Tuesday, 8/30

Starter 2- Seminar Norms (15 min)
1. What needs to happen for a class to have a successful seminar?  What behaviors do you need to see, and what kind of thinking and preparation need to occur?
2. Do you prefer to have seminars graded or ungraded?  Why?

Class Biz

• Ashley's brief orientation of classroom layout
• Bring tea!
• Don't forget your shared resource-- please bring by the END of this week.  See the syllabus (it's in BOLD RED) for your contribution.

Agenda
Share out starter responses!  Decide on seminar guidelines

Revisit Values and Add Behaviors
Yesterday we talked about what we value as a class.  Today, we’ll make it a little more concrete. 

1. Values mean nothing until the rubber hits the road.  Unless you show it in action, can you really say that you truly value it?
2. Values listed on boards
3. Students in pairs
4. We value __________, so we____________
5. Brainstorm together for a few minutes.  Then hit at LEAST 3 of the values on the board and finish the sentences!

Come back together, gallery walk.  Put a star next to the sentences that really stand out to you.  Ashley will compile the top choices!
 
Listen to "Reporting from Egypt"-- NPR story from this morning about one journalist's experience covering the Arab Spring Uprising there and discuss as a class the following:

• General reactions to this story?
  
• To what extent does this story make you cynical about the potential of the Arab Spring uprisings to bring about positive change?
• Food for thought as you do seminar prep: Is this the type of media coverage Rebecca Solnit is critiquing? 

"Habits of Highly Cynical People" Coaching (rest of class)
1. Summarize the main point of this article.  What, in one sentence, is it saying?
2. Go paragraph by paragraph.  Pay special attention to paragraphs 3-7, 20, 23

• Summarize main idea
• Answer questions/clarify meaning

3. Have your group write two thought-provoking seminar questions on an index card and give them to me.
 
Seminar Prewrite
Answer at least two of the questions below.  Handwritten or typed is okay.
1. What is Solnit’s definition of a naïve cynic?  What are the two types (see paragraphs 8 and 11), and what characterizes their thinking?
2. To what extent are you a naïve cynic?  How much of what Solnit describes rings true to you about yourself?  Explain.
3. In paragraph 6, Solnit makes a number of points about complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity.  To what extent are you comfortable with complexity and uncertainty?  Give a concrete example.
4. In paragraph 7, Solnit offers a number of criticisms of naïve cynicism.  What is the most important/cutting critique she offers in this paragraph?  Why?
5. In paragraph 20, Solnit says, “Accommodating change and uncertainty requires a looser sense of self…”  What does she mean by this?
6. To what extent is cynicism useful?  Harmful?
7. What kind of thinking habits do we need to cultivate to move beyond naïve cynicism?
8. How does this article connect to your education?  To your goals this year in Humanities?

Homework:  Finish seminar prep for tomorrow's seminar!