Reacting to the Past (HIST20081)

This subject introduces students to ‘Reacting to the Past’ historical role‐playing games. Students are given elaborate game books which place them in moments of historical controversy and intellectual ferment. The class becomes an historical arena; students, in role, become particular persons from the period, often as members of a faction. Their purpose is to advance a policy agenda and achieve their faction’s objectives. To do so, they will undertake research and write speeches and position papers; and they will also give formal speeches, participate in informal debates and negotiations, and otherwise work to win the game. After a few preparatory lectures, the game begins and the players are in charge; the instructor serves as adviser or “gamemaster”. Outcomes sometimes differ from the actual history; a post‐mortem session at the end of the game sets the record straight. (For more information on ‘Reacting to the Past’, see https://reacting.barnard.edu/.)

This class offers one or two games, usually a game set in the modern period and in the early modern period: for example, a game about the dramatic parliamentary upheaval that took place under Henry VIII in Tudor England, and a game about the dilemmas and debates surrounding the achievement of Indian independence after World War II.