POL 4190:  SENIOR SEMINAR:
THE FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES
Spring 2004

Text Presentation

You will make two presentations in class during the semester, the first being a presentation of a text you have selected, the second being a presentation of your own work.  This web page describes the first of these — the "text presentation".

This presentation will basically involve you leading the class for one day, covering the perspective of some particular theorist.  This can be one you admire, or loathe, or somewhere in between;  the important thing is that we get a sense of what this theorist is saying.

The syllabus has a list of texts you might potentially use.  I would also welcome it if you chose a text not on the list.  Just consult with me ahead of time to make sure it's appropriate.  The main thing is that it should involve issues relevant to the United States today.

You are responsible for the following:

1. Preparing beforehand any materials necessary for me and the class to understand and respond well to your presentation.  Such materials might be handouts or materials on reserve.  In either case, they must be available to me for copying at least one week before your presentation (not including holidays).  How much you hand out or require is up to you;  just remember that it should be no more than what is appropriate for one class day.  [2/29/04:  After discussing this with Charles, I have revised the above to suggest that the reading assignment should be approximately 30 pages in length.  You should give this to me a week prior to your presentation, and I will make the necessary copies and hand them out to people at the next class (i.e., the class session before your presentation).  If there are other materials that you wish to make available for the class, then you should submit them to the reserve desk at the library at least two weeks prior to your talk.]
2. Outlining and then presenting your talk to the class.
3. Leading a general discussion afterwards about the problem(s) the theorist sees and the remedy(ies) s/he proposes.

I will be grading you on all these facets:  the appropriateness and amount of the background materials (40%), the presentation itself (40%), and how you lead the subsequent discussion (20%).

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