural diversity and discrimination. The essay should end with a concluding paragraph which summarizes the main issues/points clearly & concisely, notes important related questions/issues raised by but not addressed in the essay, and states the importance of the findings for the present/future.

You must use only required course readings and in-class handouts. No outside sources. Essays based on outside sources will be given a failing grade. Your essay should cite each of the following course readings at least one time (or more):

WK 1 (cite from at least one of the following two sources from WK 1):

2- “Globalization (Globalization Theory)” in A Dictionary of Sociology, eds. John Scott and Gordon Marshall, 3rd rev. ed., Oxford University Press, [1994, 1998, 2005] 2009, 286-287.

3- J.R. McNeill and William McNeill, “Introduction: Webs and History,” in The Human Web: A Bird’s-Eye View of World History, (New York and London: W. W. Norton & Co., 2003), 3-8.

WK 6:

1- R. Charles Weller, “’Western’ and ‘White Civilization’: White Nationalism and Eurocentrism at the Crossroads,” in 21st-Century Narratives of World History: Global and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, ed. R. Charles Weller (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), pp. 35-80.

2- Paul A. Kramer, “Not Who We Are,” Slate, Feb 3, 2017. Wks 10-12:

George M. Fredrickson, Racism: A Short History (Princeton University Press, 2003/2015).

In-Class Handouts:

“The Israeli-Palestinian Struggle: Primary Sources”
“Primary Sources on Nazi Germany, the Jewish Holocaust, & Its Relation to Israel-Palestine”

Class Lecture Notes:

“The Historical Roots of the Holocaust & Continuing Anti-Semitism” “The Historical Roots of the Black Lives Matter Movement”

Citations should be in Chicago Style endnotes, using both full and abbreviated format as needed. Citations should follow this example, with only a number in the main text which corresponds to a number at the end of the essay where you place your citation information.1

You may use material from your WREs, but your essay should NOT simply copy & paste various sentences from your WREs into a document and turn it in. Your essay should be a flowing, coherent presentation which reflects refined, deeper critical thinking based on your completion of the entire course. It should be an argumentative essay which introduces and states a position on the main subject in the introduction, explains and supports that position in the main body with facts/evidence cited from the readings and class handouts, and then ends with a conclusion as described above.

I recommend that you start by drafting an introductory paragraph, then writing your main body and conclusion, and then going back and refining your introductory paragraph after you finish writing your main body and conclusion.

1 First use of source = give full citation info (use same formats as in LRAs). 2nd, 3rd, etc., use = Give only abbreviated info (author last name, abbreviated title, pg. #).