Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sapphire_Gem.jpg
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1. A 1000 word warm up
exercise sent to us in email at jdnorton@pitt.edu, mrd98@pitt.edu ,
due January 19, before the seminar.
2. Three short papers of 1000 words
maximum, sent to us by email at jdnorton@pitt.edu, mrd98@pitt.edu, chosen
from the list of questions with associated deadlines.
3. Your share of the presentations of assigned readings in the
seminar.
The number will depend on how many students
are in the seminar; at present we estimate 3-4 presentations each.
4. Alert attendance and participation in discussion.
HPS graduate students will sit a two hour exam in the
final class meeting on April 27, in order to satisfy the examination
requirement of the HPS graduate program's Core
Examination Requirement.
The examination will consist of a choice of short answer questions on the content of the papers read in the seminar; and a short essay (250 words) requiring understanding of the ways that history of science and philosophy of science may be combined in HPS work. The test will be held in person in the seminar room with a two hour time limit. It will be held “open book,” so that sources may be consulted. Those sitting the test should bring their own laptops and write their answers in the question file provided by the examiners. The question file will be provided in email at the start of the test and should be emailed back at its conclusion. The file format will be Microsoft Word docx and answers should be written in the file retaining that format. If a different editable file is required, let us know prior to the test.
Papers
Good scholarship suffers if it is not communicated clearly. We expect the
papers to be written in clear, simple prose. We expect short, snappy
sentences. And we expect plain talk, concrete words and vivid examples to
be used wherever possible, instead of jargon, remote abstraction and free
floating generalizations.
Late submissions are strongly discouraged. Deadlines are serious. That way
everyone is under the same time pressures. You have a choice of papers.
Save the missed papers for when you need them. They are intended to give
you flexibility in dealing with life's little disasters that can make
normal deadlines hard to meet, such as when
the cat brushed past your coffee cup so
that it spilled into your computer, so that you lost all your notes,
and, while you were taking the cat to the
vet to treat the burn in the car you borrowed from your friend, you
noticed that the registration had expired six months ago just at the
same time as a passing police car noticed and pulled you over, finding
that your name and vehicle description matched that of a serial identity
theft fraudster wanted in six states specifically for scamming
veterinarians, and you said you were on the way to the vet, so
the next thing you knew was that both you and your cat were in
handcuffs, on a train being extradited to Alabama, and in the train the
air conditioning didn't work and the windows didn't open and it was 115
degrees, so the other prisoners rioted, and you were struggling to wake
up since this couldn't really be happening. And when you woke up you
realized that you'd forgotten to write the paper due today.
Your goal is to review the essential content of the paper read for the seminar, proceeding with the assumption that the seminar has read the paper in advance.
Your goal is active engagement with the reading. You are to identify what are the major theses, the arguments that support them, the important ideas, and the paper's strengths and the weaknesses.
Your goal is NOT merely to recapitulate passively what you read. "Author says this, then this, then this, then this ..." is unhelpful to the seminar and minimizes what you learn from the reading.
For long readings, it will not be possible to present everything in the paper. Be bold. Select the most important content and concentrate on that. Leave the incidentals. That is better than giving superficial coverage of everything.
To help you focus on what is important and what you have learned, I am asking each presentation to identify "three gems." They are just three items in the reading that you judge noteworthy. They can be noteworthy because you find them especially praiseworthy; or especially blameworthy; or just notable for any other reason.
Image source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sapphire_Gem.jpg
Presentations are enhanced by a handout.
In general, 40 minutes have been assigned to each reading. Presentations
should keep strictly within to no more than 25 minutes so that we can keep
to our schedule of three papers read per seminar meeting and allow time
for insightful discussion by ALL seminar participants.
Participation
If you are not presenting, it can be hard to muster the energy to read each paper. Here is a small task that will help. When you look at each reading, see if you can find a single gem of the type indicated above. Be ready in discussion to tell us about it if we ask.
How to Present Well
This is the guide for presentations in a regular, face-to-face seminar. We will need to adapt it to the context of the virtual meeting if we need to move to virtual meetings.
| A
presentation IS an act of communication. That means that there are two parties in the act: you and those in the room. The communication goes in two directions. You convey your material to them; and they react by showing various levels of interest and, from time to time, intervening with questions to trigger discussion. To present well, you should come to the front of the room and stand. Then you tell everyone what you think about the reading. You should look at everyone in the room and make eye contact with them. This is essential if you are to keep communicating. Only then can you see how they are reacting to what you saying. Are they interested? Are they bored? Do they get the little jokes? Does someone have a question? Good! What is it? This opens the discussion. You will likely have to consult notes as you tell everyone what you think. But the primary mode will be you speaking to the room. Every time your head drops into your notes, you break contact and the presentation is diminished. Standing is important. It gives you a full view of the room and lets you see if you are holding everyone's interest. It also encourages you to be dynamic in your presentation. Body language is an important amplifier of your message. Think of how you shift your weight forcefully forwards with a key point Those movements are enhanced when you stand. When you stand, you can also use visual aids well. Old-fashioned "chalk and talk" is still a very effective means of communicating. You stand at the blackboard. The act of writing draws attention to the few key words, symbols or pictures at the core of your story. You then turn to the room and explain, pointing at the key elements. Powerpoints are also good, if used well, especially if you have the "chalk and talk" mindset. They do not work well if all you do is parade huge slabs of text or undifferentiated bullet points. If you have had little experience speaking, you will likely be nervous. That will soon pass. The more you make it an act of communication, the more it feels like talking to one person only. You will not be talking AT a crowd of strangers. You will be talking WITH a new friend, but many times over in parallel. Your demeanor will shift from nervous recitation to conversation. If you like talking to a friend, you will like talking to this room of new friends. And they will be happy to listen and engage with you. |
A
presentation is NOT a ritual act of recitation. It is not an athletic event in which you drive through your content, at breakneck speed, with your head buried in your notes. Then, when your time is up, you are relieved that you have discharged the awful obligation of displaying knowledge of the reading. Your listeners will be relieved as well. Proper communication requires that you keep your listeners in mind and worry about whether they are keeping up with you or perhaps whether you are just telling them what they all already know. You cannot know which is happening unless you open channels for them to communicate back to you. Pause and let those signals come back to you. Ask for feedback. "Is that clear?" "Did I go through that too fast?" and even "I'm not sure what to think of X. Should it be Y or Z? What do you think?" Then pause and wait for an answer. Nudge a little if you have to. "Are some of you thinking Y...?" You cannot do this if you sit at the back of room, with poor lines of sight, with your head buried in your notes. A handout does enhance a presentation since then those in that room are relieved of the obligation of taking notes. But that is all it does. If your presentation merely consists of reading or paraphrasing line by line what is in the handout, it will be a tedious imposition on everyone in the room. As the tedium continues and interest in what you are saying flags, the overriding hope in the room is that this display will end soon. It is as awkward and uncomfortable for you presenting as it is for everyone who has to listen to it. |
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
The University of Pittsburgh does not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation based on disability, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, genetic information, marital status, familial status, sex, age, sexual orientation, veteran status or gender identity or other factors as stated in the University’s Title IX policy.
Academic Integrity
Students in this course will be expected to comply with the University of
Pittsburgh’s Policy
on Academic Integrity. Any student suspected of violating this
obligation for any reason during the semester will be required to
participate in the procedural process, initiated at the instructor level,
as outlined in the University Guidelines on Academic Integrity. This may
include, but is not limited to, the confiscation of the examination of any
individual suspected of violating University Policy. Furthermore, no
student may bring any unauthorized materials to an exam, including
dictionaries and programmable calculators.
To learn more about Academic Integrity, visit the Academic
Integrity Guide for an overview of the topic. For hands- on
practice, complete the Understanding
and Avoiding Plagiarism tutorial.
Disability Services
If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and Disability Resources and Services (DRS), 140 William Pitt Union, (412) 648-7890, drsrecep@pitt.edu, (412) 228-5347 for P3 ASL users, as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.