Comparative Factors between Kamakura and Muromachi cultures

Required in the file Paper#2.
Https://www(dot)jstor(dot)org/stable/j.ctt6wqxxp This is the page of the book that must be used.

Paper #2

Instructions and Topics

Due date: Sunday, November 3 at 5 PM

Must be submitted as a Word file to the Turnitin Icon on Moodle

Instructions

            Part of your grade, and in some cases a good part of your grade, for this paper will be determined by how well you follow the instructions you find here. So please read this carefully.

Your second five-page paper (4.5 pages is the bare minimum—anything less will not be acceptable) is due by 5 PM on Sunday, November 3. (We will give you a two-hour leeway to turn your essay in, but after that—meaning after 7 PM—we will start deducting points.) You will find the Turnitin icon for paper #2 on Moodle under the week of October 28-November 3. The day and date that your paper is submitted will be recorded on the Turnitin site, so please make sure you hand your paper in on time. Every half day that your paper is late, you will lose a third of your grade: for example: B+ to B or B to B-.

Use Microsoft Word—and Microsoft Word only— to submit your papers. They should be double-spaced with one-inch margins on all sides. (The space between the previous paragraph and this one is a typical double space.) They will be graded based on the following rubrics: content, readability, comprehensibility, and source material cited. For extra credit, you may use outside sources, but those sources must be physical books (not encyclopedias) or digital versions of book you find in the library. (You must provide the call numbers or URL’s of those books. For more on this, see below.)

Please use Times New Roman font style and the size should be 12 point. That is the size and font style of these instructions.

Sources and Citations

The information for “sources” and “citations” appears after the section on “topics” below.

Grammar and spelling

Proper English grammar is extremely important. The same holds true for spelling. Since you have your textbooks and your term sheets, you should be able to spell Japanese words and terms correctly. Failure to use good (not perfect) grammar or to misspell words will lessen your grade in readability.

A Note about Outside Sources 

A good place to look for some outside sources (that is, physical books from the library) is in the “Notes” section or the “Selected Bibliography” section of Japanese Culture. Both can be found at the end of that text.

You can also ask our East Asian librarian, Sharon Domier. Even though she is on sabbatical for the fall of 2019, she has communicated to me that she will reply to an email if you write her. I too might also have suggestions of books or articles you can search for if you are very specific about your topic.

Quoting and plagiarism

Any sentences or phrases you use directly—that is, word for word—from a source must be in quotation marks and cited. If you are not quoting your source word for word and are instead paraphrasing what an author wrote, then citations are not needed. This does not mean you can change one word or even two words of an author and consider that a “paraphrase.” A “paraphrase” is a restatement of what an author says in your own words. Most of the information you will provide in your paper will not be original to you (you are just now learning this material), so—as long as you are not directly quoting the author word for word—you do not need to provide a citation for that.

Sometimes college writers are not sure what to cite and what not to cite. Plagiarism only pertains to using written material from a source, quoting that material without quotations marks, and not providing a citation (in this case, a citation in parenthetical style as explained below).

Note: Turnitin calculates what percentage of your paper comes from various sources. If you use Wikipedia or some other less reputable outside source besides the ones we suggested, Turnitin will indicate that, and you will be penalized. 

Other matters

1. In order to distinguish what kind of paper you’re writing, you may title it however you wish, but it should also contain the words “descriptive,” “compare and contrast,” or “expository.” For example: “A Descriptive Paper on the Topic X, Y, or Z” or “X or Y: An Expository Paper.”
2. You must paginate (provide page numbers for) your paper.
3. Foreign words, unless they are proper nouns or words included in the English lexicon (sushi, samurai etc), as well as the titles to books must be italicized.

 Topics

Kinds of papers

You may write a paper on a topic not introduced here, but you must have that topic approved by me first. You must make your request by email, and you should be specific about your topic. By “specific,” I mean please don’t ask me to approve a general topic on “samurai,” for example. This is only a 5-page paper, so you’ll need to be more specific about what aspect of the samurai you want to write about.

The kinds of papers you will write for this assignment are of one of two types: (1) descriptive and/or compare/contrast or (2) expository.

For descriptive papers and/or compare/contrast paper, you will need to choose and explain to your readers the appropriate content that will summarize or characterize the topic at hand. While descriptive essays and compare/contrast essays do not require an argument per se, you must be able to support with examples why the descriptive or comparative/contrastive subject you chose is appropriate to the topic. Support for the items you choose should come from the readings in your textbook (Japanese Culture) and from any of the various Moodle readings. You can earn extra credit for outside sources, but those outside sources must come from physical books or journal articles (not encyclopedias) you find in the library. No online sources, except digital versions of a physical book or journal article, will be accepted. (You must include the library call number for outside sources or the most relevant part of the URL if you are using the digital version of a full book or journal article. [For information about where to include that information, see above under “Sources and Citations.”]

In expository papers, you will need to interrogate an idea, evaluate evidence supporting that idea, and set forth in a clear and concise manner an argument that supports your evidence. One of the ways—though not the only way—in which you can support your idea is through an approach such as comparison and contrast, i.e., comparing and contrasting two ideas that help to clarify your argument. Support and quotations for your evidence should come from the readings in your textbook (Japanese Culture) and from any of the various Moodle readings. You can earn extra credit for outside sources, but those outside sources must come from physical books or journal articles (not encyclopedias) you find in the library. No online sources, except digital versions of a physical book or journal article, will be accepted. (You must include the library call number for outside sources or the most relevant part of the URL if you are using the digital version of a full book or journal article. [For information about where to include that information, see above under “Sources and Citations.”]

Descriptive and/or compare and contrast paper topics 

In this type of paper, it is not a good idea to write all the comparative factors first in your paper and then several pages later cite the contrastive factors. It is better to weave the contrastive into the comparative as your paper progresses. See the following URL for more information (and samples) of compare and contrast papers:

https://www(dot)roanestate(dot)edu/owl/Com_Con.html

Topics #1-3

1. This compare and contrast topic is purposely broad so you can select particular areas within it if you so desire. It is for the slightly adventurous student. The topic is: Compare and contrast Kamakura culture and Muromachi culture. Culture can include religion (Buddhism), literature, artistic practices of any kind as long as they fall within the subjects covered in your textbooks, military culture, and high/low culture. You can select any one of those suggested subject areas or you may compare/contrast the culture of the two historical periods more broadly, i.e. that is, not focusing singularly on any of the subjects listed above. This topic may require some outside research. While this topic emphasizes culture, this does not exclude history, since culture is always constituted in part by its historical context. However, you should not focus on history alone.
2. Compare and contrast the kinds of Buddhism (Tendai and Shingon) that were more prevalent in the Heian period and the kinds of Buddhism that developed in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods (Pure Land, True Pure Land, and Zen). Subjects you might focus on are: 1) commoner vs. aristocratic (who do the sects appeal to?), 2) religious and/or scriptural origins, 3) spiritual/religious goals/salvation, 4) founders, 5) geographical location of spiritual teachings (where do followers come from), and 6) spiritual/religious practices. This topic too may require a little bit of research, but it shouldn’t be necessary to dig too deep.
3. Describe the Heian and Kamakura periods in terms of literature, government/politics, art, and Buddhism. What makes these aspects of Heian or Kamakura culture distinctive? This topic is primarily descriptive and is particularly recommended for students who are not native speakers of English. However, native speakers of English may also choose this topic.

Expository papers

For information on what an expository essay is if you are uncertain, please consult this URL: https://owl(dot)purdue(dot)edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/essay_writing/expository_essays.html

Topics #1-2

1. Persuade your reader that historical change from the Heian to the Kamakura periods does not signify a complete break with the past (something that a change in historical periods sometimes implies). What are the areas of inquiry in which continuity and discontinuity of historical and cultural trends can be discussed? Literature? Government? Religion (Buddhism)? Art?  If you choose this topic, you might want to discuss the idea of historical continuity/discontinuity itself as well as the various aspects above in which continuity/discontinuity are exhibited. (This is what I mean by “continuity/discontinuity”: one of the themes of this course is that cultural trends do not change automatically because a historical period changed. In 1185, the Heian period came to an end and the Kamakura period began. However, the cultural trends prevalent in the Heian period did not automatically end at this time.)
2. Persuade your reader that the tea ceremony is both a contemplative/meditative practice, and a social function in which the ceremony itself both welcomes and provides comfort to its participants. A contemplative/meditative practice like zazen is often a solitary practice for the purpose of individual enlightenment while the tea ceremony is a group event (two or more people). What about the former was borrowed into the latter to contribute to its contemplative / meditative experience?

Sources and citations

You must use Varley’s Japanese Culture, the Moodle readings, and/or an outside source to support your ideas and statements, and you must quote sentences from two or more of those sources to support whatever case you are trying to make. Do not use encyclopedias for straightforward factual information. Most of that information is provided in Japanese Culture. (For information on paraphrasing, as opposed to quoting, see “Plagiarism” above.)

An “outside source” is a physical book or journal article from the library. We will not accept online sources unless you are using a digital version of a physical book or reputable journal article (respectable journals for Japanese studies: Monumenta Nipponica, The Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, The Journal of Japanese Studies, Japanese Language and Literature).

To cite supporting sources, you should use what I call the parenthetical style. The parenthetical style is this: (Japanese Culture, p. X) or (X Moodle reading title, p. X) or (outside source title and author, p. X). (No author designation is needed for the first two types of citations.) At the end of a sentence or sentences that you quote with quotation marks, you will leave one space after the period punctuation, insert the source and page number with parentheses before and after, and leave another space before your next sentence.

If you are citing from an outside source—that is, a physical book or journal article from the library—you must include the call number after the page number. If you are using a digital version of a book or journal article from the library, you must include the most relevant information from the URL after the page number. Examples:

à(Dawn to the West, Donald Keene, p. 240, PL726.55.K391984)

or for an online sourceà

à(JapaneseCulture, p.2, https://ebookcentral(dot)proquest(dot)com/lib/uma/reader).

Note: no footnotes, endnotes, or works cited/bibliography page are needed. Do not include them.