Once during the semester, each student will review a book that is cited by one of the texts we've read as a class (you cannot review a text that is on the syllabus). Reviews will take the form of a Pecha Kucha presentation - a presentation of 20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds (6 minutes and 40 seconds total).
Your primary task in this review is to explain how the argument works and how it engages with other scholarship. You should not focus your efforts on an evaluation of the argument or on whether or not you disagree with the author. See the grading criteria below for some tips about how to approach these reviews, and please feel free to ask me questions.
When providing feedback on these presentations, I will be looking for the following:
- Does your presentation adequately summarize the text and its argument?
- Do you explain the text's significance, its most important features, and its contributions to a scholarly conversation?
- Have you explained how this text connects with the texts we're reading for this class?
- Have you avoided a discussion of whether or not you disagree with the author? Have you avoided a discussion of flaws or shortcomings in the argument?
- Have you followed the rules of engagement
- Have you paid close attention to the design of your slides?
- Have you followed the Pecha Kucha rules (20 slides, shown for 20 seconds each)
