Roundtable Instructions
Hello! All of us here at Lyon College are excited to get to know you a little better at one of our upcoming Honors Fellows Program weekends. You'll find on this page agendas for the weekend (coming soon), but I want to describe one session, a roundtable experience with other prospective Honors Fellows, in more detail here.
The roundtable will be an opportunity to discuss, critique, and revise ideas, and I’ve organized it to give you some control over your discussion experience. To make the most of the roundtable, I give you these two charges in advance of your visit:
First, you should read Lawrence Weschler’s “Inventing Peace.” Read it closely, making notes on important passages, as well as contexts and vocabulary you don’t know. Bring your printout of the article with you when you come to campus.
Second, you should prepare a position paper of roughly two pages. This position paper will allow you to prepare and organize some thoughts that you might contribute to the roundtable discussion. You should:
- Create an independent thought about Weschler’s argument. For instance, you might ask: how do we evaluate his position on the origins and remedies of atrocity to today’s situations? How has the Information Age impacted the problems and experiences of difference? What are the ethical implications of the essay? Or what are the unforeseen consequences of his focus on the individual?
- Find and introduce a second source to support your argument.
The roundtable will be a discussion; we won’t just take turns reading position papers. Flexibility, reflexivity, and generosity to our peers will be paramount. But the position papers should provide some prepared material to fall back on during our conversation.
In the meantime, I look forward to getting to know you and welcoming you to Lyon! Please contact me with any questions you have about these weekends, Lyon, the HFP, etc. at wesley.beal@lyon.edu.
Till then,
Wesley Beal
Associate Professor of English
Director, Lyon Honors Fellows Program