Seminar Faciliation

Each week’s seminar will be facilitated by a class member who will introduce the readings with a short 5-10 minute presentation of what they believe are the key issues and themes. This may take many different forms, and students are free to experiment with different formats, approaches, and styles. The primary goal is to create the conditions for deep engagement with the material.

Presentations should:

• begin by drawing out the biographical background of the scholars in question while introducing their larger work and where they stand in the field.

• Then, the presenter should endeavor to tie the readings together and place them in a larger context or conversation.

• the facilitator will design questions or exercises to help guide discussion – preferably these questions will be distributed in advance of the seminar

Don’t worry! This is an art and not a science! It will require some forethought to anticipate where discussion might go while also allowing space for surprise interventions.