Asking Questions
Students in this course are expected to be active participants in all phases of the course. This includes helping to stimulate our weekly class discussions. Every week students will submit a question based on the weekly readings. These questions should be submitted by e-mail and they are due on Sundays by noon. Here are some guidelines for good questions:
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You should try to identify the central theme or themes of the reading and base your question around that.
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In weeks in which we have more than one reading, your question should try to address multiple readings.
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Try not to ask overly specific questions (class discussion is not Trivial Pursuit) or questions that have very simple answers. Sometimes broader questions are better.
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Sometimes the best questions are those that make you the most curious and don't really have a clear or obvious answer.
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Questions that require straight factual answers (When did the Black Death start? Where is the Black Death believed to originate?) do not make good class discussion questions.
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Consider using statements made by some of the authors we are reading as the basis of your questions. For example: "On page x, Author Jane Doe argues that [author's argument]. Let's evaluate this statement. Do you think she is right or wrong and why?"
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As the semester progresses and we read more, you will discover that some of our authors disagree with each other. Questions that highlight these contraditions and ask the class to take a side with one author or another make for good discussion.
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The questions that you ask should be answerable by your classmates, not by the instructor. Make sure that your questions are aimed at them. In other words, try to avoid questions that your classmates would obviously lack the knowledge to answer.
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Remember that the point is to ask questions that will lead to spirited discussion and debate.