ENG 410: Digital Book History
Discussion Leaders

Discussion Leaders

One time in the semester, you will take on the role of professor and lead us on a critical discussion of our readings. Sign up here before February 1. The rules for the questions are simple:

  • Discussion questions should be open-ended, thoughtful, and lead to productive conversations. They should require careful reading of the text but should not be able to be answered by simply reading a quote off the text. You should plan for each discussion question to lead to between 5-7 minutes of class contributions.
  • The questions should be about the text(s) assigned for that day, and YOUR QUESTIONS MUST MAKE DIRECT REFERENCES TO THE TEXT(S). Please include page numbers. Try to make connections between the texts and examples of books and material texts. *Avoid asking questions that lead to yes/no answers; try to cover aspects of the text that open dialogue.
  • You are responsible for facilitating the discussion that follows. Keep the conversation lively by giving your classmates a chance to discuss their responses while making sure that no one speaks out of turn or above anyone else. It is your job to ensure that a respectful and productive conversation takes place.
  • You’re encouraged to bring in additional contextual or historical information to help us better understand the texts. YouTube and various libraries will help you find additional examples of the types of texts we’re discussing that week. If you’re so inclined, I also recommend peeking into the Wiley Companion to Book History for additional topics.
  • In addition to your discussion questions, you should turn in a list of additional readings. These should be journal articles, book chapters, or digital resources (videos, academic databases, online editions, etc) that could be useful to someone looking to know more about the issues covered in our readings.  Your list should contain around 3-5 sources, all formatted according to MLA style. They can, but need not be, annotated.
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