The Emergence and Development of a Tradition—Coursework Essay: Assignment 2

The coursework essay for this module is a single essay of up to 2,500 words in which you discuss the circumstances from which one of the traditions under consideration in this module emerges and develops. The aim of this essay is to gain further knowledge of a relevant tradition through independent research and analysis.

In order to guide your research and reflection, the following prompts are recommended for the essay:

• Is Buddhism an independent, unique approach to flourishing or a syncretistic one that combines pre-existing ideas?
• What role has persecution played in the development of a Jewish vision of a life worth living?
• Is Confucianism a conservative approach to flourishing that seeks to slow change, and even revive a prior social context?
• To what extent is the Christian vision of a life worth living shaped by the experience of being a marginal community?
• Are spiritual or political issues more important in a Muslim vision of a life worth living?

If, however, you have another question you would prefer to explore, this can be agreed by discussion. Please make arrangements to discuss your idea with me. Essay topics not from this list must be agreed in writing by no later than the end of week 5.

This essay should be both descriptive and critical. On the descriptive side, it should discuss the historical context and circumstances in which the tradition emerged.
Reconstructions of the context and circumstances are often contested, and therefore the essay should not only present the most important views on this point, but evaluate which one accounts for the evidence best. On the analytical side, the essay should demonstrate a facility with critical analysis by offering an assessment of how this reconstructed context shapes the tradition’s answer to the fundamental question of what is worth wanting. As space allows, the essay may also want to look at later inflection points where significant developments in the tradition occur, offering a similar assessment about the best historical reconstructions of those junctures and their impact on the tradition.

This essay will be marked in line with the Department of History marking criteriafor essays, which can be found on the History Student Hub.