Istanbul Gelişim University, Department of English Language and Literature extends an invitation for everyone to participate in our upcoming Socratic Seminar, an event designed to foster deep intellectual discussion and critical thinking among high school students.
Following the success of last year’s seminar, we are excited to host our second event on December 10th from 10:00 to 14:00 at Mehmet Akif Ersoy Conference Hall, J Block, Istanbul Gelişim University.
WHAT IS SOCRATIC SEMINAR?
Socrates, a Classical Greek philosopher, was convinced that the surest way to attain reliable knowledge was through the practice of disciplined conversation. He called this method dialectic, meaning the art or practice of examining opinions or ideas logically, often by the method of question and answer, so as to determine their validity. The Socratic seminar is based on Socrates' theory that it is more important to enable participants to think for themselves than to merely fill their heads with "right" answers. A Socratic Seminar is a method to try to understand information using dialectic method in regards to the given topic and texts. In a Socratic Seminar, participants seek deeper understanding of complex ideas in the text through rigorously thoughtful dialogue. This process encourages divergent thinking rather than convergent. Participants in a Socratic Seminar respond to one another with respect by carefully listening instead of interrupting. They are encouraged to "paraphrase" essential elements of another’s ideas before responding, either in support of or in disagreement. Members of the dialogue look each other in the "eyes" and use each other names. This simple act of socialization reinforces appropriate behaviors and promotes team building.
