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Reacting at Grand Valley State University: Thresholds of Democracy

  • November 07, 2024
  • 8:00 AM
  • November 09, 2024
  • 7:30 PM
  • Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI

Registration

  • Please contact Jenn Worth if you do not have the registration code.
  • For affiliated GVSU faculty, regardless of date of registration.
  • For college-university faculty who sign up in the first half of October.
  • This category is for invited guests only.

Register


Grand Valley State University has been a stalwart of Reacting for many years and has done much to spread the pedagogy in the Upper Midwest. Now, this Founding Institutional Member of the Consortium is hosting a three-day “sampler event” for high school and college faculty looking to reinvigorate their classrooms.


PROGRAMMING
The theme for this event is “Thresholds of Democracy,” echoing the flagship Reacting game set in 403 BCE Athens, the momentous 2024 election, and the ever-precarious, ever-hopeful, ever-changing state of democracy. This theme also honors the work of our special guest, Nadine Strossen. Strossen, former ACLU President (1991-2008), professor of law emerita at NYU, and author of, among other titles, Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford UP, 2018) will deliver a closing plenary on Saturday, November 7, generously sponsored by Voices for Liberty at George Mason University.

GAME WORKSHOPS

Reacting is an active-learning method, and so all of our events involve experiencing our games as students do: as a historical actor! Unlike many of our regional events or our Annual Institute, where you would play through the entirety of one or two games, this conference offers the chance to sample as many as six different games (of 15 options) in a compressed format that will lay out the parameters and structures of the game before participants will play through a single debate from the game in character.

Participants will be sent a digital gamebook for each game, outlining the topics and debates of a historical moment, as well as a detailed role sheet for a historical actor in those debates.  You need not be a specialist to play (or run) a Reacting game, but you should plan on doing some preparatory reading. You can expect to dedicate approximately two hours of prep time to each game workshop you choose.

We are pleased to offer introductions to 15 different games this year:

While Reacting to the Past was created for higher education classrooms, high school faculty have been gravitating towards the pedagogy for its mix of rigor and playfulness. Both tertiary and secondary educators are welcome at this conference, though we’ve built a high-school-specific programming option into Saturday’s schedule.  Saturday afternoon will also feature a session targeting Reacting for world language classrooms, as well as one game option for those looking to experience as many games as possible.

CONCURRENT SESSIONS

If you'd like more practical guidance, we’re also offering several 90-minute sessions where you can learn the nuts and bolts of running a game in your class from experienced Reacting faculty.

    In “Reacting 101: Preparing to Play,” we’ll discuss what you should do before a game, including how to navigate the Reacting website and its many resources, how to adapt your syllabus, and how to assign roles.

    In “Reacting 201: Get in the Game,” we’ll cover things you’ll need to know while and after you play, including safety mechanisms and tips for managing student anxiety, what to do when things go wrong, as well as advice on assessing your students’ work in this new pedagogical context, and how to include post-game activities that will help cement what they've learned.

    In the Student Panel–always one of the best-attended sessions at our conferences–you’ll hear from a variety of undergraduate students about their experiences playing Reacting games, and have the chance to ask all your burning questions.

    We’re also offering sessions to introduce you to two microgames that work great to get your students engaged and participating in their own learning–a great prequel for a full-length game. You can try Athens Besieged, which asks students to decide the fate of Athens and its antagonists at the end of the Peloponnesian War, or Monumental Consequence, which places them in a small village threatened by outsiders and asks them to decide: is art is ever worth dying for? Microgames require NO preparation by players.


    PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE
     
    Although it’s not possible to take part in everything, participants are free to build their own conference itinerary by opting into whichever game workshops, concurrent sessions, and meals work for them and reserving their slots at the point of registration. All times below are Eastern, and subject to change.

    Thursday, November 7

    8:00-9:00 AM BREAKFAST  & WELCOME
    9:00 AM-12:00 PM

    MORNING SESSION (choose one):

    • Game: The Second Spanish Republic
    • Game: Vietnam Escalation
    • Microgame: Monumental Consequences
    12:00-2:00 PM LUNCH & REMARKS
    2:00-5:00 PM

    AFTERNOON SESSION (choose one):

    • Game: Climate Change in Copenhagen
    • Game: Crisis of Catiline
    • Sessions: Reacting 101 & Student Panel

    DINNER ON YOUR OWN

    Friday, November 8

    8:00-9:00 AM BREAKFAST  & NOTES
    9:00 AM-12:00 PM

    MORNING SESSION (choose one):

    • Game: Confucianism Succession
    • Game: Trial of Galileo
    • Sessions: Reacting 101 & Student Panel
    12:00-2:00 PM LUNCH & REMARKS
    2:00-5:00 PM AFTERNOON SESSION (choose one):
    • Game: Korean Kabo Reforms
    • Game: Shakespeare & Marlowe
    • Sessions: Reacting 102 & Microgame: Athens Besieged
    6:00-9:00 PM DINNER BUFFET AND GAME NIGHT

    SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9

    8:00-9:00 AM BREAKFAST & NOTES
    9:00 AM-12:00 PM

    MORNING SESSION (choose one):

    • Game: Hands off Africa
    • Game: Art in Paris
    • Game: The Prado Museum
    • Game: Athens 403 BCE
    • Game: Mexican Revolution
    12:00-2:00 PM        LUNCH & REMARKS
    2:00-5:00 PM  AFTERNOON SESSION (choose one):
    • Session: RTTP in High Schools
    • Session: RTTP for World Languages
    • Game: Chicago 1968
    5:00-6:00 PM KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Nadine Strossen


    PRICING
    Regardless of how many (or few) elements one chooses, the registration rates are as follows:

       Early (thru 9/30)  Reg (thru 10/19)  Late (thru 11/4)
    Member, High School/ Part Time $25 $50 $75
    Non-Member, High School/ Part Time $75 $100 $125
    Member, Higher Ed $50 $75 $100
    Non-Member, Higher Ed $100
    $125
    $150

    Become a member to save money on your registration! Individual memberships start at just $25. 

    GVSU faculty with active RC accounts can register at no charge! Start by creating an account, give us few hour to review and approve it, then activate your account, set up your password, and you'll be ready to register!


    LODGING AND FOOD
    A block of hotel rooms have been reserved at the Holiday Inn Grand Rapids Downtown (310 Pearl St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504) just a few minutes walk away from the conference venue. To reserve a room at the group rate of $139 per night, please call the hotel directly at 616-235-7611 by October 22, and indicate that you’re part of the Reacting to the Past Conference at the GVSU Pew Center.

    Daily breakfast will be provided at the conference venue, buffet lunches at Pide & Stick, less than half a mile (or an 8-minute walk) from the conference venue, and Friday dinner will be at House Rules Board Game- Lounge, about 1.2 miles away (a 25-minute walk, or a  5-minute car trip).  If you have concerns about accessibility accommodations, please let us know when you register.

           REGISTER      

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