Introduction Text
It is rewarding to share life stories, and it is fascinating that we are all repositories for anecdotes, accounts and opinions about our own existence. But how much are we prepared to reveal about ourselves? And even if we are prepared to share with strangers, is it always the case that we are sure about the facts of our own life, or even necessarily what we feel about something? Life Lecture tests the limits of autobiographical accounts, while we learn more about each other.
The structure of Life Lecture is simple. In a moment we will make some preparatory exercises as a group, to get used to participating and sharing; then we will deliver the lecture itself, in which everyone will have the opportunity to speak; finally there will be time for questions and group discussion.
How long Life Lecture will take depends how long you want to spend on the exercises and how long you maintain the discussion. As a working average, you can think that Life Lecture will last about 2 hours from now until the end.
The aim of this section is to get you used to participating and to feel comfortable sharing in this group.
In this first exercise, you will be asked to register your preference in response to simple questions by raising your hand.
Let's have a practice of that now. Everybody raise your hand.
Look around you. Has everyone got their hand raised? If someone has refused, what does that say about them? (Are they stubborn; wilful; independent; maverick?) What does their refusal say about you?
OK, you can put your hand down now. (Oh, you already did.)
So let's ask some questions to get to know something about the group as a whole. Observe the other people in the room and see what they are selecting. You can cut short the exercises and move straight to the lecture whenever you feel ready by clicking the LECTURE button at the bottom right hand corner of the screen.