SOAN 453: Senior Seminar
Spring 2000 T 3:00-5:30, Alumni 432
Professor Thomas D. Hall
A. Lindsay O'Connor Professor of American Institutions
417 Alumni Hall, x7545, email:thall; web: people.colgate.edu/thall
Last Updated: 1-18-00
OFFICE HOURS:    Tu 6-7; Th 3-5, & by appointment
PRESENTING READINGS

We will divide the readings for reporting & discussion. I will discuss the introductions to the readings.  I have divided up the next two weeks readings.   We need to get individuals to take various assignments for readings and the role of scribe.

It is important that you read the ENTIRE book. If read only your chapter, you'll miss the entire point of the book. Rather, read the entire book. Read your chapter VERY CAREFULLY and come prepared to: summarize it briefly--10 minutes. Work on what you will say, so it will be brief, but include the following:

• (a) summarize the author's main argument
• (b) summarize the major evidence for her/his argument
• (c) criticize any weak points you see
• (d) suggest ways it might help us think about social problems, or in some case why it does not.
  It is ok to report that you canNOT figure out how it relates.
• (e) suggest what it says about global perspectives
• (f) suggest questions it implies about social problems and/or a global perspective on them
• (g) as we progress be alert to what the reading says about any one of the social problems someone in the seminar is studying.
• (h) later, how does this reading add to, disagree with, go in a new direction compared to earlier readings?

Some of these duties may be more difficult for some readings than others.  What some readings do, is give a broad perspective, not a solution to a specific social problem.  

Feel free to make a summary chart or outline if you think it will help your presentation. If you want something to distribute to the seminar make enough copies, or get it to me by noon the day of seminar so I can copy it. Alternatively, if you make notes electronically [e.g. on a word processor], you can get them to me in digital form, and I will put them on the home page.

SCRIBES
Because I expect this to be highly interactive, I will ask that we have one "scribe," and one "backup" for each session.  The scribe will take notes on the discussion. Each scribe will be responsible to have notes to me by Thursday morning following seminar. Either write neatly [I know, who am I to talk about writing neatly!!!], or type them up. I will make copies which I will make available no later than the next day. Again, if you do them electronically, I will distribute them via email.

The backup scribe is to take notes when the main scribe presents or talks--it is almost impossible to take notes on yourself!

What's the point of all this? I have found discussion flows better if everyone is not scrambling to write everything down. If we have a scribe, the rest of us can talk, and still have a record of what we talked about. This is then available to everyone as they work on their theses.  By rotating the chore, no one is stuck all the time.

Send comments or questions to thall@mail.colgate.edu