Entering the Court: Choices

1. Entering the Court: Choices Join a group with one of the five themes: • Religion, Gender & Sexuality • Religion, Gender & Reproduction • Religion, Gender & Popular Culture • Religion, Gender & Everyday Life • Religious Institutions & Gender My interest – your interest? PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy'

2. Richard Benda Anna Snape Katja Stuerzenhofecker The more there is to offend,the less there is to say? PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy'

3. PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy' Courting Controversy: Preparations Courting Controversy: Event In Court: Reflection In Court: Verdict Workshop Overview • Entering the Court: Choices • Entering the Court: Task • Courting: Process • Controversy: Content

4. PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy' Workshop Rationale To enact key stages of Phase One: Small Groups in our practice of Student-Led Discussions: • Forming: Coming together & establishing terms of engagement • Storming: Confronting each other level 2 module Religion, Culture & Gender [cf. Bruce Tuckman's model of group development]

5. Entering the Court: Task In the real life of our module, each small group has to: Phase One: In Small Groups • Find and select two case studies related to their theme • Develop questions which help to explore the case studies Phase Two: With Whole Class • Introduce the case studies • Facilitate the discussion of their questions • Capture the discussion outcomes What's to do? PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy'

6. Courting: Process Create the profile for your chosen character: • How does your character approach discussion with peers? • How does your character interact with peers? What do I bring? PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy'

7. Courting: Process PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy'

8. Controversy: Content • Examine the diversities in your group • Identify topics linked to your group's theme that are likely to cause controversy (You will perform the discussion later) What becomes the beast? PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy'

9. PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy' Controversy: Content

10. Courting Controversy: Preparations What is your character's spoken or internal response to the ground rules and the ground rule setting? Rules of the game? PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy'

11. Courting Controversy: Event Let your character participate in the discussion of one of the potentially controversial topics your group identified earlier: What does your character think about this topic? Battle or Exchange? PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy'

12. In Court: Reflection Assess your character's learning journey What have I learnt? PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy'

13. In Court: Verdict What is the relationship: Controversy – Learning? The more there is to offend, the less there is to say? Does ground rule setting open up or close down discussion? Disclosure or Foreclosure? PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy'

14. PRS conference 2010 'Courting Controversy' Acknowledgement All images from The Shahnama of Ferdowsi, John Rylands University Library, University of Manchester The Shahnama can be accessed electronically at http://enriqueta.man.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet Bruce Tuckman (1965) 'Developmental Sequence in Small Groups', Psychological Bulletin, vol. 63, no.6, p. 384-399.