War Song Presentation Guidelines

These presentations should be informal but not off the cuff. I would like you to speak to your classmates rather than deliver a speech. You should rehearse what you are going to say and be prepared to answer questions, but you do not need to prepare note cards.

Please have the song available for your classmates to listen to. We'll only listen to a snippet of the song, so cue it up to the most important minute if you can. If you’ve got an mp3 player, I’ve got speakers. If you've got it on CD, we can use my laptop.  If your song has lyrics, please give me a typed copy of the lyrics two days in advance so I can photocopy them for your classmates.

Information you could include in your presentation:

• How did you find the song? Is it a song you knew or a song you found specifically for this assignment?
• Provide some information about the artist. Time period, style, common themes, other works, etc.
• Tell the story of the song.
• Was this song written as a song about war or is it a song about something else that you are interpreting as a war song?
• How does the music and instrumentation help you/the artist argue about war?
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, How will this song help you (and your classmates) answer the question “Is there such a thing as a just war?”