Mid-Term Presentation

Prepare a 15-minute oral presentation on one of the online exhibitions put together by the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network using Powerpoint, so that snapshots from the online exhibits and/or commentaries can be shown to the group. The exhibitions can all be found at https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/exhibits/.

You should briefly present the content of the exhibition (what kinds of exhibits are available and how is the exhibition structured) but the bulk of your presentation should be your personal reflection on the material presented in the exhibition you have selected.

You are entirely free to choose your approach. For example:

  • you may want to reflect on the way the exhibition is presented and what it says about current LGBTQ religious historiography;
  • you may want to reflect on how the exhibition projects the work of the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network into the public space;
  • you may want to make an in-depth analysis of one or several exhibits and reflect on how what you see in these sources relates to the way the exhibition has been put together and what it has decided to highlight. Alternatively you may want to reflect on how you see these sources relate to broader LGBTQ or religious history, nationally or transnationally;
  • you may want to reflect on how you see the content of the exhibition relating to or reflecting broader LGBTQ religious history, nationally or transnationally;
  • you may want to reflect on how scholarship and activism interact in the putting together of the exhibition;

You will be marked not only on the content of your presentation but also on your ability to keep your listeners engaged and on how well you have calibrated your talk to fit into the 15-minute time slot you are given.

You have 15 minutes, not 20! You should rehearse your presentation ahead of time and time it to check whether you should not cut or sum up a number of things).

Your powerpoint slides should be simple and aim to show those exhibits you want to highlight.

A good oral presentation is generally one in which the presenter does not read. Listening to someone reading a text they have written is both boring and tiring. Speak to the group, don’t read!

Please watch this useful video about making a powerpoint presentation at university.