The information on this page will assist
individuals in the use of the study guide. It explains the features of this
web site and how it is organized.
The Sessions
This
web site uses the word “session” to refer to an occasion when a group meets
to work through the book and discuss the study guide material. There are ten
sessions in this guide, but each session is organized in a way that a group
leader (or the group as a whole) can modify both the number of sessions and
the material for any given session. It is also possible that a group leader
may include other tasks or assignments as well as other discussion
questions. The study guide is a launch pad, and leaders/groups can take off
from it in any direction.
Session Page Layout
The content of the
sessions’ pages consist of a set of tasks, assignments and instructions that
individuals should complete in preparation for the upcoming session. Each of
these is headed by an icon and its description (see below). It is intended
that group members prepare by following the flow of the session’s outline.
This flow can be viewed as sequenced steps, and members should not go on to
the next icon assignment until they have finished the previous one (unless
some alteration in the study is done by the leader or group).
Each session page
consists of three components: (1) reading and reflection, as well as other
tasks, in preparation for group meetings, (2) suggestions for group
discussion related to the book and the preparation assignments, and (3) a
focused discussion question that draws on the book’s discussion and members’
preparation.
It is important
that group members do their “homework” before the meeting. You will notice
that each session’s preparation includes some writing assignments. These are
optional of course, but group members should be encouraged to write out
their reflections in order to have (1) something to refer to in the course
of group discussions, and (2) a record of their progress in the study.
Navigating the Site
The site is
organized to allow easy movement between all the pages. Each page has
navigation buttons in the sidebar on the left. Every page has a
Sessions Index button on both the sidebar
and the buttons across the top and bottom of the page. From any particular
session page it is possible to go to any other session by clicking on that
session's button at the bottom of the page.
In addition, every
page has a Links button in the sidebar.
Clicking this button will take you to a links-gateway page. There you can
click on one of the many headings that will take you to links to many
different web sites that are related to the topics of race and racism. These
links pages are updated regularly, so browse there often.
The buttons across
the top and the bottom are identical and appear on every page. In addition
to Home and
Sessions Index buttons, there are buttons that will take you to the
Feedback page where you can submit comments
(always welcome), and a Search this Site
page where you can search the
No Partiality
web site.
Whenever you click
on a link to another web site from a page, that site will open up in your
browser as a new window. This will allow you to browse the new site and
follow its own links without loosing your place in the study guide.
Discussion Button
The button bar
across the top and the bottom contain a Discussion
button. Clicking on this button will take you to the No Partiality
Discussion Group page, an ongoing and online discussion among the author
and readers of the book. Users of this study guide web site should feel free
to participate in this discussion and post their contribution for others to
read.
Task Icons
The purpose of
these icons (and their label) is to alert the study guide user to tasks that
are coming (seen by scrolling through the page) and to help the user keep
track of the steps in preparation. The task icons you can expect to find on
the session pages are these:
 |
Assignment
before reading |
Each session has an assignment that
is to be completed before the reading is started, and thus the "stop" sign!
These pre-reading assignments may be questions to answer, places to go and
things to do, or... whatever! But they lay a foundation for the rest of the
session's preparation. The "legs" will be cut out from underneath you if you
don't do this before reading.
 |
Now
READ Chapter x, pages xx-zz |
The open book tells you that it's
time to read, and the label tells you what pages to read. Don't go jumping
ahead (though re-reading the preceding assignment is encouraged).
 |
Writing
Assignment: |
The "writing" part of this is
optional, but what you are asked to think about and work through should not
be. As a group member, you will need to find some way to recall your
experience and your response when the group meets. You will also find it
useful to keep track of where you've been, where you are, and where you're
headed in this study. The best way to do this is... to write!
 |
A little
research... |
This icon signals that some time away
from the reading and reflecting is required. Usually this means renting a
movie video from your local video store, but it is also a symbol that
invites you to read in the sources that are cited in the book's footnotes in
the reading for the session. Finding these will require access to a library
that participates in an interlibrary loan program (like your public library)
and functions as a gateway to topical and full-text searching (one like
Northern Seminary).
 |
A field trip... |
This assignment asks you to go
somewhere, ask someone a question or do something--or all of these things.
These field trip assignments are important because they provide
opportunities for an experience that you will reflect on later, an
experience that lays a foundation for something that is to come in the study
guide.
 |
A trip on the
Internet... |
In addition to book reading,
reflecting, writing, movie-watching, and field-tripping, you will be asked
to go out on the Internet to read what others have written on a subject
related to a discussion in
No Partiality.
These web-trips will open in a new window in your browser so you can read
and follow their links wherever you want without losing your place in the
study guide.
 |
Suggestions
for Group Discussion |
In this section, you will find a set
of observations and questions designed to stimulate group discussion. These
suggestions draw on the reading and reflecting you have done in preparation.
More importantly, they provide opportunity for you to listen and respond to
other members in the group. These suggestions make it possible for you to
experience interaction that goes somewhere.
 |
Focused
Question for Group Discussion |
Each session's preparation ends with
one "FDQ"--a focused discussion question. The sequential preparation
assignments have moved you through a series of cumulative reflections, and
together they bring you to a point where some larger questions and issues
can be dealt with. The FDQ is intended to provide an occasion to draw
together the various experiences and insights of the group's members, and
lead the group toward strategies for action at the study's end.
Now, it's session
time... [click the
Sessions Index
button below]
