Format of the Colloquium
The colloquium provides an opportunity for you to explore ways of integrating your academic, professional, and intellectual odyssey with the ideas and themes in the books that have been significant in your education. The colloquium should therefore be viewed as a valuable, culminating experience, and students need not be apprehensive.
The Conversation Between You and Your Committee
Although each colloquium is in some respects unique, all tend to follow the same general format. The colloquium is scheduled for two hours - atleast ninety minutes for the colloquium itself, and up to thirty minutes for the committee members to discuss the student's performance among themselves and with the student. The colloquium usually begins with a brief discussion of the student's earlier schooling, intellectual interests, professional experiences, academic program as a Gallatin student, and the themes on which the colloquium will focus. The main goal of the first part of the colloquium is to create an individualized context for the discussion of the texts and to establish a framework for integrating the readings with the student's interests and life experiences.
After this introduction, the student and the faculty committee proceed to discuss the works on the student’s list. The general tone of the colloquium is that of an intellectual conversation. Its purpose is not to test the student's rote memory of the details in the texts but rather to evaluate the student's capacity to think, to inquire, to make connections, and to suggest interpretations. Students may be asked to explore the similarities and differences between two or more texts, to comment about the historical context of a work, or to discuss the work with respect to the themes described in the rationale. Questions are asked only about the works on the book list, although students may feel free to make references to other texts. The conversation follows no specific mold, questions are invented on the spot, and students may guide the discussion in directions they feel appropriate.
Evaluating the Colloquium
At the conclusion of the colloquium, the faculty committee discusses the student's performance. The main criterion for the committee's evaluation is simply this: Was the student able to discuss the texts in a thoughtful, insightful way, and to respond intelligently to the questions put forward by the faculty committee? A pass or fail requires a simple majority vote of the committee. If the committee concludes that the student's performance has been unsatisfactory, the committee will provide suggestions about what the student needs to do to prepare for a second colloquium. A student may not take the exam more than twice. If a student fails a second time, he or she will be dismissed from the school.
