The purpose of this assignment is to give you training in making oral presentations of your ideas to a group audience.  Such skills are very important in almost any professional setting, and the experience you receive in this class will be valuable to you if you take the assignment seriously.  In order to make successful oral presentations, you must prepare them thoroughly and rehearse them before delivering them in class.  There is nothing more painful than to have to sit through a poorly prepared and unrehearsed oral presentation.

The presentations will be graded jointly by the class and the instructor (class 50%, instructor 50%).

Here are some guidelines for you to follow in preparing and presenting your report.

(1)    Research and prepare your presentation thoroughly.  Use the web and/or library sources, and make sure you understand the topic well.  You may be asked questions after the report.

(2)    Organize your information carefully.  Remember that giving an oral presentation is different from writing a paper.  The ideas must flow easily and naturally so that your audience can grasp them aurally.

(3)    Prepare an outline.  You should distribute copies of the outline to the class.  (You may use the xerod machine in the honors office to make copies.)  Alternatively, you may prepare your presentation on Powerpoint.

(4)    Write your report.  You do not have to write the text of your presentation word for word, but you should prepare detailed and well-organized notes to aid you in making the presention.

(5)    Rehearse your presentation.  This will enable you to time your report and will help you feel confident and at ease in presenting it.

(6)    Present confidently.  If you have prepared and rehearsed your presentation, you will be able to present with confidence.  Avoid interruptions like "um", "well, ah...", "y'know", etc.  Avoid presenting in monotone; present with appropriate emphasis to keep your audience's attention.

• Do know your topic and prepare it well.
• Do organize carefully.
• Do prepare an outline.
• Do practice your report, preferably in front of a friend or in front of a mirror.

• Don't present your report from a sheaf of disorganized notes that you have to file through to find your place.
• Don't present your report from a stack of books with bookmarks in them.
• Don't pepper your presentation with slang and vocal interruptions ("um", etc.)

Unit 1.2 Ancient Philosophy and Religion

Thales and the pre-socratic philosophers
Hippocratic medicine
Hellenistic occult sciences
Sophocles the playwright

Unit 1.3  Science and Early Christianity

Christ as magician and healer
The Gnostic Gospels
Medieval bestiaries
Medieval cartography

Unit 1.4  Islamic Philosophy and Science

Islam and Judaism in Al-Andalus
al-Ghazzali on religion and science

Unit 1.5  Science and Theology in the Middle Ages

Anselm's Ontological Argument
Moses Maimomides and medieval Jewish philosophy
Islamic philosophy and science

Unit 2.1 The Copernican Revolution

Ptolemaic Astronomy
The Council of Trent
The Protestant Reformation and the New Astronomy
Martin Luther and Science

Unit 2.2 Galileo's Life and Scientific Work

Galileo's family
The Accademia dei Lincei (Academy of Lynxes)

Unit 2.3 The Trial of Galileo

Galileo's trial as a symbol
Reactions to Galileo's trial

Unit 2.4 Brecht on Galileo

Bertolt Brecht's political (and/or artistic) views
Brecht's plays

Unit 3.1 Protestantism and Science

Robert Boyle
Martin Luther's views on science
Calvinism and science

Unit 3.2 The Decline of Orthodox Christianity

Descartes and the mechanical philosophy
Isaac Newton's religious views
Albert Einstein's religion

Unit 3.3 Deism and Natural Theology

David Hume and the Edinburgh circle

Unit 4.1 Darwinism and Christianity

The Beagle voyage
Darwin's religious beliefs
Alfred Russell Wallace and spiritualism

Unit 4.3 Creationism and Science

Creationism in the New Mexico schools