There is one thing I have not yet got used to when it comes to Swedish education, the opposition. I have been studying at Uppsala University for a year now and have probably given 3 or 4 oppositions, but I still find it very strange.
Time for the opposition after a student presentation. Photo by: Kristin Follis
An opposition is used as a tool to revise your work by listening to an evaluation given by your classmates. The main idea is that you receive comments back on your work before you hand in a final version of the paper or report.
Not only this, but it also gives you a chance to critically analyze someone else’s work. The opposer offers an evaluation of strong and weak points of the paper and tries to generate discussion among the audience and authors.
Typically this occurs after the author has presented his or her paper. The opposer offers strengths, criticisms, comments, and questions regarding the paper. To do this the paper is evaluated according to content, structure, aim, methods, results, etc…
While this may seem like an easy task (simply giving someone feedback on a paper) it is much more difficult than that. The difficulty is finding the balance between constructive criticisms and harsh comments. The negatives of a paper must be balanced with positives so it doesn’t seem like you are being too cruel.
This balance can be difficult to achieve. The goal is to offer worthwhile comments, while being as nice as possible because you know that someone is coming for you next.
A heated discussion in an opposition. Photo by: Kristin Follis
Maybe the hardest part of the process comes when you are the author being opposed. This involves someone standing in front of you criticizing the very paper you have worked so hard for. At the same time you have to sit and listen calmly while taking in any suggestions. It can be hard to remember that criticisms are helpful. My personal instinct is to argue back and disagree.
This idea of giving an opposition is new to me and I have never experienced it in my previous studies. I can see the benefits of getting feedback from classmates, but making a successful opposition that is useful without being harsh is a difficult thing to do. Not to mention having to sit and listen to, what seems like a ruthless evaluation of the paper you have put so much sweat and tears into, is not a simple thing to do.
My advice, when doing an opposition is to try to offer as many positives to offset the more negative comments. Asking questions as to why they choose to do something is also helpful instead of criticizing.
On the other hand, when receiving an opposition try to remember that this person is not trying to personally attack you, but really just trying to help. And when that doesn’t help just smile and nod!
And if you haven’t mastered the art of opposition yet, here are tips from Högskolan Dalarna to help.
