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Sacred Texts: Introduction
Sacred texts can be examined in the classroom from a variety of perspectives:
literary, religious, historical, philosophical, sociological, and artistic.
Within each of these areas, further analyses can occur. For example,
a copy of the Ramayana can be examined for its artistic qualities in the
areas of printing, calligraphy, illustrations, binding, production of paper
and so on. In order to allow students to fully explore the richness
sacred texts present, I have created a group research project that asks
students to approach sacred texts from the perspective of a museum curator
striving to highlight their beauty and function and to create a museum
exhibit about sacred texts. Although I created this lesson with high school
seniors in mind, with modifications, this lesson is applicable to a wide
range of grade levels.
Sacred Texts: Research
Project
I. Introduction
Ideally I would introduce students to the idea of museum exhibits by
taking them to a museum to analyze the components of an exhibit or invite
a curator to the classroom to discuss these issues. Since this is
not always possible, a virtual tour of an exhibit or examining a museum
catalogue are good alternatives . The essential components of an
exhibit that students need to understand are:
Research
Display
Labeling
Related Programming (optional)
Objectivity |
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Although these seem straightforward, they are rather difficult to do
thoroughly, accurately, and concisely, and objectively. Examining
professional exhibits and catalogues will help students to get a sense
of the requirements. Choosing an exhibit that interests them would
also be beneficial. The Field Museum of Natural History hosted a
travelling exhibit called the Art of the Motorcycle that was very popular
with students and has an excellent catalogue. Other exhibits on popular
culture, contemporary art, dinosaurs, or diamonds would also work well.
I highly recommend choosing an exhibit of object with which students are
familiar, which will make it easier for them to understand the components
of the exhibit.
In addition to introducing students to the basics of museology, a distinction
nneds to be drawn between a book and a sacred text. Questions for
consideration include:
What is a sacred text?
What makes a text sacred?
Who determines if a text is sacred?
How are sacred texts used differently from other books?
Can a text's sacredness change? If so, how? When? Why? |
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II. Texts
Working with a small core of sacred texts from different religions
is beneficial for several reasons. First, it limits the scope of
the project in the same way a museum does not display, at any one time,
all that it owns. Second, it allows for the teacher to select texts
that are relevant to her curriculum. The texts I have chosen are
texts students read in the course of the year. Third, it allows for
connections and differences to be drawn. Lastly, it allows the teacher
to select texts that can be researched easily, and for which images exist.
For these reasons, I have chosen to focus on four texts.
The Ramayana (Hindusim)
The Book of the Kells (Christianity)
The Qu'ran (Islam)
The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Tibetan Buddhism)
III. Research Topics
Ideally students could generate a list of possible research topics
from which each group of students would choose. I have generated
a list of research topics below.
Manuscript Overview (Create a glossary of terms and definitons
specific to the text, give a history of a particular text, provide a summary
of the text if possible, compare the creation of the text in modern and
traditional contexts, discuss its organization)
Materials (Examine the types of paper, ink, covers, and bindings
used to create the text)
Ornamentation (Have students discuss the type of illustrations,
highlight individuals that occur in illustrations, discuss design elements
of the text, provide examples of any ancillary text stands, boxes, cloths,
etc that are used in conjunction with the text)
Printing and/or Calligraphic Techniques (Discuss the way the
text is written or printed, discuss the history of the tradition of calligraphy
or printing in this religion or area, provide examples of the script or
printing blocks)
Use of Texts (Compare the use of the text in modern and traditional
contexts, discuss who would have read the text, on what occasions, in what
manner, how would the texts have been stored and purchased, who would have
created the text)
IV. Assignment
Students will form groups of five, and each group will be assigned
a sacred text to research. Each person will be responsible for one
of the content areas above (such as manuscript overview, materials,etc)
as it relates to the group's specific text. Each group will be required
to research individually and create their presentation as a group. Each
student must use a minimum of five sources, two of which must be print
sources. Internet sources not contained within the list of links
below must be approved.
The end result of this research will be a museum exhibit that will be
presented either as a Power Point presentation or as a website. All
information in the presentation must be cited, whether paraphrased or quoted
directly. All images must be credited and labelled. All sections
must fit together cohesively. Most sections of the presentation should
include images.
The viewer should understand the way the text is used in additon to
the way it is created. (Form and function.)
(If a school does not possess access to the technology requisite for
such a presentation, students could mount an actual exhibit, perhaps in
the library, that they could then discuss.)
V. Related Programming
Each group will need to plan and execute one program related to their
sacred text, which will involve the rest of the class. Ideas for related
programs include, but are not limited to:
Making paper using tradition techniques
Binding a book in a traditional style
Illustrating a part of the text
Carving a block out of balsa wood and making a print |
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Sacred Texts: Resources
Art and History of the Book
http://www.nal.vam.ac.uk/artbook.html
http://www.library.yale.edu/aob/
http://libraries.cua.edu/bookarts.html
http://www.dept.english.upenn.edu/%7Etraister/hbp.html
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/jlynch/Lit/biblio.html
http://www.umlib.um.edu.my/olis/religion.htm
Bookmaking
http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~vlibrary/pathfinders/martin.pdf
http://www.makingbooks.com/resources.html
http://idp.bl.uk/IDP/bookbinding/CHOOSER-MAIN.html
Manuscript and Images of Manuscript Collections
http://image.ox.ac.uk/
http://www.
columbia.edu/cu/religion/texts.htm
http://davidwiley.com/religion.htm
http://www.bartelby.com
http://www.promo.net/pg
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/texts.html
Tibetan Texts
http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=232
http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=1
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/exhibits/dead/intro.html
http://www.bremen.de/info/nepal/objects/bookpages/bk-pages1.htm
http://lists.village.virginia.edu/lists_archive/samantabhadra/0011.html
Book of the Kells
http://www.tcd.ie/Library/kells.htm
http://www.dubois.ws/people/paul/kells/ http://www.austinc.edu/Academics/English/kells/KELLSarticle.html
http://www.bookofkells.ie/book.html
http://www.osl.state.or.us/lib/kells/images.html
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Library/special/exhibits/clastext/clspg002.htm
http://www.nd.edu/~medvllib/facsintro/kells51.html
Hindu Texts
http://www.iconsoftec.com/gita
http://www.hindunet.org/god/
http://www.uis.edu/~goldberg/topic4.htm http://www.hindunet.org/ramayana/
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000917/spectrum/art.htm
http://www.smcm.edu/Academics/ALDiv/Art/arth350S/museum/ramayana.jpg
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/maxpages/special/ramayana/
http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/maxpages/special/ramayana/imagesmaps.htm
http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/
The Qur'an
http://www.unc.edu/depts/islamweb/
http://www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/Ext/Koran.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/islam/islamsbook.html
http://www.unn.ac.uk/societies/islamic/
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ISLAM/QURAN.HTM
http://www.unn.ac.uk/societies/islamic/scriptur/scriptq.htm
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/I_Transp/I01_IslamIntro.html
http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/Paper-exhibit/quran.html
http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm
Calligraphy
http://islamicity.com/Culture/Calligraphy/default.HTM
http://www.chinapage.com/callig1.html
http://www.arabiccalligraphy.com/
http://www.sakkal.com/ArtArabicCalligraphy.html
http://www.al-bab.com/arab/visual/calligraphy.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/islamic_medical/calligraphy/calligraphy.html
http://www.biddingtons.com/content/expertcalligraphy.html
http://www.connectedglobe.com/ohmori/
http://www.connectedglobe.com/ohmori/intro1.html
http://www.takase.com/JapaneseCalligraphy/Traditional.htm
http://www.asianart.com/exhibitions/calligraphy/
http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/scripts.html
http://ias.berkeley.edu/orias/mapping/scripts/scriptsworkshop.htm
http://www.multcolib.org/renov/wod_paint.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/9594/tibet.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/9594/tibet.html
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