question archive A seminar brings together an interested group of learners who have done some preparation, including having read, thought about and written about a particularly good book
A seminar brings together an interested group of learners who have done some preparation, including having read, thought about and written about a particularly good book
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A seminar brings together an interested group of learners who have done some preparation, including having read, thought about and written about a particularly good book. This solitary preparation should include marking the text for interesting passages, reviewing those sections, organizing one's thoughts on paper and producing significant questions that need to be explored.
In the seminar the group is responsible for exploring the text and probing the ideas people have brought from their individual reading of the text. It is a time to "mine" the text, to work it over as a group, to think outloud about it, and to test some ideas against the group. For example, the following might be overheard in a seminar: "I don't know if this is valid but it seems that the author is saying...." Or: "Here on page l5 at the bottom of the page the author says [read from text]. This seems to be his most important point. What I think he is saying is..."
A seminar is not an arena for performance to show you've read the text or a reporting session to read your papers. It's more than a class discussion and it definitely is not a time for a lecture from an expert who will tell the group what they should get from this book. There may be places for those activities but not in seminar. Seminar is a special time for a unique intellectual activity. The exchange of ideas is focused on a source (a book, play or film).
1. WHAT IS THE AUTHOR SAYING?
2. WHAT DOES THE AUTHOR MEAN? — Explain the passage
3. WHY IS THIS POINT IMPORTANT?--Agree or disagree, or compare it to other ideas
