Creative Book Commentary with Oral Discussion
Objectives
As part of the third-year course, ANT341 (Anthropology of Infectious Disease), this activity aimed to assess deep comprehension of historical infectious disease narratives through an AI-resistant format that requires live, in-person demonstration of understanding. Unlike traditional written essays, the two-part format – creative presentation followed by substantive one-on-one discussion – ensures students engage meaningfully with primary source material and must articulate their analysis in real-time conversation.
The oral examination component offsets AI reliance by requiring students to respond to spontaneous questions, defend interpretations, and make connections between course content and book material through genuine dialogue. Additionally, the open-ended presentation format encourages students to demonstrate learning through embodied performance and creative expression that AI cannot easily replicate.
Process
The activity was designed as an individualized 30-minute in-person assessment combining creative presentation with live oral examination:
Step 1: Book Selection and Deep Reading
- Students choose either The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson or Pale Rider by Laura Spinney and read it in its entirety
- Students consider guiding questions: What frameworks did historical actors use to understand outbreaks? What factors contributed to disease spread? What are modern echoes? What surprised you most? How does course content help you understand the book’s significance?
- Students may bookmark passages and prepare notes but must demonstrate comprehension through live dialogue
Step 2: Creative Presentation (10 minutes, in person)
- Students design presentation requiring embodied delivery: PowerPoint, dramatic monologue, original song, character performance in costume, poetry, video presentation, storybook, mindmap, or other creative medium
Step 3: Live One-on-One Discussion (15-20 minutes)
- Following presentation, student engages in real-time discussion with instructor exploring guiding questions and course connections
- Students may bring book with bookmarks but must respond spontaneously to questions and defend interpretations
- Oral format prevents AI use by requiring immediate analytical responses
Future-Focused Skill Development
This activity supports future-ready learning by aligning with principles from the University of Calgary’s STRIVE model. For instance, it supports Student-Centred Learning by offering choice in both book selection and presentation format, allowing students to demonstrate understanding through mediums matching their strengths. It also promotes Validity by ensuring authentic assessment through in-person presentation and oral discussion that structurally prevent AI completion, requiring genuine comprehension through live performance and real-time conversation.
Student Feedback
Professor Mant shares: I have been bowled over by the creativity and pure joy that has resulted from this assignment. I developed this assignment drawing upon the history, English, and French commentaries I took part in as an International Baccalaureate student and Daniel O’Donnell’s unessay. The choose-your-own-adventure aspect of the assignment was clearly attractive to students, who arrived to talk about the 1918 influenza or the disastrous 1854 London cholera outbreak with intense enthusiasm.
Students delivered original poetry, sang original songs, directed dramatic skits, burst through the door in homemade costumes, traced evidence on forensic mindmaps (complete with red yarn to connect the clues), displayed brilliantly manipulated memes, and practiced their formal presentation skills with Prezis and PowerPoints. No two presentations were alike. Time is a factor in facilitating this assignment – the approach is certainly time intensive. With 50 students in the class at 30 minutes each, the appointments add up. I have, however, found the one-on-one time to be invaluable, and the discussion to be extremely invigorating.