Your Synthesizing Essay -- Due in class during our scheduled exam period
35% of your final grade.
Your synthesizing assignment will be a final essay (5-8 pages) in which you utilize our readings and class
discussions to reflect on the problem that neo-paganism is an invented tradition. The dimensions and
significance of this problem should grow during the course of the semester. Here are some ways in:
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No form of neo-paganism can be traced all the way back to early pagan peoples according to
scholars. To what extent does this matter? If something is ‘made up,’ can it not still be
true? What do we do with history: what is its force and validity in our lives? How do believers
deal with this? What kind of truth is an invented tradition? Why do pe ople believe in and
practice something that they know is ‘invented’?
One dimension of these traditions is to think in essentializing terms regarding race and gender:
as if all women were earth mothers!; or as if just because you have northern European bloo d,
you have some affinity with heathenism! To what extent are these religions and practices guilty
of propagating essentialist notions?
What about scholars who are both insiders to the religion and committed to academic values of
accuracy and objectivity? What are the pros and cons of these different ways of being invested
in knowing a tradition? How do our authors handle this?
Another inter-connected strand is the question of ‘the new animism’ (cf. the Harvey article).
What is the truth value of saying that trees, gods, animals – communicate? or that we have
relations to and with them? Or that beings which do not talk linguistically nevertheless
communicate? Another way: what is the deal with trance in these religions? What kind of truths
can one learn if one is in trance or entranced?
You will earn your grade for this final essay by the quality of the argument that you make. Depending
on your level of familiarity with paganism, you might want to do some additional research to give you
access to points of view that I chose not to include: for example, web sites of pagans who limit
participation by race. Please be aware that you will not receive points for the FACT of having consulted
additional sources: you must use these sources to help you make a stronger argument. (But yes, the
more things you read, the stronger your argument is likely to be. One way you build a strong argument
is by considering viewpoints that differ from your own.)
To help you know you are on the right track with your main assignment, you can earn an additional
10% by writing an OPTIONAL draft of your final essay. If you decide not to write a draft, I will add 5%
to your final essay and 5% to your weekly blogs.