Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQ)
1. What is the role of a Student Chair?
As chairs, students play a major role in facilitating each session. The chair’s most practical function is to introduce the session topic, the presenters, and the titles of their individual papers. A few words about each presenter—his or her year or class rank, university affiliation, academic interests, etc.—can make each session friendlier and more relaxed. While the faculty moderator will be assigned in advance for the session, a quick-witted chair might also need to locate a faculty member willing to serve for an absent moderator. Student chairs promote the congenial atmosphere necessary for collaboration and discussion. They model the best kind of session participation, often even asking questions during the moderator-led Q & A and demonstrating their careful attention to the subjects of the papers.
2. What is the role of a Faculty Moderator?
Where chairs introduce each session and its participants, faculty moderators are responsible for leading the Q & A at the end of the sessions. The moderator’s task looks very much like the work they do in the classroom: fostering discussion, encouraging participation, asking questions that lead writers to understand greater truths about the texts they have read. Yet they allow students (both those in the audience and the presenters—whom they should encourage to ask questions of each other) to dictate the direction of the discussion. Because sessions are limited to 75 minutes, moderators also keep time, so that no participant exceeds the 16-minute time limit.