Topic 1: We have discussed the emergence of different types of religions (i.e. monotheistic, polytheistic, tribal and universal) and the role they played in the development of different cultures and societies.

QUESTION: Examine in which ways religion has been beneficial or harmful for the development of different societies- from China, India, the Middle east and Eurasia. Be specific with your examples and make sure to place tem correctly in terms of time and space. Consider, religion as it pertains to gender roles, ethnic division or cohesion, centralization of political power.

Illustrate your argument with examples from the readings and lectures- refrain from moral judgment

Double spaced, Times New Roman point 12 font, one-inch margins. Number pages.

MUST USE material from the Textbook and at least three additional readings to illustrate your points or/and support your arguments.

3. DO NOT USE internet sources unless they are academic sources (i.e. they end in .edu and are full academic articles)

4. Citations are required. For help with citations visit: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

5. Use Chicago style- Turabian for footnoting and bibliographies.

a. http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html

6. You must include a bibliography (though numbered it does not count as a page)

 Textbook is : Worlds of History: A comparative Reader, Vol 1: To 1550, Fifth Edition