One of the best things about teaching in the Vera seminar is how curious you folks are, interested in Big Ideas and interested in teasing out the connections between all these Big Ideas. This also makes it hard, especially with your tired, end-of-semester brains, to figure out a tight, manageable idea for your final project. I loved the Big Ideas of the folks I spoke with yesterday, but everyone, and I gather this is true generally, still needs to figure out a smaller idea about which to build his/her class. What I told Dani, Popy and Ruby yesterday is that one way to do this is really to zero in on the text that you choose. Unless you select
The Big Book of Everything, chances are the text that you select will have its own smaller focus, but one that, hopefully, can lead to a larger discussion of those Big Ideas (racism, economic injustice, sexuality, Evil). It is tempting to try and figure out your topic, and big questions first and then look for the text to support that. But I'd argue that you should look for a text (video, song, painting) that is really interesting and start from there. For example, I just love that Orwell essay. It's fun to read, beautifully written, and full of Big Ideas on the relationship between truth, language, politics, ethics, etc. Similarly, the Straker piece touches the Big Ideas of racism, apartheid, sexuality, guilt, the thorny relationship between politics and psychology, etc. But it is also an essay about the interaction between two people and so it gives a smaller, solid footing for these larger conversations. "In a Grove" (you knew I was going to stick that in there) is just a short story, but it got us talking about why we believe who we believe, what our underlying assumptions are when making those judgments and why, despite "knowing better," we still want one story to be True. Find the text and it will help you figure out your next steps.
And, because this leads into the Spring Final Project, you will have a chance to find other texts and grapple with Big Ideas in that context. But don't try to do all that now. The Fall Final Project is really about how to design those two hours to get students from A to B. What texts are you folks thinking about? Share your ideas and help your classmates. What problems are you encountering? What kinds of classes do you like best (either Vera or in other courses)? What kinds of activities are successful (educational, thought-provoking) and what kinds of learning leave you cold? One of the most enjoyable student-led Vera classes was on the topic of prison privatization. The student gave each of us a role (Mayor, Wal-mart owner, resident, etc.) and some background information and the class was like a Town Hall meeting about the proposed prison. Super enlightening -- and fun. We had a few closet thespians in the seminar who embraced their roles.
Pace Popy's post, this is your chance to empower yourselves! (Sorry Professor Waterston -- see blog archive if you're curious...)
