Humane Letters Excellence
An excellent Humane Letters student is someone who is full of wonder and has a depth and clarity of inquiry that supports their wonder. They come to class with a consistent desire to figure out the truth and work with the entire class to do so. They are courageous in their pursuits by presenting the truth, supported by evidence, as it appears to them, but also humble enough to admit when they are incorrect. They are unafraid to ask questions and admit to when they don't understand things. They respect the quietest voice in the room, the author, by constantly grounding their interpretation in evidence and text. They have thought deeply about the work before coming to class and are able to speak to the details of the text rather than just speaking in generalities. They seek to understand first before judging and they work hard to suspend judgement in service of clarity. The excellent student is also a leader in the discussion, trying to facilitate complete class discussion and to work to listen to and encourage the quietest voices in the room. This student can see connections between readings and connect wide swaths of the text to find themes and ideas that the author is expressing. This student speaks clearly, cogently and persuasively, with as few vocal disfluencies as possible - but also understands that clarity and beauty of speech are tools in search of truth rather than mere rhetorical devices. This student is always cognizant of the group nature of seminar. They see the endeavor as a shared search for truth and are consistently, honestly driving the search for truth with goodwill. In short, an excellent Humane Letters student is someone who drives the seminar and whose absence is always felt.
Spirit of Inquiry/Wonder
This student's engagement shows that the students here to discover something each and every day. They jump into discussion and tenaciously pursue a line of inquiry. They show a desire to learn, make sense of the text, and find ways to connect inquiry to life. Student does not need to match the day's topic to a pre-existing interest to realize there is something worth exploring.
Expressive Ability
The excellent student is frequently involved throughout the duration of the seminar and at every stage. They are eager to pursue avenues of exploration and do so clearly and with a knowledge of the purpose of the exploration. Student can honestly say, "We had a good discussion today.” rather than "I did well in discussion today". This student's comments are made with clarity and precision so that the content of their contributions can be readily understood by their peers. She speaks speaks assertively and with confidence/courage, yet with a tone that allows for good faith discussion and possible disagreement.
Critical Thinking
An excellent student is capable of making clear distinctions between assumptions and conclusions or evidence and arguments. This student can analyze an argument and explain its strengths and weaknesses relative to its stated and implied premises as well as suggest where more evidence or argument is needed. Student can make a clear distinction between their thought and that of the author or another student.
Textual Prowess
Excellent comments show meaningful, consistent and thoughtful reflection and engagement with the meaning of the text. This student's comments show that a good faith effort to unravel the complexities of the material has occurred before seminar so that seminar can start from a point of true inquiry.
Comments are grounded in the text, and the student shows an ability to connect ideas across passages from that day's reading as well as passages across the book as a whole (i.e.meta-connections).
Comments don't just vaguely reference a passage or the work, but ground the analysis in the specific words and phrases that interpretations depend on.
Teamwork
The student is an effective team member insofar as their comments help guide the discussion to deeper inquiry and attempt to synthesize all contributions into a meaningful whole. In addition, their participation is always constructive. It invites others into the conversation rather than scaring them away or excluding them.
Comments show that the student has been attentively listening to their peers since the comments do not repeat basic points already made, make note when they are repeating a passage for a different purpose, follow up on the thread that has already been developed, or ask questions which work to clarify the current thread.
Comments are always polite and respectful. In addition, comments are sensitive to the intellectual and emotional needs of others, even while vigorously criticizing opposing opinions. Student is actively searching for truth by actively and constantly testing assertions against the evidence, but doing so in the spirit of discovery and not argument. They are unafraid to criticize poorly supported or framed ideas, but do so while encouraging the search for truth. Conversely, this student encourages others to participate by building on the points of others that might have been ignored by the class - but they do so in search of truth. They are actively listening to all the voices in the room as possible and probable sources of truth and insight.