Dr. Jonathan Y. Tan
ProfessorJTan@gmail.com
(513) 745-3794
121 Hinkle Hall

Office hours by appointment

Introduction
Course Requirements
Schedule/Readings
Book Reports
Lecture Reports
Religion: Web Resources
Religion: News Resources
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Grade Computation
Grading Guidelines
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THEO 111H
THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS (HONORS)

(Religion, Globalization & Pluralism)

BOOK REPORTS

All students are required to write a book report for each of the three textbooks that are assigned for this course. Each book report is worth 10% of your final grade (See Grading Computation for more information).
  1. Reza Aslan, No god but God
    DUE DATE: 5:00 p.m. on Monday, 23 February 2009

  2. Robert Wuthnow, America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity
    DUE DATE: 5:00 p.m. on Monday, 6 April 2009

  3. Bruce Lawrence, New Faiths, Old Fears
    DUE DATE: 5:00 p.m. on Friday, 1 May 2009
INSTRUCTIONS FOR WRITING THE BOOK REPORTS
  1. Each book report should be about five (5) pages in length, double-spaced and typed in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or OpenOffice format. If you are using Microsoft Works, please save in Microsoft Word format.

  2. Your book report should not be a simple book review, but rather a critical and analytical book report comprising the following 4 parts:

    • Part 1:
      Here you should:
      • introduce the author and the book;
      • identify the author's underlying thesis, principal ideas, and key issues;
      • summarize the author's approach, methods, and assumptions;
      • summarize the facts/data that the author relies upon to support his/her thesis; and
      • summarize the conclusion that the author reaches at the end of the book.
      You are not required to provide a chapter-by-chapter analysis of the book, simply identify and summarize the above requested information.

    • Part 2:
      Discuss whether, in your opinion, the author has sufficiently proven the case for the book's thesis, examining how s/he analyzes the facts/data to justify her/his thesis, analyzing how the author frames her/his arguments, and evaluating the conclusions that s/he draws from those arguments.

    • Part 3:
      Identify and discuss what you perceive to be the key strengths/weaknesses of this book, supporting your contentions with appropriate references to specific passages in the book.

    • Part 4:
      Here you should:
      • explain what insights you have gained from reading this book;
      • discuss the questions that you still have on the topic that the author has not addressed;
      • discuss whether you would recommend this book to anyone; and
      • discuss whether you would retain this book in your personal library.

  3. Please check the spelling and grammar of your reports before e-mailing them to ProfessorJTan@gmail.com within the deadline specified above. Please do not submit a printed copy of your report or paste your report in the main body of your e-mail.

  4. All submissions that are 1-5 days late will automatically received a full letter grade reduction.

  5. Please be warned that the instructor will not accept any book report that is more than five (5) days late, and will accordingly assign a zero for non-submission of that report.

  6. Please pay attention to the Theology Department's Guidelines for Written Assignments when you write your reports, and make use of the resources offered by Xavier University's James A. Glenn Writing Center if you require assistance in writing your reports.



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Revision 2.0.0003. Originally created: 22 December 2007. Last updated: 10 December 2008.
Designed, created and maintained by: Jonathan Y. Tan. © Copyright Jonathan Y. Tan, 2007-2008. All rights reserved.
REQUIRED
TEXTBOOKS:


Reza Aslan
No God But God
(Random, 2006)



Robert Wuthnow
America and the
Challenges of
Religious Diversity

(Princeton,
2005)


Bruce Lawrence
New Faiths,
Old Fears

(Columbia, 2004)


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