211 Group Presentations

Humanities 211
Group Presentations

As I stated in class, the group presentations will involve your discussion of the major points of the text(s) for the day, including relevant historical and biographical information. At the bare minimum, you need to go over the assigned Homework Questions for the day. You may also use the other discussion questions from our class page for guidance, but you don't necessarily have to answer them all. I would also suggest you DON'T JUST answer the questions as the sole basis of your discussion. Instead, investigate and discuss the major themes, many of which are listed in the "Things to Consider" section of the discussion questions page. You can act out certain parts of the text if you'd like, especially if the number of group members and major characters are the same. Essentially, I would like for you to be as creative as you can at the same time that you facilitate the rest of the class in getting a better understanding of the readings.

Again, at the bare minimum, you need to go over the assigned Homework Questions for the day.
At the beginning of your presentation, Groups are also expected to hand in one copy of an accompanying "script" or "report" or whatever you want to call the hard copy of your presentation (outline, synopsis, etc.) to the instructor.

If you are using power-point (which is not required), please print out all slides to submit at the beginning of the class as well.
ALL information taken from secondary sources MUST be clearly and accurately documented !! (See Plagiarism Policy )

Do not just summarize the text or read from the section introductions in the text. The class will have read all that already. You need to go beyond what is presented in the book.

At the same time, it is recommended that groups recite, or encourage class members to recite, shorter poems. This helps students get a better feel for the poems.

Any requests for audio-visual support must be submitted IN WRITING, at least 48 hours in advance of the scheduled presentation.

This is a team effort, so it will require everyone to participate, not only in performing his or her individual tasks, but also in combining all the individual parts into a coherent unit.

NOT EVERYONE NEEDS TO ACTUALLY SPEAK DURING THE PRESENTATION. If one member is not as good at public speaking, perhaps that person can be assigned another task.

The presentation will be graded by the instructor as a whole, not according to each section. In terms of grades, each member of the group will evaluate herself and the others using a grading sheet, based on a percentage of effort put in. I will make every effort to maintain a "secret ballot" environment. At home, I will average the different grades together and provide on each member's grading sheet for each member the group grade and the resulting grade for that student.

Text		Date
Sappho		October 13
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Catullus		October 15
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Chinese Poetry		October 20
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Japanese Poetry		October 22
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*Ikkaku Sennin*		October 24
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**Mahabharata & Bhagavad-Gita**		October 27
	* Nirmal Pandey
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Islamic Literature		October 29
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Virgil, Aeneid		November 10
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*Everyman*		November 12
	* Sam Tinka
	* Dwayne Dubarry
	* Precious Grant
	* Margie Martin
*Inferno*		November 17
	* Andre Walker
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Chaucer's "Prologue"		November 21
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Chaucer's "Pardoner's Tale"		November 24
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Chaucer's "Wife of Bath"		November 26
	* Chris Wilds
	* Devan Prescott
	* Chester Burke
	* Alexis McGill
Aztec Poetry		December 1
	* Danielle Barton
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*Popol Vuh*		December 3
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