Lectures
Purposes:
1. To deliver a lot of information in a short time otherwise unavailable to the student (not enough copies available, new research, etc.)
2. To demonstrate the lecturer is knowledgeable about the topic (ego, credentials)
3. Highlight or elaborate on a topic of interest, importance, or controversy - Note: that importance may exist only in the lecturer’s mind, but if he/she is your professor....
4. Continue a time honoured tradition or expectation
Student purposes:
1. Pick up only source of that information in order to write the exam, do a seminar, interpret other information.
2. To discover that other sources of information are wrong or misinterpreted (especially useful in updating the text)
3. Clarify what you know (or should have known) about the topic
4. Discover a professor’s bias or viewpoint (useful for all assignments)
5. Reveals a professor’s character (does he/she present other viewpoints or is only his own correct). Conclusion you should draw: will presenting an alternative/controversial viewpoint impress or disgust your professor?
6. Learn. Only in a very few cases will the information be a repeat of the text. For those ones take “Creative Daydreaming while looking Interested 101" Sleep in if you feel very lucky (alternate professors show up, attendance unlikely, announcements made....)
Needed Information:
1. Categories or summaries of main points that are then elaborated on (e.g. a lecture on W.W.I - the 7 causes of W.W.I)
2. Main supporting proof. A lecture that is a thesis statement (The main cause of the Reformation was nationalism, not religious disagreement nor the corruption of the Church) must have notes that outline the main lines of proof (Protestantism had its roots in those countries desperately seeking a national identity. Etc.).
3. Turning points or key events (birth and death dates in a biographical lecture, a command that shifts the balance of events in a key battle, etc.)
4. Points or arguments that disagree with conventional history (Bismarck was not the master diplomat of the late 1800's, just a lucky bumbler). Be careful that the unconventional approach is not just being detailed before it gets crushed - especially happens with myth debunking (King Arthur, Atlantis, etc.)
5. Material needed for you to understand the lecturer’s main argument or to be able to defend the main points of the lecturer’s viewpoint or opinion.
Appearance: 1. Point form but neat enough and with enough words that you can understand it later. (Nationalism cause WWI esp. Germany, but not Nationalism - Germ.)
2. Doodles - optional and useful to keep awake; but not recommended if in the front of the row and combined with a bored look.
Preparation: 1. Read the associated readings before the lecture where possible. Most students don’t, so the professors often start with the background that’s in the text. Save yourself some writing, you already have a copy. Also, you’ll be able to tell if it’s an unconventional viewpoint in the lecture.
Note: University professors do not mark lecture notes. You’ll find out your success (or lack of it) on the exam or in seminars or in your essay marks. I’m not an university professor. Each lecture will be accompanied by a lecture test that you may use your notes for. The test may be the same day, next day, or weeks later. Keep the notes clear!