I have not found a topic to write about yet but i have uploaded the instructions and a sample paper please verify the topic with me before writing, the chapters I’ve uploaded are some chapters from the Routledge companion for religion and film and they are also sources from class if you decide to use one of them. I also uploaded a workshop
Objective:
For RLG232 we will think of a literature review as a focus on a particular area of interest that relates to themes connecting religion and film. By zeroing in on specific sources that relate to a theme, issue, or pattern you present your findings as though you would move on to then write a research essay; however, you are not doing a research essay based on the literature review. While you need to have a topic and specific area of focus, you do not necessarily need to have a specific thesis for this assignment, but you might choose to be that focused.
Sources:
I recommend that you review the various topics in the Routledge Companion to Religion and Film as a starting point. I would like you to find a topic that is more focused than simply an overview topic as seen, for example, in our readings on Islam and Japanese traditions. You might start with a specific movie and find academic sources that directly or indirectly engage with themes and issues connected with the film. As an alternative, you might be interested in specific themes that you find by doing research and then would be using academic sources as your primary starting point.
Types of Sources:
Books (monographs focused on a particular topic), essays in multi-author works, and academic journal articles are the three kinds of sources that you must use in the literature review. These should be academic sources (i.e., published by academic presses). Please do not use Wikipedia (except as a preliminary “brainstorm” tool to find ideas), websites, or newspaper sites/articles.
Number of Sources:
The Literature Review must use a minimum of 7 sources (see “Types of Sources” above). You may use a maximum of 1 (ONE) source that is a course-assigned reading.
Tips:
As a starting point for your research, try using the online version of the text, find topics of interest, then for each essay click on the “Bibliography” and “Notes” links on the left-hand side of the screen; these will take you directly to the sources that the author used for their particular topic/essay. Searching the UofT library catalogue to see what sources you can find (many may be available electronically, especially journal articles).
If you are interested in a topic that pushes the boundaries of the connections between religion and film CONTACT ME TO VERIFY THE TOPIC YOU ARE INTERESTED Formatting and Documentation:
I recommend that you use MLA8 as the format for your in-text references and your works cited (please see the UofT resource on different formats “Standard Documentation Formats” if you do not want to use MLA8).
You must review the Writing Centre document on plagiarism “How Not To Plagiarize” during, and just before submission of the assignment. We will check-in during class about concerns about plagiarism and format for the works cited before the assignment is due.
Tips:
Always carefully record the page numbers for any information you get from a source. Keep direct quotations to a minimum and instead rely more on paraphrasing material (both methods of referencing a source require in-text citations with a page number).
Structure:
A Literature Review is not an annotated bibliography; your objective is to synthesize the ideas of multiple authors and connect them based on common patterns, themes, issues and arguments.
As with the summary-analysis assignments, one task is to briefly review/summarize the sources you have chosen and identify main arguments. The more important task is to synthesize your sources – bring them into conversation with each other. As you find sources of interest, organize them around approximately 3-4 subtopics. Your Literature Review will ideally resemble a collection of ‘conversations’ that join different sources connected with specific patterns, themes, and issues. Synthesizing means that you should NOT simply write an independent paragraph for each of your sources.
Tips: A general structure of the assignment might look like:
Relevant Title: Not “RLG232 Literature Review” but something that is substantial and tells your reader the topic.
Opening Paragraph: This is the intro to YOUR Literature Review – give a hint to your reader of the topic and what to expect.
Main Body Paragraphs: Depending on how you structure the Literature Review, you will have a number of paragraphs that key in on specific ideas by combining the insights from multiple sources. Synthesis is a major component of the assignment. Do not simply list each source you are considering and discuss them in isolation – bring your sources into various conversations centred on specific themes/issues. See the resource “Literature Review: Synthesizing Multiple Sources” from Indiana University that is under “Files” – “Essay Information Files” for tips on how to generate a synthesized literature review.
Conclusion: You might offer a hypothetical idea of what a research paper based on this review might look like; you might discuss challenges faced in your research (i.e., in finding sources); you might discuss issues with sources (i.e., problems with specific arguments by specific authors).
Length: 1000-1500 words, double-spaced
