How to Lead a Seminar

A seminar is a discussion of a topic or a text with the rest of the class. It is more than just an open-ended discussion, though. Usually there is some specific text, or a topic, that forms the basis of the discussion, and the intention is to understand the text or grasp the issues at stake in the topic.

This discussion should have the following parts:

• An introduction to the topic or reading (Who wrote the piece? Where does he/she work? Why is the issue relevant?)
• If there is a reading, an overview of the argument of the reading, and the author's main conclusions or positions.
• If the seminar concerns a topic (that is, no specific assigned reading), you will need to identify the central issues at stake in the topic, and the various positions people might take on the topic. Identifying groups, people, or writings that hold a particular position would also be important.
• Some sort of context of the topic or reading, that is, some way of making the topic relevant to the others in the class
• Your response to the author's argument, or to positions taken on the topic.
• Questions or examples that will spark discussion in the class/group.
• If the seminar is a subgroup of a larger class, and the intention is that the subgroup will present a report to the class, you will have to be prepared to talk about what happened in your discussion.

It would be useful (and in some courses, necessary, for example, the Senior Research Seminars) to provide a handout to the rest of the class. In some cases also, the handout may have to be uploaded to a wiki.