Reading Response #2 (10/05): First half of The Bhagavad Gita
Your answer should have two things:
Basic facts: You should bring in facts and examples to make your argument. If you want to say that gender roles are the same in all classical societies, then you have to give me examples from different societies/texts to prove that. I dont need lots of facts, but you need to connect your argument to something. You can draw facts from the lectures, the assigned readings, or outside readings and sources.
Engagement with the idea: You can do this in several ways, but basically, I want to see that you are actually thinking about how this question can be answered, given the facts we have learned in the course.
You could simply answer a question that I ask in the prompt. Give me your take on that question, with historical examples from the course.
You could also bring in our current society and compare that to the topic/question in the prompt. Does our current culture give us some insight into the question? Does this question apply to us today?
You could bring in another civilization from the course to address the question in the prompt. Compare China to India, Europe, or the Americas.
There are many other ways to engage with the prompts, too. Just show me you are thinking about it.
I am not expecting a polished paper. I dont need to see footnotes or quotes (though you are welcome to use them), and I will not be grading your grammar, writing, etc. (although if I cant understand what you are saying, your grade will suffer). I am most interested in seeing you sit down and think about these questions, and tell me what you think. It should not take more than a couple of hours to write a Discussion Response.
See below for Discussion Response prompts.
Discussion Response Assignment #1 Prompts:
How does the environment shape where societies emerge, and how they are built/function? What is NOT influenced by the environment? What IS influenced by the environment?
Does the emergence of lots of new religions around 500 BCE tell us anything about religions? Do certain types of religions work better or worse for certain types of society? Do religions function as a way of keeping social peace, and making people accept the rules of society? How do religions before 500 BCE compare to religions after 500 BCE, and why does that matter? Can you see similarities in how religions use their beliefs to keep social order (e.g. are there similarities between Confucianism and Hinduism in how they tell people to stay in their roles?)
How does the religion presented in The Epic of Gilgamesh compare to the religion presented in The Bhagavad Gita? Are the gods good or bad? What do they want from us? Bring in lecture materials when discussing this.