All in all I'm very satisfied with Jesse's approach--for two reasons particularly. First, I appreciate the organization, and I think it does a good job of grounding the conversation. One of my main complaints about the Colloquium is that it can be an overwhelmingly expansive, an inundation of voices and ideas and attitudes and philosophies and literatures and histories. It's a great comfort to be able to see clearly--like actually see--topics written on the board. The visual element is pretty comforting. Second, having topics on the board is also helpful for my other main difficulty with the class: writing papers for the Colloquium. Granted that the discussions can be chaotic to begin with, and that my mind is no haven of clarity, I've often felt stranded with papers. Now, with some basic topics to work from, I already feel more comfortable. If I don't come up with any gripping ideas on my own, I can elaborate on one of Jesse's six points. Anyways, Tressa and I will be presenting Tuesday, and we'll see what happens.
Saeid
P.S. It was Tennyson, Andrew.
P.P.S. T.S. Eliot behind me!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
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3 comments:
I think that Jesse's way of organizing our class time was especially useful for the last day of discussion of a book. We were able to touch on a lot of points that were relevant to our understanding of the book as a story and as an artifact from Homeric Greece. I guess that's all, I just really appreciated that the class format allowed us to confidently end our discussion about the book.
I'm glad you guys thought it was a positive experience. I left the class feeling like we had really accomplished a lot in the hour and twenty minutes. I think it would be a model worth considering for permanent or semi-permanent adoption.
If I had to change one thing about it though, I probably would have stopped myself at 4 points of discussion instead of 6. While it was productive, it also felt a little rushed. In any case, I look foward to the future of colloquium.
Cheers,
Jesse
To add onto Saied's point, having the points written on the board was VERY useful. Already when you walk in to class you have a sense of the direction of the discussion (or at least a possible direction) and can gather some preliminary thoughts. Overall we seemed more focused and engaged in the discussion, which I think was a real success.
My only concerns are whether or not the professors feel that their role has been too diminished, either in facilitating the discussion or emphasizing certain points/passages in the reading, and whether or not everyone felt that they had an opportunity to participate in the discussion before we moved on to another point (granted it will be easier with fewer points).
Sofia
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