Discussion Leader of articles

Each student will co-facilitate discussion of the articles part of the readings one time per semester. This will entail providing provoking questions in advance of class (emailed to professor, who will post them to Canvas), moderating discussion, suggesting the approximate historiographic fit of the work, and if necessary, providing a brief explanation of difficult ideas. A schedule of presenters will be posted when we have decided the order.
There will likely be two leading each day.

In your (brief) time of fame and glory in opening our discussion, you need to accomplish a few tasks.
1) Supply at least 3 specific prompts to guide our discussion. These should be open-ended (i.e. not with simple answers, but bigger "why" type questions), thoughtful, and intended to provoke discussion. This is easier if they cover areas where you suspect there will be divided opinions. These questions need to be sent to me a couple of days before class. So, if we are talking about New Military History on Monday March 22, for instance, you would need to post your prompt questions on Neufeld’s chapter to Canvas by March 20th.


2) Give the class any required context that you think might help us understand the main work of the day. This can include such things as a brief biography of the author, analysis of the kinds of work they do more generally, a discussion of the historical context of the time and place of publication, a timeline or maps of the region and context of the events of the book, or anything else that you think will improve our reading discussion. Use my first class as an example, but feel free to do a better job! This assistance is largely up to you, and can include handouts, PowerPoints, streamed video, shared screen materials, or anything that you come up with. Keep it brief, this is not intended to be a lecture or great hardship.


3) Send me at least 3 related/canonical/important readings (CMoS format) that I can add to our bibliography, within a week of the discussion (just by email is fine, I will add them to the modules).


4) Moderate the discussion (I will assist as needed). Essentially, this means posing the questions that you have emailed me to the class, and prompting individuals to respond, clarify, or otherwise engage the material. Do not rush for answers, be patient. If the question seems to be unclear or falls flat, then clarify but wait on others to answer. Be especially aware of those who are prepared to speak, and those who maybe have not spoken for a while. Let the class do the heavy lifting, nonetheless, as you should not need to speak too much as facilitator. Watch the room, keep a speakers-list (address people in order they raise hands), and be sure to be patient and give them time to think a little before moving on.