Tips for running ‘The Arcadian Civil War’ project:
Running the Discussions
It might be useful to place yourself in a ‘chairperson’ role during the discussion, ie. someone with no decision-making power. It allows you to observe and organise the structure of the discussion, hopefully letting it build on its own. But it does mean you are able to dip in to push individuals to explain further and you can offer scaffolding where necessary to improve answers to questions.
Cities under siege exercise (Section 4, Part 3)
This exercise is about deciding which city under siege will be sacrificed in order to save other cities under threat. Students will make a decision, hear other student’s choices and then vote on which city to sacrifice. It may be interesting to ask the students if anyone changed their minds after being persuaded by a classmate.
Video Text
NEWSREADER:
This is Arcadian Radio News, I’m Alex Conway-Law. Our top story today, several cities around Arcadia are under military lockdown tonight after being taken over by the Leader and their army. Our reporter Charley Daniels has this report from the streets of Gisborne, one of the cities affected.
CHARLEY:
An eerie silence has descended upon Gisborne tonight. Cars and bicycles are almost completely absent and the only people walking the streets are troops from the Leader’s army enforcing the curfew. But only hours ago…
SFX of guns and other weapons going off in the distance
CHARLEY (cont):
…a brief period of fierce fighting took place just beyond the city’s walls. Small groups loyal to Parliament had attacked the Leader’s army, only to be overwhelmed by their superior numbers. For some living inside Gisborne, it is a truly concerning time.
PERSON 1:
I was terrified, the fighting just come out of nowhere. Bombs going off only miles away. The kids were beside themselves. We don’t want a war, you know, we just want to get on with our lives…(to their child, off-mic) Jodie! Come here please, we’re going inside!….(back on the mic)…do we have to swear allegiance to the Leader, is that what they want? I don’t support anybody, really, I’m not pro-this or anti-that, I just want peace, you know?
CHARLEY:
For others, they have much stronger views on the state of play within Gisborne and Arcadia as a whole.
PERSON 2:
It’s an absolute scandal is what it is. I’d been willing to tolerate the Leader up until now – I don’t personally think that power should be decided by the fact that you happen to be born into a certain family, but if that’s what we’ve got, then that’s what we’ve got, right?
Prisoners of War exercise (Section 4, Part 3)
In the past, students have had very few qualms about subjecting this conceptual POW to torture to get information out of them. While this can be interesting to see how their compassion may disappear in a war situation, it might be useful to push them to really think about how they might treat another human being, even if they are the enemy.
Video Text
CALDWELL: This, comrades, is an enemy soldier, captured on the field of battle. (to the soldier) You’ve been treated well so far haven’t you?
SOLDIER nods
CALDWELL: We know nothing about them and when we ask them things like… What is your name?
SOLDIER: I cannot say.
CALDWELL: What is your rank?
SOLDIER: I cannot say.
CALDWELL: Where do you come from?
SOLDIER: I cannot say.
CALDWELL: What is your favourite colour?
SOLDIER: I cannot say.
CALDWELL: That is what they say. We don’t know anything – about their family, their children, their friends, their job. We don’t know about what they’ve done in this war so far, who they’ve shot at who they’ve killed, … So what do we do with them? What should be done with other Prisoners of War like this one? One rule for all or do we treat each differently, depending on what we know of them? (to the soldier) What do you think?
SOLDIER:
I cannot say.
