Analysis Workshops
Many extemp topics could be the subject of books and doctoral dissertations, so the possibilities involved in answering a question are vastly beyond the seven minute limit. But the seven minute limit also imposes a strong constraint that helps students clarify their thoughts, forcing them to select the best, most cogent argument that appeals to any audience.
At EE our topic discussions are designed around giving the students the knowledge and ability to see where the strongest arguments lay. Our workshops include a discussion of governmental power and legitimacy, which touches upon everything from campaign finance reform to instituting regime change in Iraq to constructing new governments in Africa. We’ll talk about economics, and how trade with China affects the housing market in the US and Senate elections in Michigan. We’ll talk about polls and tracking; which ones to listen to, which to ignore, and how to read a poll to really know where a politician’s strength lies — and how often the press is wrong.
Extemp is about current events, and ultimately current events revolve around only a few themes: themes of power, of motivations, and of methods. These are the themes we build EE’s lectures around, and these are the themes our students will know how to look for going forward.
Once a student understands how power and diplomacy interact, the student can draw a question on, say, Russia’s relations with Iran, and trace the interests involved, the motivations of the leaders, and connect external relations with internal politics, and answer the question convincingly and correctly without having a single source that talks directly about Russia and Iran’s relationship. The student who knows how markets work won’t need a lecture on the housing market today and the stock market tomorrow; instead, a few key details, and you’re ready to go.
We also think learning is best done collaboratively. We have the luxury of avoiding large lectures, running at the speed of the teacher. We instead work in seminar style, with our small group of students learning together, and applying it immediately to their own thoughts and ideas. Our seminars on topic areas most closely resemble college workshops; we expect our students to collaborate, to learn from each other, and to participate.
