POS 4291
Spring 2010
Dr. Wald

Essay Grading

 

The best essays incorporated the following material. No single essay had all these components but many drew on most of them or developed the ideas fully.   Marx ·         Why is religion an opiate? What does he mean? ·         May work in some cases but not in these two examples   Le Chambon ·         French village that sheltered Jews from Nazis in Vichy France during WW II ·         Villagers were mostly Protestants who had their own history of persecution which they had likened to the ancient Israelites (the desert) ·         History plus respect for Jews as Old Testament people inclined them to help ·         Drew on numerous biblical texts central to their faith to reject Nazism and help the Jews - specifics ·         Resistance organized through church networks and pastors ·         Culture of secrecy, reinforced by religion, suffused the entire community   Fanny Lou Hamer ·         Poor education and life as a sharecropper in rural Mississippi during Civil Rights era ·         Learned of her constitutional rights in church-based voter registration meetings ·         Read the Bible in a prophetic way to condemn inequality and emphasized Exodus theme ·         Also found solace in hymns and spirituals ·         Spoke publicly in the cadence of the church and drew on church networks but also challenged passivity of some pastors   Some important themes from class relevant to these case studies ·         Multiple facets of religion relevant to politics – creed, community, organization ·         Prophetic style of religion that challenges society in terms of divine standards ·         Religion as a stimulant when encased in communities