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MICHEL DEGRAFF: So for me,
the best part, actually

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one of the best
parts of the course,

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was having students present
parts of the material.

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And there was one
challenge that often--

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there was a
temptation to just do

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a summary of what you had read.

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But the point was not
just to give a summary.

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It was to be able to integrate
the readings with the larger--

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I call it the germ of ideas.

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And I use that term based
on previous readings

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that we have done earlier in
previous years in this course.

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But that's wasn't always easy.

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Because there's a big difference
between doing a summary

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and then taking the ideas
of readings and then

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incorporating them into your
own reading of the course,

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into personal issues, into
communal or critical issues.

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And for me, I wanted them
to be able to do that too.

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And the motive for that,
which was based on a reading

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by Paulo Freire
and Donaldo Macedo

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was as you read the word, you
also have to read the world.

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And so, it's not enough
to just look at the text

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as if it's a text.

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You have to be able to
connect the text with issues

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of actuality, which
could be personal,

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which could be political,
which could be international.

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And at the end, they did get to
do that in sometimes the most

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beautiful, moving ways.

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And often, after a while,
it got very personal.

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It would bring up
personal issues

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about their upbringing,
which they would connect

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to the linguistic biography.

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So for me, it was a very
rewarding part of the course,

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to see them being able
to make those connections

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between abstract,
complex analysis

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and what they live on
a day-by-day basis.