Here is the way I envisage the course as going this semester.
It has two purposes. One is that you should prepare yourselves for the examination in Bibliography that you will be taking at the end of the session. The other is that you should acquire some training in how to make presentations. Real presentations, that is, not the standard student-reads-out-essay-while-everyone-else-falls-asleep number. It is far better that you learn and practice this now in the relatively cosy and non-threatening environment of B&P3 that out there in the cold world. Obviously.
In detail, then:
In June there is an examination: two hours, two questions chosen out of a set of 10-12. In order to prepare yourselves for this I am proposing that most of the semester should be devoted to student presentations. You form yourselves into small groups of 2-4, each student to belong to two groups, and each group to prepare to prepare to make a presentation to the whole of B&P3 for an hour. I want to set up with you the parameters of what a presentation should be like in the first meeting, so please think about this: given the fact that you will undoubtedly be required in the Life after University to make presentations for maybe a variety of purposes, what rules should we set up about the way in which the presentations take place to ensure that you learn this skill?
One element I want to introduce to you in particular is the use of the Web and digital photography. The presentations will take place in my room: a squash for 15, but the big advantage is that you can use the Web-linked TV. I will show you how to make digital photographs (very easy); how to edit them (very very easy); and how to put them on the Web in a co-ordinated form (much much easier than you think: I will provide a nice template, and all you have to do is to slot them in). This is the subject of the second session, week 2. I will also go over with you then, if you want, research strategies for preparation of projects (how to find out what books and articles there are on a given subject, how to use the Web to search information, and so on).
For an example of what you can do with a digital camera and a bit of editing, click on the image at the top of this page.
The layout of the week will be as follows: the whole of B&P3 will meet in my room on Thursdays at 3.00 pm. This hour will consist of discussion and preparation meetings in week 1 and week 2, and presentations in week 3 and thereafter. On Tuesdays at 3.00 pm I will meet with the group that has given the presentation the previous week, for feedback about the presentation, and the group that will be presenting the following Thursday, for help purposes, and in order to set up the Web material.
I am hoping you can all make the Thursday time; the Tuesday one is negotiable for particular groups if necessary. If not, please let me know pretty quickly.
Here is a preliminary list of areas you can choose to take as topics for presentations. There will be a question in the examination on each of these areas. If you want to add an area, you can, but do so quickly, because I have to set the exam paper rather soon.
I will go over this in any detail you want in the first meeting. It would be good if you were to start thinking seriously about this now, rather than jumping in to a topic on the spur of the moment and beginning to think about it an hour before the Tuesday meeting with teacher. If you want some stimulus for thought, try these links:
I have negotiated a different kind of examination paper for this course. The details are here.