AN BIBLIOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS ABOUT SHINTO AND JAPANESE BUDDHISM FROM PAST TO PRESENT DAYS.
The bibliographic analysis should be a critical review of and reaction to several (at least2) academic monographs that concern a common topic (e.g., “Pure Land”) or that use a similarmethodology (e.g., sociology) to describe some aspect of Japanese Buddhism. Six to 10 (typed) pages long, it should combine the features of a report (i.e., discuss and evaluate the topic) and of a book review (i.e., identify contents and contribution of each author to your understanding of the topic). You can use articles (from journals) or essays (from edited volumes) to supplement
the monographs, but concentrate on monographs.
Your bibliographic analysis should resemble a research paper in that both are focused on a defined subject. Both follow a clear structure, usually corresponding to an introduction, a main body and a conclusion. Both conform to standard academic styles, with documentation (i.e., footnotes or endnotes and bibliography).
Your bibliographic analysis should resemble a book review in that the subject matter is approached through the work of other authors. Detailed knowledge and understanding of the subject matter is not essential. But a critical reading of the authors is.
The purpose of your bibliographic analysis is to demonstrate that you have gained a basic understanding of the topic as a whole and the issues it raises, as well as the methods, ideas, and biases applied by the authors to their work.