Write a report of 1,000 words (+/-10%) in the style of an opinion piece for popular media, on the following topic: Do we deny death? Why or why not? How can Buddhism help us confront the reality of our mortality?
Your article must:
contain a clear argument about our relationship to death in contemporary Australia
draw on lessons from religious or cultural tradition of Buddhism.
The report should be written in the style of an article suitable for publication in news outlets like The Conversation, The Guardian, ABC Religion and Ethics, or similar. This means you should:
Give your article a punchy title
Write in first person
Frame your article in an immediately engaging manner for a popular audience
Provide the reader with a clear articulation of your basic contention, and provide it early.
Use hyperlinks, not references when citing external materials. However, you must cite relevant literature, ideally peer-reviewed journal articles and books, to support your argument.
Some examples of articles on similar topics that are written in this style are available below:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/08/dying-well-why-australians-are-turning-to-buddhish-deaths#comments
the attached articles should be used for:
starting point for background information (file: JGB_Gould_etal_2024_4861.pdf)
further information on how to structure an op-ed article