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LEVEL 1 / II LECTURE COURSES
Lectures:
In relevant courses, there are two compulsory lecture hours
per week. These are devoted to carefully
explicating, most often by means of detailled notes which are
available for you to download, the often
difficult required readings. As you get more experience drawing the key points from the assigned readings for
yourself and in an effort to avoid merely spoon-feeding you, I may use the lecture hours to explore
the tutorial questions by calling upon individuals to answer specific questions.
In this case, careful preparation of both the required readings and the
questions ahead of time will be indispensable and the
result will be active rather than merely passive forms of learning.
I normally post the notes (these are
all PDF
documents) at the latest on the night before a lecture. Please print or
store on you iPad or other such device and
bring to class.
If, for some reason, I cannot post the notes, I will bring copies to class.
Tutorials:
In relevant courses, there is one compulsory tutorial hour chosen from
the several options provided. The
tutorial hour each week is designed to allow you to assimilate the material
covered in the lectures. Tutorials
offer you the opportunity to engage actively with the material delivered
in the lectures. Sometimes they will take the form of answering the tutorial
questions listed for that week which should therefore be prepared ahead of class. Alternatively, when the lectures are used to discuss the tutorial questions (see
above), the tutorials may be used to other ends. For example, they may be devoted to ironing out any difficulties that arise
or applying to a particular literary work specific reading methodologies arising
from the theories in question discussed in the lectures. Remember that your mark
for participation and / or presentation(s) will be derived almost
entirely from your contributions to the tutorial (in the form of
general participation,
answering questions and/or making presentations).
LEVEL III / GRADUATE LEVEL SEMINARS
Level III
(and sometimes Level II) as well as Graduate
Level courses tend to take the
seminar format. Sometimes, seminars will be devoted to carefully
explicating, most often by means of my detailled notes which are available for
you to download, the often difficult required readings. As you get more
experience drawing the key points from the assigned readings for yourself and in
an effort to avoid merely spoon-feeding you, I may call upon individuals to answer specific
questions
and make presentations.
In this case, careful preparation ahead of time will be indispensable and the
result will be active rather than merely passive forms of learning.
Sometimes, too, the seminars may be devoted to applying to particular literary and other forms of texts
specific reading methodologies arising from the theories in question.
All in all, the degree to which seminars are productive is a function of the
effort which students put into their preparation of assigned materials and the
effectiveness of the presentations and reports made to their colleagues.
Students must also be prepared to engage in class in a vigorous but respectful
exchange of ideas with their colleagues. It is, in short, through a
combination of careful preparation and dialogue that students will be encouraged
to glean for themselves the important information to be drawn from the
assigned readings. All in all, your ability to participate generally in
seminar discussions hinges on your familiarity with the material -- it is,
hence, in your interest to be as up to date as possible with the readings.
I normally post the notes (these are
all PDF
documents) at the latest on the night before a seminar. Please print and
bring to class.
If, for some reason, I cannot post the notes, I will bring copies to class.
Remember that your mark for participation
and / or presentation(s) will be derived almost
entirely from your contributions to the seminar (in the form of
general participation,
answering questions and/or making presentations). You should note that if you miss without a
legitimate excuse a
presentation which has been assigned to you, you will receive no marks for
the presentation; it is in your interest, accordingly, to inform me of any
circumstances which might prevent your participation.
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