THE TRUE SEMINAR
Each student will conduct a seminar session. The focus of the tutorial will
follow from the lecture or topic area of the week and is based on an assigned
reading.
One week before the seminar the leaders must:
1) read the article in order to fully understand it and be able to discuss it in
class. Students will then be required to research and investigate the
author, along with the ideas associated with it.
2) create a glossary of 5 new and interesting words from the reading.
3) create 5 questions that are central to the understanding of the reading
and which will assist them in creating a discussion with their classmates.
These questions will be the basis of the seminar discussion and thus will
be handed out to their classmates along with the reading.
On the day before the seminar the leaders must:
4) hand the question sheet out to classmates along with the reading
During the seminar session the leaders must:
5) briefly review the reading with classmates
6) ask questions and provide feedback (stimulate a discussion based on the
readings)
7) help guide the discussion to keep the class on topic
Written Component
Students will write a three page reflection based on the reading. What was the
historical context of the time it was written? To what issue does it mainly
refer? Why was this issue significant? Assess the arguments made in the
reading including their relevance and legitimacy. Remember to focus on the
specific time period and to attempt to assess the significance of the paper itself.
SEMINAR ASSESSMENT RUBRIC
Teacher Name: Mr. Brady
Student Name: ________________________________________
CATEGORY Level 4
Enthusiasm (C) Facial
expressions
and body
language
generate a
strong interest
and enthusiasm
about the topic
in others.
Level 2
Facial
expressions
and body
language are
used to try to
generate
enthusiasm,
but seem
somewhat
faked.
Content (K)
Shows a full
Shows a good
understanding
understanding
of the topic.
of parts of the
topic.
Student is able Student is able Student is able
Comprehension to accurately
to accurately
to accurately
(TI)
answer almost answer most
answer a few
all questions
questions
questions
posed by
posed by
posed by
classmates
classmates
classmates
about the topic. about the topic. about the topic.
Props (A)
Student uses
several props
(could include
costume) that
show
considerable
work/creativity
and which
make the
presentation
better.
Level 3
Facial
expressions
and body
language
sometimes
generate a
strong interest
and enthusiasm
about the topic
in others.
Shows a good
understanding
of the topic.
Student uses 1
prop that
shows
considerable
work/creativity
and which
make the
presentation
better.
Student uses 1
prop which
makes the
presentation
better.
Level 1
Very little use
of facial
expressions or
body language.
Did not
generate much
interest in topic
being
presented.
Does not seem
to understand
the topic very
well.
Student is
unable to
accurately
answer
questions
posed by
classmates
about the topic.
The student
uses no props
OR the props
chosen detract
from the
presentation.
Seminar Rubric
Level 4
K/U
- includes specific
REFLECTION and detailed
Written
information from
reflection…
the reading (i.e. it
integrates direct
quotes &
paraphrasing)
Level 3
- includes specific
information from
the reading (i.e.
direct quotes and
paraphrasing used)
Level 2
- includes some
information about
the reading,
however it is not
used effectively
Level 1
- includes limited
mention of the
reading
T/I
REFLECTION
Written
reflection…
- includes an
assessment of the
reading with a high
degree of insight
- includes an
assessment of the
reading with a
considerable degree
of insight
- includes an
assessment of the
reading with some
insight
- includes an
assessment of the
reading with limited
insight
C
SEMINAR
Seminar
presentation…
- is clearly linked to
readings,
presentation is well
organized and
prepared
- the students in the
class are involved in
the discussion of the
readings
- is linked to
readings,
presentation is
organized and
prepared
- efforts are made to
draw the class into
the discussions of
the readings
- is mostly linked to
readings,
presentation is
somewhat organized
- some effort is
made to draw the
class into the
discussion of the
readings
- often strays away
from readings,
presentation has
limited organization
- there is little effort
to include the class
in the discussion of
the readings
A
WRITE-UP
- Additional
Evidence
- Questions
- Timeline
- Provides
additional
information that
brings exceptional
understanding to the
reading, topic,
author, and time
period
- has a wide variety
of questions that
range from
comprehension to
discussion, all
questions are clearly
expressed
- includes
challenging and
appropriate events
in the timeline of
historical relevance
Provides additional
information that
brings new
understanding to the
reading, topic,
author, and time
period
Provides little
relevant information
to enlighten group
and class members
Provides no extra
information
has questions that
are very basic, few
has questions at the questions are
comprehension level clearly expressed
with some effort to
has a variety of
include higher level
questions that range questioning, some
includes words that
from comprehension questions are clearly are very simplistic
to discussion, most
expressed
for the timeline of
questions are clearly
historical relevance
expressed
includes words that
are mostly
appropriate for the
includes appropriate timeline of
events in the
historical relevance
timeline of
historical relevance
SEMINAR TOPIC LIST
Approximately 1450-1715 (Renaissance, Reformation, Exploration, Scientific Revolution)
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince,
Erasmus Praise of Folly
Thomas More Utopia
Castiglione The Courtier
Martin Luther Various
Martin Luther The 95 Theses
Martin Luther Sermon in Erfurt
Ulrich Zwingli The Sixty-Seven Articles
Nicholas Copernicus On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres
Galileo Dialogue of the two chief systems of the world
Galileo The Starry Messenger
Galileo Letter to the Grand Duchess of Tuscany
Issac Newton Principia Mathematica
Francis Bacon, Interpretation of Kingdom of Man
Francis Bacon, Novum Organum
Rene Descrates Discourse on Method
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Approximately 1715-1815 (Absolutism, Enlightenment, French Revolution, Congress of
Vienna)
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
John Locke, TwoTreatise of Government
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Louis XIV The Code Noir
The Duke of Saint Simon The Reign of Louis XIV
Frederick William, The Great Elector Monarchical Authority in Prussia
James I True Law of Free Monarchies
Immanuel Kant What is Enlightenment
Thomas Paine The Age of Reason
Edmund Burke Reflections on the Revolution in France
Thomas Paine The Rights of Man
Thomas Paine Common Sense
Baron D’Holbach Good Sense
Baron D’Holbach The System of Nature
David Hume Treatise of Human Nature
David Hume The Essay on Miracles
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Inequality among Mankind
Jean Jacqus Rousseau: The Social Contract
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Jean Jacques Rousseau Emile
Mary Woolstonecraft The Rights and Duties of Mankind
Blaise Pascal Thoughts
Alexander Pope Essay on Man
Johnathan Swift A ModestProposal
Voltaire Philosophical Dictionary: The English Model
Voltaire In Defense of Civilization
Voltaire Candide
Voltaire The Ignorant Philosopher
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Voltaire A Plea for Tolerance and Reason
Frederick II Various Works
Montesquieu Spirit of the Law
Cesare Beccaria Crimes and Punishments
Adam Smith The Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith The Division of Labour
Abbes Sieyes What is the Third Estate
Marquis de Condorcet Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind
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1815-1914
Thomas Malthus Principles of Population
Charles Darwin The Origin of Species
Bishop Samuel Wilberforce Darwins Faults
Thomas Huxley Darwin’s Virtues
Herbert Spencer On Social Evolution
Herbert Spencer What Knowledge is of most work
Giuseppe Mazzini The Duties of Man
Giuseppe Mazzini Young Italy
Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America
Henri de Saint Simon The Reorganization of the European community
Charles Fourier Design for Utopia
F.W. Hegel The State
F.W. Hegel Lectures on the Philosophy of History
Auguste Comte Cours de philosophie positive
John Stuart Mill, On the Subjection of Women (1806-1873)
John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
Jeremy Bentham Constitutional Code
Karl Marx/Friedrich Engels The Condition of the working class in England
George Sand Letter to the Rich
Friedrich Nietzsche Beyond Good and Evil
Friedrich Nietzsche The Birth of Tragedy
Friedrich Nietzsche The Genealogy of Morals
Jean Paul Sartre Existentialism is a Humanism
Leo Tolstoy War and Peace
Emile Zola The Experimental Novel
Georges Sorel Reflections on Violence
Vladimir Lenin What is to be done?
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1915Mohandas Gandhi Non Violent Resistance
John Maynard Keynes The Economic Consequences of Peace
Frantz Fanon Black Skin, White Masks
Benito Mussolini Article on Facism
Jose Ortega Y Gasset The Revolt of the Masses
A.J.P. Taylor The Origins of the Second World War
Vladimir Lenin State and Revolution
Adolf Hitler Mein Kamp
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How to Create good Discussion Questions for your Seminar
1) Good discussion questions are not answered by "yes" or "no." Instead they lead to
higher order thinking (analysis, synthesis, comparison, evaluation) about the work and
the issues it raises.
2) Good discussion questions call for more than simply recalling facts or guessing what
the teacher already wants to know, but are open-ended, leading to a variety of responses.
3) Good questions recognize that readers will have different perspectives and
interpretations and such questions attempt to engage readers in dialogue with each other.
4) Good discussion questions depend on a careful reading of the text. They often cite
particular scenes or passage and ask people to look at them closely and draw connections
between these passages and the rest of the work.
5) Good discussion questions are simply and clearly stated. They do not need to be
repeated or reworded to be understood.
6) Good discussion questions are useful to the students. Good questions can help to
clarify passages or issues students may find difficult. They help students understand
cultural differences that influence their reading. They invite personal responses and
connections.
7) Good discussion questions make (and challenge) connections between the text at issue
and other works, and the themes and issues of the course.
8) Ask small, detailed questions (like "what's the argument for this conclusion?") before
large, abstract questions (like "how does this compare with what so-and-so said?").
9) Ask interpretative questions (like "what does the author mean here?") before
evaluative questions (like "is the author right about this?"). Let your earlier questions lay
a foundation for your later questions.
10) Be flexible about your list of questions. If the discussion is going well, go with the
flow, but always be ready to bring it back into line when it wanders away from the
discipline, or becomes pointless.
11) Be respectful and appreciative at all times, but don't be afraid to disagree with a
comment. At the same time, try to avoid getting into a 2-way argument. Be ready to ask,
"What do other people think about this?"
How to Ensure that your Discussion/Tutorial/Seminar is Effective
1) Don't assume that discussions lead themselves, or that your fascinating subject matter guarantees
success.
2) Do not simply ask questions and hope that someone answers them.
3) Plan the discussion. What topics do you want to cover? In what order? What will you do if nobody says
anything?
4) Use your own experience in good and bad discussions as a guide.
5) What tends to silence people? What kinds of questions are intimidating, off-putting, unanswerable,
patronizing? What kinds invite good discussion? How do you build on previous comments and help the
class to do so?
6) You need not have answers to every question you raise, but you should raise good questions, know
where in the text to look for answers, and have a plan for leading a discussion that might discover answers.
7) Don't limit the discussion to questions on which you have answers. Use the discussion as an occasion to
inquire jointly with other prepared students into questions you find interesting and important.
8) Be creative! Do something different. Make it interesting. Use small groups, use the board, use a
computer, use props, and use dramatization. Use your imagination. There's lots of room for creativity in
this assignment. (Try to make sure that your innovations enhance, or at least don't detract from, the
content.)
9) It's hard to discuss conclusions, but it's easy (and fun and useful) to discuss arguments for conclusions.
10) You don't have to be experts who lecture or who have all the answers. If after a while you feel under
pressure to expound or expatiate, then something has gone wrong. Back out of it rather than give in to it.
This should be a discussion.
11) Remember all the bad discussions you've had to sit through. Don't repeat their mistakes!
12) In both the presentation and discussion portions of the hour, address the class, not me.
13) The presentation and discussion slots will be filled first-come first-served. Warning! Think ahead and
select early, because you will want time to prepare. You may also want to present in one week rather than
another based on our reading for that week or your workload for other courses.
14) I will not instantly bail out a bad discussion. There is some instruction in living with the consequences
of poor preparation, backing out of a bad question, or dealing spontaneously with a tired or unmotivated
class. I will try not to intervene unless I think we have already taken the benefit of that instruction and are
wasting time.
15) Make a few notes during the discussion, so that you can competently summarize what has been said at
the end of the seminar.
Handout Adopted from the OHASSTA website…
http://www.ohassta.org/adobefiles/pol_seminaranddiscussions.pdf
A Simple System for Critical Analysis of Arguments
Because few arguments are presented with perfect clarity, the first step in a
logical assessment of an argument must be to prepare the material for proper
evaluation. The entire process of analyzing an argument critically--for its
inherent rational appeal rather than for its style or for fallacious (deceptive)
elements--can be approached in many ways. The following six-step plan
offers a useful way of breaking the process into stages:
1. Locate the conclusion:
Many arguments are constructed after their conclusions have been
determined. Starting with the conclusion may not only reveal special
assumptions, but the actual motive behind the argument.
An argument's conclusion is what the person making the argument is
ultimately trying to convince you of, i.e., the person's point. To try to
identify the conclusion of an argument ask yourself 'what does the person
making the argument want me to walk away thinking?' (Note if the answer is
'nothing', them you're not dealing with an argument.)
Some Conclusion Indicator Words: therefore, consequently, as a result, thus,
it follows that, so
2. Analyzing the premises
Identifying the Premises: To try to identify the premises of an argument ask
yourself 'what reasons is the person giving me to accept his point?'
Some Premise Indicator Words: since, because, given that
Missing Premises and Conclusions: When trying to figure out what the
premises and conclusion of an argument are, we need to ask ourselves what
the person's point is. But remember that people don't always come out and
say what their point is. Similarly people may not always explicitly mention
all the premises they are working with. As a result, we must be prepared to
identify both missing premises and missing conclusions (i.e., conclusions or
premises that are not explicitly stated by the arguer, but that are implicit in
what the arguer does say).
How are we supposed to tell what the arguer has in mind if he
or she doesn't say it? By assuming person making the argument
is rational and reasonable, e.g., that she holds the position she
does because she thinks she has good reason to believe it. If an
argument seems incomplete, we must ask ourselves what
assumptions it is reasonable to think the person must be relying
on. That is, what must this person believe in order to think she
has made a coherent argument?
Consider the following argument:
I've never had any problems with the last four
Fords I've owned, so my new Ford should be
reliable.
Obviously that breaks up into
P1: I've never had any problems with
the last four Fords I've owned
C: My new Ford should be reliable
3. Clarify the language:
Ambiguities make logical argument impossible. Identify the key definitions
upon which the argument rests and recast any uncertain language.
4. Eliminate the excess:
Remove anything which may distract from the actual argument; eliminate
any prejudicial language in favour of a neutral wording. Remove clutter,
such as universally-accepted definitions or assumptions (be careful of these).
5. Classify statements:
Statements can be either statements of fact (something known to be true) or
statements of opinion (personal view); distinguish between the two.