Assignment: Research Paper

Often, much of what we know about a faith comes via the media. In fact, it is often television series that most explore specific belief systems. Representations might vary from accurate and objective to stereotypical and biased, even offensive.

For your research paper, you will examine the representation of faith (or lack of faith) in a major American television series. The goals are to illustrate the ways in which a specific belief system is portrayed and to analyze that portrayal's impact on the general perception of those beliefs.

Requirements:

• Minimum 10 pages in length
• MLA Style, including parenthetical citation
• Minimum of 6 outside sources—at least 3 from peer-reviewed academic texts—listed in a separate Works Cited page
• Examine at least 4 relevant episodes of a major American television series (see list below)

Include in your research paper:

• A clear thesis, arguing how this particular faith (or lack of faith) is portrayed in a specific television program
• An analysis of:: 

• The program's representation of one belief system—via specific characters, plot lines, themes, etc. 
• The media's historical representation of this particular belief system
• A contrasting view of this belief system via a secondary source

• At least one secondary television program to compare and contrasted with your primary source
• A conclusion that illustrates an understanding of this intersection of faith and media.

The primary focus of your paper should be on one of the following television shows; your secondary source may also come from this list:

1. 30 Rock (NBC)
2. 7th Heaven (The WB)
   
3. Battlestar Galactica (2004 remake; Syfy)
4. Big Bang Theory (CBS)
5. Big Love (HBO)
6. Bones (FOX)
   
7. Boston Legal (ABC)
8. Breaking Bad (AMC)
   
9. Caprica (Syfy)
   
10. Carnivale (HBO)
11. Charmed (The WB)
12. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS)
13. Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
14. Dexter (Showtime)
    
15. Family Guy (FOX)
16. Futurama (FOX)
    
17. Gilmore Girls (The WB)
    
18. Glee (FOX)
19. The Golden Girls (NBC)
    
20. Highway to Heaven (NBC)
    
21. House (FOX)
    
22. Joan of Arcadia (CBS)
    
23. Little House on the Prairie (NBC)
24. The Living Dead (AMC)
25. Lost (ABC)
26. Mad Men (AMC)
27. The O.C. (FOX)
28. The Office (NBC)
29. Scrubs (NBC/ABC)
    
30. The Secret life of the American Teenager (ABC Family)
31. Seinfeld (NBC)
    
32. The Simpsons (FOX)
    
33. Six Feet Under (HBO)
34. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Syndicated)
    
35. Star Trek: The Next Generation (Syndicated)
36. That 70's Show (FOX)
    
37. Touched By an Angel (CBS)
    
38. True Blood (HBO)
39. The Tudors (Showtime)
    
40. The Waltons (CBS)
41. The Wire (HBO)
42. The X-Files (FOX)

Due: We 11.16 (Draft 1); Mo 11.28 (Draft 2); Mo 12.5 (Final Draft)