Essay

Description

Purpose The purpose of the current event analyses is to help you to understand the ‘real life’ implications of contemporary development issues for both individuals and a country and to develop a critical perspective on them (Course learning outcome 1 and 3), using the concepts we are covering in class. Instructions Find and analyze a current media item, which relates to the role of religion in development initiatives. For example, your media item could describe the work of a faith-based organization in a specific country in the Global South. You may focus on the country you are using as the case for your response papers, if this is useful, and if you can find an appropriate media item. However, other countries are welcomed.  Your written analysis should be 500 words in total (about one page single-spaced) and be submitted as a Word or PDF document via Canvas by Wednesday of week 6, 11:59pm PST. The assignment is worth 10 points. Make sure to proof-read and double-check your grammar & spelling! Your argument should be coherent and your writing easy to follow. Have a look at the rubric for more info on the evaluation criteria. Each event analysis should contain the following elements: An APA citation with an active/working link to the media item. A 2-3 sentence summary of the media item; A discussion of the story, critically analyzing how it portrays religion in the context of development work. This should be the bulk of your assignment. You have a couple of options in your analysis: Summarize a news story AND discuss how it relates to one (or more) of the traps, paying attention to the following aspects: How is the role of religion portrayed? Does the media item take a specific political position? Make specific connections to the class material, i.e. the readings or videos. OR Summarize an editorial (meaning an article expressing a newspaper editor’s opinion) or other opinion piece AND discuss the particular position it takes on religion in development initiatives. Pay attention to the following aspects: Make clear which position the author represents. Are they advocating from a particular political angle? Make specific connections to class material (see above) Finally, a 2 – 3 sentence discussion about what was interesting or new to you about this story and/or what you still want to find out in relation to it. Tips for media item Your media item can be an article from a traditional news source (newspaper, radio, TV), a video story, a blog posting from an expert on the topic or a report from a think tank. A good place to start your search can be Google News  (Links to an external site.) , which aggregates information from a variety of sources and allows you to search for topics and locations.