<p>First of all, there is also nothing (except the inevitable press of time) that keeps you from talking to your classmates outside of class. One of the values of everyone taking the same course is that all of your 300+ classmates are working on the same issues at the same time. Ask your most "naive" questions to your friends, roommates, etc. And don't ever worry that you've asked a stupid question. I can guarantee that there are dozens of others who also have the same questions.</p>
<p>As for intervening in the conferences, I can't advise you exactly how to approach this, but given what you describe as the process right now, I think you have to choose your spots, to speak up on issues where you feel you may have some insight or you feel more comfortable with the texts, or where a direct question of interpretation may be involved and in fact there are alternative ways to see things.</p>
<p>In conferences, there's nothing wrong with asking a question about something you don't understand. But when you do ask you might well be asked, "Well what do you think?" and then if you've thought a bit about it you can offer a tentative answer. And see where it goes from there. It could lead to productive discussion by others. It could be a dead end. But if you ask a question to which you sincerely want an answer, not one that is meant just to impress people, then you have a chance to learn from the answer, and others will, too.</p>
<p>I realize that you may not find what you think is the best time to ask questions because those talkative ones are racing away on the subject already. But if you actually have come up with a question or two that you can't get into the discussion, well you probably have learned something! </p>
<p>In any case, conferences aren't about debate or debating points but about exchanging interpretations and thoughts, sometimes through real arguments and disagreements. Your fellow students may well have valuable points of view, and your professor won't generally try to impose her own. Each "learner" finds an understanding of the problems and texts (above all by reading the texts first).</p>
<p>The purpose of the conferences isn't to dominate the discussions or impose your point of view on the seminar (some people may think so, but that's not my understanding of what these are about -- no votes are taken, and there's no voting rule for deciding that one point of view is the winner and another is the loser). Although the conference is a collective activity, the learning is by the individual participants.</p>
<p>I don't know what they tell you in orientation these days, but my understanding was that teachers use the "Socratic method" to help you find answers within yourself, not to stuff "correct" interpretations into your brain. Learning is all about the questions. The word "educate" etymologically means "to draw out," i.e., to derive knowledge or understanding from inside yourself by asking good questions. You don't have a Socrates around to ask most of those questions, but you may have some people who do ask good questions and then you should do your best to find the answers based on your reading of the texts and reflecting on what you know.</p>
<p>Maybe all of this just seems like blather to you. I just want to encourage you to persist, to not be afraid to ask dumb questions; and not to see the purpose of the seminars as debates with winners and losers.</p>