MICHEL DEGRAFF: So for me, the best part, actually
one of the best parts of the course,
was having students present parts of the material.
And there was one challenge that often--
there was a temptation to just do
a summary of what you had read.
But the point was not just to give a summary.
It was to be able to integrate the readings with the larger--
I call it the germ of ideas.
And I use that term based on previous readings
that we have done earlier in previous years in this course.
But that's wasn't always easy.
Because there's a big difference between doing a summary
and then taking the ideas of readings and then
incorporating them into your own reading of the course,
into personal issues, into communal or critical issues.
And for me, I wanted them to be able to do that too.
And the motive for that, which was based on a reading
by Paulo Freire and Donaldo Macedo
was as you read the word, you also have to read the world.
And so, it's not enough to just look at the text
as if it's a text.
You have to be able to connect the text with issues
of actuality, which could be personal,
which could be political, which could be international.
And at the end, they did get to do that in sometimes the most
beautiful, moving ways.
And often, after a while, it got very personal.
It would bring up personal issues
about their upbringing, which they would connect
to the linguistic biography.
So for me, it was a very rewarding part of the course,
to see them being able to make those connections
between abstract, complex analysis
and what they live on a day-by-day basis.