UPCOMING EVENTS

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ART HISTORY

ART IN PARIS

Modernism Vs. Traditionalism: Art in Paris, 1888-1889

Considers questions surrounding artistic developments at the end of the nineteenth century in Paris. Students will debate principles of artistic design in the context of the revolutionary changes that began shaking the French art world in 1888-1889.

6-7 Sessions 11-27+ Students 19th Century Europe Published Game (What's this Mean?)



THE DUOMO

Building the Italian Renaissance: Brunelleschi's Dome and the Florence Cathedral

Focuses on the competition to select a team to execute the final architectural challenge of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore--the erection of its dome. The competition at the heart of this game plays out against the background of new ideas about citizenship, aesthetics, history, and new technology.

4-5 Sessions 12-40 Students 15th Century Europe Published Game (What's this Mean?)


GUERRILLA GIRLS

Guerrilla Girls in our Midst: 1984-1987

The booming 1980s New York City art scene saw the emergence of a feminist art collective known as the Guerrilla Girls who exposed contemporary art world sexism and racism. Major questions for debate range from whether the art world is sexist and should embrace affirmative action to whether artistic quality even matters, who gets to determine such quality, and whether one can legitimately tie quality to sincerity of expression within a postmodern world.

8-9 Sessions 10-34+ Students 20th Century North America Level 3 Game (What's this Mean?)


MEMORY RECONSIDERED

Memory Reconsidered: San Francisco Pioneer Monument During the Culture Wars, 1991-1996

Amid the 1990s Culture Wars, players debate whether to preserve, relocate, reinterpret, or remove a controversial public monument. Debates are centered around the connection between memory and identity and the impact of history on public issues.

4-8 Sessions  12-31 Students 20th Century North America Level 3 Game (What's this Mean?)



MEXICO IN REVOLUTION

Mexico in Revolution, 1912-1920

Rifts between the elite and poor have led to unrest and a series of revolts. But with the ousting of President Porfirio Díaz there is a chance to reform Mexico and make it a better nation for all of its inhabitants. Will new leaders stabilize their country and prevent another civil war? Or will Mexico spiral out of control?

3-11 Sessions 14-35+ Students 20th Century North America Published Game (What's this Mean?)


THE PRADO MUSEUM

The Prado Museum's Expansion: The Diverse Art of Latin America

With an eye to diversifying its predominantly national Spanish-centered collection, the Prado Museum decides to curate a new gallery of Latin American paintings from the 20th and early 21st century. Artists and art dealers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay have arrived in Madrid to advocate for their paintings' stylistic and historical importance.

8-9 Sessions 10-28 Students 21st Century   Latin and South America Published Game (What's this Mean?)


VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL

Monuments and Memory-Making: The Debate over the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 1981-1982

When the Vietnam War drew to a close, the process of memorializing the conflict resulted in a tug-of-war over the national narrative of the 20+ year struggle. Students will take part in the conversations and controversies that emerged as the nation grappled with how best to memorialize what was at the time the longest conflict in US history.

8-9 Sessions 10-35 Students 20th Century North America   Published Game (What's this Mean?)



VISUAL ART

ART IN PARIS

Modernism Vs. Traditionalism: Art in Paris, 1888-1889

Considers questions surrounding artistic developments at the end of the nineteenth century in Paris. Students will debate principles of artistic design in the context of the revolutionary changes that began shaking the French art world in 1888-1889.

6-7 Sessions 11-27+ Students 19th Century Europe Published Game (What's this Mean?)



Democrats gather at their National Convention in Chicago to debate a platform for a deeply divided party. Factions are split over issues such as civil rights, infrastructure, and the war on poverty—not to mention the war in Vietnam.

5-7 Sessions 14-61 Students 21st Century North America Published Game (What's this Mean?)



THE DUOMO

Building the Italian Renaissance: Brunelleschi's Dome and the Florence Cathedral

Focuses on the competition to select a team to execute the final architectural challenge of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore--the erection of its dome. The competition at the heart of this game plays out against the background of new ideas about citizenship, aesthetics, history, and new technology.

4-5 Sessions 12-40 Students 15th Century Europe Published Game (What's this Mean?)



FOREST DIPLOMACY

Forest Diplomacy: Cultures in Conflict on the Pennsylvania Frontier, 1757

Draws students into the colonial frontier; where Pennsylvania settlers and the Delaware Indians (or Lenâpé) are engaged in a vicious and destructive war. Students engage in a treaty council in an attempt to bring peace back to the frontier.

7-9 Sessions 12-33 Students 18th Century North America Published Game (What's this Mean?)


STAGES OF POWER

Stages of Power: Marlowe and Shakespeare, 1592

Competition between two playwrights, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare, will decide who will reopen the plague-stricken theaters. One troupe will gain supremacy: primarily for literary skill, but also by representing the nation’s ideals and energies, its humor and grandeur.

7-9 Sessions 22+ Students 16th Century Europe Published Game (What's this Mean?)




Performing Arts


GREENWICH VILLAGE 2ND EDITION

Greenwich Village, 1913: Suffrage, Labor, and the New Woman, Second Edition

This game takes students to the beginning of the modern era when urbanization, industrialization, and massive waves of immigration were transforming the U.S. way of life. Suffragists and Labor organizers converge in Greenwich Village to debate their views with bohemians who seek personal transformations to create the new men and women of the twentieth century. Students must decide which social changes are most needed, the ideals they espouse, and the best ways to realize their goals.

8-9 Sessions 15-35 Students 20th Century North America Published Game (What's this Mean?)



GREENWICH VILLAGE

Greenwich Village, 1913: Suffrage, Labor, and the New Woman

Immerses students in the radical possibilities unlocked by the modern age. Exposed to ideas like women's suffrage, socialism, birth control, and anarchism, students experiment with forms of political participation and bohemian self-discovery.

8-9 Sessions 15-35 Students 20th Century North America Published Game (What's this Mean?)


STAGES OF POWER

Stages of Power: Marlowe and Shakespeare, 1592

Competition between two playwrights, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare, will decide who will reopen the plague-stricken theaters. One troupe will gain supremacy: primarily for literary skill, but also by representing the nation’s ideals and energies, its humor and grandeur.

7-9 Sessions 22+ Students 16th Century Europe Published Game (What's this Mean?)




CREATIVE WRITING

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ATHENS, 403 BCE

The Threshold of Democracy: Athens in 403 B.C.E.

In the wake of Athenian military defeat and rebellion, advocates of democracy have reopened the Assembly; but stability remains elusive. As members of the Assembly, players must contend with divisive issues like citizenship, elections, remilitarization, and dissent.

7-15 Sessions 11-50 Students 5th Century BCE Europe Published Game (What's this Mean?) 


BIRTH OF THE PUBLIC SPHERE

Politics, Religion, and the Birth of the Public Sphere: England, 1685-1688

Places students in the turbulent political and religious debates of late seventeenth century England, debates that were fundamental in shaping modern civil society. Concludes by simulating the so-called “Glorious Revolution” of late 1688, resolving important player actions throughout the game.

3-6 Sessions 12-35 Students 17th Century Europe Level 3 Game (What's this Mean?)



Democrats gather at their National Convention in Chicago to debate a platform for a deeply divided party. Factions are split over issues such as civil rights, infrastructure, and the war on poverty—not to mention the war in Vietnam.

5-7 Sessions 14-61 Students 21st Century North America Published Game (What's this Mean?)



CRISIS OF CATILINE

The Crisis of Catiline: Rome, 63 BCE

Rome, 63 BCE: a tumultuous year of urban and rural unrest, economic instability, sensational trials, and electoral misconduct. Rumors that Lucius Sergius Catiline is plotting to violently seize control have created a frenzy. You are a Roman senator. Can you save the Republic…and yourself?

2-8 Sessions 8-41 Students 1st Century BCE Europe Published Game (What's this Mean?)


ENDING THE TROUBLES

Ending the Troubles: Religion, Nationalism, and the Search for Peace and Democracy in Northern Ireland, 1997-1998

After 30 years of bloody conflict, the British government convenes Multi-Party Talks to try to establish a new relationship within Northern Ireland. Players will represent the major parties in Northern Ireland as they reconvene at the Multi-Party talks in 1997 to confront what to do about the issue of decommissioning and to try to make progress on discussion of the three Strands. Much is at stake for another failure could lead to a full resumption of the civil war.

6-13 Sessions 28+ Students 20th Century Europe Published Game (What's this Mean?



THE FOURTH CRUSADE

The Remaking of the Medieval World, 1204: The Fourth Crusade

Allows students to understand and experience one of the greatest medieval atrocities: the sack of the Constantinople by a crusader army, and the subsequent reshaping of the Byzantine Empire. Balances secular and theological issues at the core of the East-West Schism.

6-12 Sessions 12-52 Students 13th Century Europe, SW Asia Published Game (What's this Mean?)



GREENWICH VILLAGE 2ND EDITION

Greenwich Village, 1913: Suffrage, Labor, and the New Woman, Second Edition

This game takes students to the beginning of the modern era when urbanization, industrialization, and massive waves of immigration were transforming the U.S. way of life. Suffragists and Labor organizers converge in Greenwich Village to debate their views with bohemians who seek personal transformations to create the new men and women of the twentieth century. Students must decide which social changes are most needed, the ideals they espouse, and the best ways to realize their goals.

8-9 Sessions 15-35 Students 20th Century North America Published Game (What's this Mean?)


JAPANESE EXCLUSION

Japanese Exclusion in California, 1906-1915

In the wake of the 1906 earthquake, a progressively-minded San Francisco School Board votes to remove Japanese schoolchildren from their regular schools in order to send them to the segregated “Oriental School” in Chinatown. This event occurs against a backdrop of violent attacks on Japanese people in California.

6-12 Sessions 10-42 Students 20th Century North America Level 3 Game (What's this Mean?)


RUSSIAN LITERARY JOURNALS

Russian Literary Journals, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy in St. Petersburg, 1877

Editors, writers, censors, and businesspeople will compete to produce a successful literary journal, which requires a nuanced understanding of political philosophies and writing styles as well as solid finances and social connections. Roles, will give students the option of producing their own creative work, analyzing an existing work, or commenting on social issues in Elena Shtakenshneider’s literary salon.

8-17 Sessions 15-30 Students 19th Century Europe/Asia Level 4 Game (What's this Mean?)


THE SECOND CRUSADE

The Second Crusade: The War Council of Acre, 1148

Takes place at the War Council of Acre in 1148, as the Pope has called for a second crusade. The council must debate the idea of “crusading,” the justifications for holy war, who will lead it, and how it will be conducted. Players become the monarchs, barons, and religious authorities present at the council. They are informed by the New Testament and the Qur’an, as well as the writers who described it. At the end, players will find out if their crusade was a success!

7-9 Sessions 15-30 Students 12th Century Europe, SW Asia Level 3 Game (What's this Mean?)


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