CSUN Diwali Festival Research

Intercultural Research Paper (20 points):

This assignment requires that you research online a cultural event from a culture that you have not experienced before. The cultural event can be from members of a particular ethnicity or religion (i.e., Octoberfest, Diwali, Holi, Spring Equinox, Dia De Los Muertos, Bat-Mitzvah, Quinceanera, Nowruz, etc.), or a cultural event that is participated in by members of a sub-culture (i.e., a rave, sporting event, concert, performance, rally, holiday, etc.). The main objective is to pick a cultural event that you are not as familiar with. Your research and paper will require the following:

A 4 – 5 page typed, double-spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman font, 1” margins, submitted on Canvas). The paper must include the following:

1) INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH: An Introduction paragraph that provides a preview/overview of your paper (i.e., attention grabbing beginning, thesis statement, a statement identifying the culture and cultural event you researched, preview of the four sections that are covered in your body paragraphs).

2) BODY PARAGRAPHS: The body paragraphs include four sections.

(**NOTE: Each section in the body paragraphs must begin with you typing the phrases: “SECTION A,” “SECTION B,” “SECTION C,” and “SECTION D” so that you can organize and separate each section for the reader to understand which section you are writing about)

Each section will have multiple paragraphs, but you only need to type the phrase: “SECTION A/B/C/D”, at the start of the section.

**Also: Each section must be equal in length with the same amount of content:

SECTION A:

• Research online a cultural event from a culture that you have not experienced before.

Describe the cultural event in detail (e.g., foods, decorations, stories, actions they partake in at the event etc.)

Your intention in this section is to explain the event to the reader as if the reader is asking you to tell them about the event and culture you researched.

No research is needed for this section; you only need to describe what you observed from reading about the event/watching online.

• SECTION B:

Include 2 – 3 concepts from the textbook or course reader and apply the concepts to the cultural event. (Concepts from the course materials can include key-terms, definitions, and/or theories).

Explain the concept from the textbook/course reader (must paraphrase or quote from book and must cite author), then apply the concept to the cultural event.

You must cite the textbook and author using proper MLA or APA in-text citations.

SECTION C:

Research and use scholarly sources to explain and apply to your cultural event (i.e., research 3 – 4 scholars who have written on the cultural event you studied, and use their writings to relate to what you observed when you researched the cultural event)

Scholarly sources can include the following: scholarly/academic articles, books, newspapers, credible websites. (The 3 – 4 sources in this section cannot include sources form the textbook or course reader. Each source must be cited both in-text and in the works cited/reference page.

In this section, use 3 – 4 quotes from a scholarly source that explains, gives insight about, provides expertise about, your cultural event.

An example might include finding research from a scholar who writes about why certain symbols are used to represent the culture at the event.

You must use proper MLA or APA IN-TEXT citations after quoting each author. (If you are unsure how to write in-text citations there are great resources online; Google: “How to use MLA or APA in-text citations.” Another great research is owl.purdue.edu (Links to an external site.).

An example of this might look like: In the article Jewish Traditions, author Mark Cohen explains, “Hanukkah is the festival of lights, commemorates a special event that took place in the second century” (Cohen, M., 2019, p. 5).

SECTION D:

A summary of reflections on what you have learned from researching about the event.

• You will especially need to write about topics such as: how researching the cultural event/culture might have changed your preconceived notions about the culture, ways you recognized both differences and similarities to your culture, how researching the cultural event was meaningful to you, etc.

3) CONCLUSION PARAGRAPH: A conclusion paragraph that includes sentences that recap/summerize of your paper.