{"id":36,"date":"2009-03-03T11:41:30","date_gmt":"2009-03-03T16:41:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mathgradblog.williams.edu\/?p=36"},"modified":"2009-03-03T11:41:30","modified_gmt":"2009-03-03T16:41:30","slug":"organizing-a-reading-seminar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/mathgradblog\/2009\/03\/03\/organizing-a-reading-seminar\/","title":{"rendered":"Organizing a Reading Seminar"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Asher Auel<\/a><\/p>\n

In the Fall semester of 2006, a small group of graduate students at\u00a0the University of Pennsylvania embarked on the time-honored tradition\u00a0of organizing a reading seminar. \u00a0Independent of any course or\u00a0professor, we decided to read through Cornell and Silverman’s\u00a0“Arithmetic Geometry” to understand the proof of Faltings’ theorem\u00a0(the Mordell conjecture). \u00a0While it was great fun for the semester, we\u00a0learned some lessons that we’d like to pass on to those of you who\u00a0wish to start up a reading seminar on your own. <\/p>\n

Have an organizational meeting. \u00a0Even if you know all the people\u00a0involved, set a time and place for an “organizational meeting” and\u00a0inform the rest of the graduate students in the department. \u00a0You may\u00a0be surprised by who else is interested. \u00a0At the meeting, discuss the\u00a0primary and secondary texts you’ll be following. \u00a0Work out a rough\u00a0time line, reading schedule, and itinerary of talks.<\/p>\n

Be clear on the structure of the talks. \u00a0Do you want the talks to be\u00a0formal? \u00a0informal? \u00a0more like discussions? \u00a0or do you even want talks\u00a0at all? \u00a0It may seem like a good idea to just meet to discuss the\u00a0week’s reading, though I would argue that having someone prepare a\u00a0talk each week will bring the most out of everyone attending.<\/p>\n

Prepare your talks. \u00a0How should one prepare a talk for a reading\u00a0seminar? \u00a0The most important thing to remember is that you’re all\u00a0there to learn the material together, not to show off to each other,\u00a0or to “get it down right” at the board. \u00a0In general, it’s not a good\u00a0idea to present anything verbatim from the reading. \u00a0Rather than worry\u00a0about including every detail of a proof, concentrate on getting across\u00a0the flow of ideas. \u00a0Rather than outline a general construction, give\u00a0examples in some illuminating cases. \u00a0Provide additional background\u00a0information, history, and context. \u00a0Your job as speaker for the week\u00a0is to supplement the reading, not regurgitate it at the board. \u00a0For\u00a0example, in one talk I focused on a single commutative diagram (that\u00a0Milne had left to the reader as an “unfortunately complicated\u00a0exercise”), which led me to discover a book by Brian Conrad,\u00a0essentially devoted to this exercise. \u00a0Avoid the mental trap of\u00a0thinking that you need to “cover” all of the material in your reading.\u00a0Again, your fellow seminar goers will have done the reading, it’s up\u00a0to you to explain it, tease out the ideas, and enrich everyone’s\u00a0understanding.<\/p>\n

Maintain notes on who talks and when. \u00a0I would even recommend setting\u00a0up a quick web-site to record the date and location of the meetings\u00a0and talks, and to keep it updated. \u00a0During the seminar, this will help\u00a0everyone keep track of the schedule. \u00a0Afterward, this will help keep a\u00a0permanent reminder of what you’ve accomplished.<\/p>\n

Finally, ask your department to confer some kind of official recognition. \u00a0You may be\u00a0able to get course\/seminar credit in exchange for getting a professor\u00a0to sign off on your reading schedule. \u00a0Your seminar may be listed on\u00a0the departmental calender of events. \u00a0It never hurts to ask, unless\u00a0you’re trying to run a secret seminar, but that’s the subject for\u00a0another post.<\/p>\n

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By Asher Auel In the Fall semester of 2006, a small group of graduate students at\u00a0the University of Pennsylvania embarked on the time-honored tradition\u00a0of organizing a reading seminar. \u00a0Independent of any course or\u00a0professor, we decided to read through Cornell and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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