In ancient Greece, the symposium was a part of the banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dance, and conversation. In modern usage, a symposium is a meeting, discussion, or conference about a particular topic.
For our purposes, your symposium session is your group’s opportunity to discuss its research with the class. Please note that this is NOT a standard presentation in which you present slides while the rest of the class listens. Your job is to find a way to engage the class in a lively discussion about some aspect of your topic. This means thinking first about what question or issue you want to highlight, and then figuring out a format or structure for your session that will be participatory. You can hold the symposium with the whole class, or we can break into breakout rooms. But if we use breakout rooms, you will need to have a careful plan that will guide the groups through their activity in the breakout rooms. Although we are not looking for powerpoint presentations, you certainly can use audio-visual aids like slides or video during your session. I would encourage you to think about creative strategies to engage your classmates (i.e. games, quizzes, contests, hypothetical situations, role playing, etc….)
Each group has 15-20 minutes, including any discussion or question and answer period. Every member of the group must be an active participant in the session.
Sessions will be judged for:
Content (Is the session clearly related to your research material and informed by your research findings? Does it show that you have a deep and substantive understanding of your topic?)
Preparation (Does it reflect careful thought, planning, and preparation?)
Engagement (Are you able to create an active, participatory experience for the class?)
Schedule
December 7th: Immigration, Police Reform, Climate Change
December 9th: Criminal Justice, Health Care, Poverty
Anyone who is absent for his/her group’s symposium session will earn a “zero” for that part of the Research Based Assignment. Group members who are present, but non-participatory will see that reflected in their grades as well.
