leading a dynamic, productive discussion
Many of us feel some level of discomfort or anxiety at the prospect of speaking in front of a group, but there are a few things you can do that will help to turn a challenging experience into one that is invigorating and even fun.
1) Start preparing early. Give yourself time to read the texts and to look at the images in them carefully, meditatively. The texts under consideration in conference are dense and rich; plan to read them at least two times. Make time to meet with your discussion co-leaders to ponder and brainstorm together. What is the core argument of the author? How does it compare with others we have read? What is innovative or controversial about the argument, if anything? What is the relationship between the author's interpretive stance and method and the pictures we are studying in conference? How can the former illuminate the latter, if it does at all? Brainstorm the visual materials. Look at them carefully. Think about bringing in comparisons (for instance, if discussing oil painting by a Chinese artist who studied the work of Matisse in Paris it might make sense to bring in a painting by Matisse as a comparison).
2) Come up with six discussion questions for the class. Give some thought to how your colleagues respond to questions. Keep in mind that questions asking for "yes" or "no" answers often tend to close down conversation rather than open it up.
- Aim for balance. Formulate one or two questions that get you and everyone else to the central point of the text. You may personally find some side issue more absorbing, but it is critical for you to first address the main argument. A good critique would consider a text's strengths (what kind of evidence is the author presenting? how does it advance understanding of problems of a particular picture or of the terms of the course more generally [China, visuality, modernity, East/West, and so on]? what about writing style and presentation?) and also its weaknesses (faulty logic, weak evidence, interpretive assumptions).
- Aim for provocation. Formulate one or two questions intended to stir up debate. You might want to play devil's advocate here.
3) Send your discussion questions (and any particular images you'd like to study) to the class on time. Give people some time to think them over.
- For Tuesday discussion, please email everyone by Sunday night; for Thursday discussion, please email by Wednesday afternoon at 5 pm.
4) Be prepared for class.
- Bring hard copies of your email with you, along with notes you have taken on the readings.
- Begin by telling us your general impressions of the texts, how and why you formulated the questions, and any other general information about the authors (who is Michel Foucault, for instance?).
- You might want to create some sort of exercize to start things off, perhaps doing a formal comparison of two images or even simply focusing on one.
5) Be an attentive facilitator of discussion.
- Bring the discussion back on point if it drifts off.
- Refer the class to specific questions on the list.
- Listen carefully to what others have to say.
- Refer back to comments and points that other people make.
- Call on people by name (almost too painfully obvious to include in this list, but alas, sometimes it doesn't happen!).