Our first Agora Day
(Aerial view of the Agora in Athens – 1975)
Thursday, 9/30, will be our first Agora Day. Here’s what I shared with students on iLearn.
Welcome to the first Agora Day discussion forum!
Once a month you’ll be doing philosophy just like Socrates — out in the agora discussing topics with people. We will not meet in class on Agora Days.
What’s it about? Thinking, questioning, and listening critically. What are you supposed to ask people? A good place to start is with the current topic or theme discussed in the dialogue we’re reading. Or it could be a general issue from King’s life and reading. Or from the other readings we’re doing. You could also look ahead and discuss a prominent question we will be examining. For instance, California is grappling with the death penalty again. There have been recent executions in the US that have raised some concerns. In short, the possibilities are endless. Kinda like some of Socrates’ own discussions in the Agora of Athens.
The “marketplace” for us will be anywhere you are. We will not meet in class on our Agora Days, but you are responsible for sharing the outcome of your discussions on topics related to our class (which is just about everything!) with “the citizens of the world” with the class.
Where do you post your Agora Day activities? This iLearn forum is one venue. Others are the SocratesKing Facebook page and the SocratesKing on Twitter. Choose one or more venues to post your activities. You may post more than once.
Don’t wait for me. Just jump in and post.
Here’s to some great discussions!
Prof. Pam
