Examining and Explaining a Vernacular Religious Practice You will attempt to examine and explain at least one “dimension” of a religious tradition (or a tradition with religious qualities) you are most curious about or have never experienced before. Some students have examined the ways gender affect the nature of prayer within a Sikh temple (gurdwara; a site visit), revelatory events in recovery groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (in-depth interview with a friend), the sacred musical traditions of Taiko drumming (group practice), the embodied philosophy of Aikido in Berkeley (group practice), the communal chanting of Soka Gakkai Buddhism (site visit), the transcendent intimacy and secrecy of a women’s hot tub subculture (site visit and interviews), the ritual significance of nature in a pagan group, the psycho-educational tools of a Scientology center in San Francisco (site visit, film viewing, e-meter), etc. Don’t hesitate to check-in with me about your project ideas or draft in the next few weeks for 10 minutes. Simply email times you are available and I will set it up. Submit your audio, images, and text (between 1500 and 2500 words maximum) for your final field project to CANVAS and deret@peralta.edu. You may also choose to submit a detailed audio file between 10 and 12 minutes maximum instead of writing. Be sure to address all of the questions below or create a script or edited set of files to avoid rambling too much without analysis. To write up your examination of a particular religious practice, use subheaders from the list of Project Questions and respond to them accordingly OR write up your project as a narrative that addresses each question in some manner. To help support your explanations of a particular vernacular practice (a non-obvious hypothesis about the “dimension” of religion you are exploring or a correlation between expressive behaviors), you must integrate at least six sources, three from our required or optional readings, and three from your outside research (BCC library databases or other peer-reviewed scholarly sources). Project Questions (Required) 1. Structure (WHERE?): How is the space organized? What are its general patterns? What are the informal and formal rules of this sacred space? 2. Process (WHEN?): When does this event take place? How does this event proceed from one moment to the next? What are we witnessing as we observe this social interaction over time? 3. Identity (WHO?): Who are the people involved? In what ways are they interacting? What are the roles or social identities they are taking on? In what ways is identity marked or embodied throughout this event (positioning, movement, dress, etc.) 4. Experience (HOW?): How are the participants experiencing the event? How are their bodies positioned? What do you or they see, hear, feel, touch smell, taste (or other senses: temperature, pain, humor, etc.)? 5. Framing (WHAT IS GOING ON?): How do we know that the participants are really worshipping the sacred? What frames, codes, signals, or other vernacular or local forms of metacommunication are being used throughout the process? 6. Function (WHY?): Why are they even participating together at this event? What immediate purpose or function does this event serve for its participants (biological, psychological, and social meanings)? 7. Ideology (TO WHAT EXTENT?): What are the broader social meanings of the event? What are its political and economic implications? What cultural beliefs and values does this event uphold or resist?
