Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Assignment 3 - Due This Monday

The final assignment is due this Monday, and thus you should by now have collected the articles you plan to use.  If you still need to find one or two more, keep in mind that you can search most of the websites with keywords such as "judaism", "islam", "catholic", "pope", and "religion" to attempt to find more articles.

KEY THINGS TO REMEMBER:
1) You need 3 articles for each of the 3 weeks covered during the course of the assignment, to a maximum of 10 total articles.  Remember when putting the articles in your bibliography to provide the date, so that your TA can note you have followed this outline.  The 3 weeks covered are: March 1-7, March 8-14, and March 15-21.

2) You need AT LEAST 2 articles per tradition.  Keep in mind that if a news article talks about two of the traditions, it can count for both of them.  Thus, if you cover any of the issues in Israel, you would be covering both Judaism and Islam.

3) You need to use 2 different sources and try to keep a moderate balance between how many articles come from each source.  In this way, one option you could pursue is how your 2 different sources differ in their coverage of the 3 traditions.

4) Remember to provide a Bibliography, and also to include the first line of each article in the bibliography, so that your TA can search for it more easily.

5) Remember to try to make connections back to the course to display your understandings of why these traditions are so important still today, and to try to analyze why certain issues in the media are covered in the first place, and how such issues might be related to what you have learned in class.

6) Finally, please use the assignment as an opportunity to educate yourself on how the general public hears about these traditions, understanding the role of the media in this process.  In this way you will hopefully enjoy the assignment and gain a greater appreciation of the importance of these traditions in the 21st century.

7) Good luck!!!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

News Stories - March 15-21

CENTRAL IDEAS FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT
- Common themes you notice in the media regarding how different traditions are portrayed
- Types of issues that are covered
- How issues covered may relate to issues discussed in class
- Differences between Media portrayal of the traditions and what you have learned about the traditions throughout the semester
These are just a few ideas to get you thinking about the possible angles that you might want to take when brainstorming on how to compose your final paper.  Remember to try and connect your discussion back to course-related material from lecture, tutorial, and the textbook to help you understand how and why these traditions remain so central to some of the global issues of our time.

***NOTE***: the following articles are collected from non-Canadian news sources, and thus you CANNOT use them in your assignment.  However, the stories they cover are most likely covered by the Canadian sources the assignment is focused on, and thus you could possibly find similar stories searching the websites listed at the top of the blog.

Obama denies crisis with Israel - "US President Barack Obama denies there is a crisis in ties with Israel over its settlement plans, as a war of words continues..." - How has this issue been covered in recent weeks? Have different Canadian media sources covered it in different ways?  How can you connect some of the issues that are central to this debate to issues discussed over the course of the semester?  Keep in mind the map of Jerusalem at the bottom of the article.  Why is Jerusalem so central to the Israeli-Palestinian situation?  What central historical moments in the Abrahamic Religions have taken place in Jerusalem?
Source - BBC News

Germany and Ireland call on Catholic Church to hold child sex abuse inquiries - The latest of an ongoing issue relating to the Catholic Church has German Chancellor Angela Merkel calling for an inquiry into sexual abuse within the Church.  How does this story relate to discussions in class and lecture on secularism and Christianity?  How might this development of a head of state (Merkel) calling for an inquiry reflect changes in the perceived strength and power of the Catholic Church?  Does any of this connect with some of the issues that Martin Luther and others had in what led to the Protestant Reformation?
Source - The Guardian, UK


For those of you who have had trouble finding articles on Christianity and Judaism, TA Hisako Omori was kind enough to find the links below that may be of some help:

Pride bars hate speech from parade (The Star, March 19, 2010)
 
Holocaust survivor insists (The Globe, March 19, 2010)

Pope and sexual abuse scandal in Germany (The Globe March 12, 2010)

The Vatican and allegation in Wisconsin (The Globe, March 25, 2010) - Keep in mind that the date of this article is outside of the assignment timeline.  Yet perhaps it will direct you to other articles of similar nature that were posted earlier.

Demonizing Israel (The Spec, March 3, 2010)

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

News Stories - March 8-14

***NOTE***: the following articles are collected from non-Canadian news sources, and thus you CANNOT use them in your assignment.  However, the stories they cover are most likely covered by the Canadian sources the assignment is focused on, and thus you could possibly find similar stories searching the websites listed at the top of the blog.

Israel announces East Jerusalem homes as Biden visits - How does the building of new homes in East Jerusalem relate to issues of Zionism as discussed in class?  How might this story relate to other stories, and how could you include such issues in your paper?
Source: BBC News

Nigerian Army 'Ignored Warning of Massacres' - How are the Christian and Muslim religious traditions portrayed in this story?  If you are following this through Canadian sources, how do different sources portray the same issue?  Have opinions changed as the story has developed?
Source: BBC News

Dutch Church orders inquiry into sex abuse allegations - Why might such issues be important considering this week's discussion of secularism and Christianity?  How do church officials in this story react, and how do they portray the situation?  Does media coverage provide the full story of the situation from your perspective?
Source: BBC News

Israel Seals Off Occupied West Bank - How does this story relate to other recent stories covering ongoing issues in Israel?  How are those involved portrayed, and what connections from this story can you make to issues discussed in class or tutorial?
Source: Al Jazeera English News

US: Europe Biased Against Muslims - How does this story connect to some of the issues discussed in class.  Noting that the report involved was from the US State Department, how do you think this impacted the wording and writing of the report?  Do you think America is free of similar bias? Why? Why Not?
Source: Al Jazeera English News

Monday, March 1, 2010

News Stories - March 1-7

Jerusalem Holy Site Protest Ended by Police - A protest at one of Jerusalem's most holy sites was ended by police with the arrest of 7 Palestinians.
Source - CBC News

Violence flares at Jerusalem Holy Site - Coverage of the same story from the National Post, do both articles provide the same perspectives and coverage?
Source - National Post

Palestinian Cabinet Stakes Claim Amid Shrine Furor - Yet another story regarding coverage of the issues related to the above articles.
Source - CTV News

When reading the above articles, how do they differ in their coverage of the issue?  How are those involved portrayed and how might this influence how readers of various news sources understand the same issue?  What is the importance of Abraham to this issue and how might you relate that to the discussions you have in tutorials or points made by Professor Carter in lecture?

Sectarian Violence in Nigeria Leaves 200 Dead - How does this story portray both the Christians and Muslims involved in this conflict?  Does the story provide any background as to the political situation in the area, or any history of religious strife that may exist?
Source - CBC News

Iraqi Refugees Vote with Sunnis hoping for strong turnout - How might this article regarding voting in Iraq relate to our understanding of Islam, considering what has been discussed in class so far this semester.  How does the process of differentiation within Islam, which took place over 1300 years ago, bear relevance in Iraq today?
Source - The Star News


Monday, February 22, 2010

News Stories Feb 20-27

Pope sounds warning over airport body scans -  The Pope has voiced his opinion regarding recent body scanners.  The article also mentions the reaction of Muslim groups in North America to airport security and body scanners. Source - CBC NEWS

Israeli soldiers clash with Palestinian protesters - "A crowd of Palestinian youths pelted Israeli soldiers with stones and empty bottles on Monday, drawing tear gas and stun grenades in the most serious violence in this volatile West Bank city in months..." Source: CTV NEWS

Gaddafi calls jihad against Switzerland - "Libyan leader Muammar Gaddaficalled yesterday for a jihad or armed struggle against Switzerland using all means, saying it was an infidel state that was destroying mosques." Read more about President Gaddafi's interpretations on this situation and consider how interpretation on both sides is important to this issue.

Source - National Post




Thursday, February 4, 2010

News Stories - February 4-11

Sinn Fein says Protestants must compromise - This news story is covering an issue regarding the long running religious politics of Northern Ireland. Source: CBC News

20 Shiite pilgrims killed in Iraq attack - This story covers the latest in a group of recent attacks on pilgrims headed to the Iraqi city of Karbala.  Keep in mind the importance of the Battle of Karbala, which took place in 680, as discussed in the "Differentiation" section of CIWR.  Source: The Globe and Mail

Israeli PM: peace talks could resume soon - This story discusses how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he believes peace talks with Palestinians may resume in a matter of weeks.  Source: The Hamilton Spectator