Most of the teaching in GSD takes place through lectures and seminars. In second and third year, you may have modules that consist of seminars only (such as the Surviving the Apocalypse module for instance), but in first year all core GSD modules have both. While both lectures and seminars are obviously important, the latter are when you will be required to actively take part and engage with the learning. They are usually run with groups of up to fifteen students (although for most of my modules this year we were far less), and last between an hour and two.

In order to prepare for the seminar, you will have a lecture on the topic (which always takes place earlier in the week), as well as some required and optional reading on the topic. This can be ‘traditional’ reading, from books or journals, or sometimes films, documentaries, or podcasts. This year, for one of my modules, Human Rights and Social Justice in Latin America and the Caribbean, most weeks the assigned reading contained a film or documentary. This was a really nice change from just reading, and also made for great movie nights with my coursemates. It is really important to have done this preparation, as without it you won’t be able to participate properly in discussions. Sometimes, you are also required to reflect on an issue beforehand or prepare some arguments for a debate.

The actual seminar is probably my favourite part of learning. In GSD, most lecturers try to come up with fun and interesting ways to engage with the content. For example, debates, games, simple discussions, designing posters or campaigns, and other activities. Often, the seminar will focus on a specific case study fitting into the broader content of the lecture. For instance, in one of my recent seminars for the module Inequalities and Sustainable Development: Inclusion and Dignity for All, we were working on the idea of Universal Basic Income. As preparation, we read a selection of short articles detailing various case studies and examples, and then the seminar split into two groups, each debating the pros and cons of UBI.

 Charlotte Flechet

Second-year Single Honours GSD student

Friday 12 June 2020