Browsing by Subject "India Buddhists"
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Item In-Class History Simulation: Mid-1940s India Conference of the Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims(2018) Arendale, DavidStudents are to seek agreements so that the Jews and Palestinian Arabs have a home. This history simulation takes place before the modern nations of Israel and Jordan were created and recognized by the United Nations. Discard everything known about the conflict in Middle East for the past fifty years. This region had been controlled by the Ottoman Empire until 1922 and then the British managed the area as a “mandate” until the Jews and Palestinian people could create one, two, or more new countries. A major learning objective is to understand the point-of-view of a world leader based on their group’s history. While leaders have their own personalities that impact their style of communication, understanding their country’s history provides deeper influences on their desires for their homeland. The United Nations was added to this simulation to avoid a deadlock between the Jews and Palestinians. The U.N. does have its own agenda which is not necessarily aligned with the desires by individual countries or ethnic groups in this simulation with the Jews and Palestinians. While students share a common Google document among the four or five, a student’s grade is solely depended on their own work. Students are placed into a small group so it is easier to see what other students are doing and perhaps receive some encouragement and ideas. The other small group Google documents are open to view as well. Students write interaThe simulation receives high approval by the students, often listed as their top learning experience. As noted above, an evaluation form is completed by the students. It is partially a reflection on what they learned and partially an evaluation with suggestions to change. Often, those changes are reflected in the curriculum which is updated annually. This simulation has been used each semester for over seven years. It has been effectively used in classes of 95 to 25.Item Online History Simulation: Mid-1940s India Conference by the Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims(2018) Arendale, DavidBefore the horrific partition of India in 1947 with the deaths of nearly one million Hindus and Muslims, students serve as members of the India Conference to find a more peaceful solution. They are randomly assigned to one of three negotiation teams representing leaders from the Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims. Students know the decisions made will be important for cultural harmony in the region. Students are to focus on the needs of their religious identity group and also consider the greater good for all current citizens. Among the questions that this simulation explores is whether there were alternatives to the terrible consequences to the power vacuum within India when the British departed and the U.N. decision to create Pakistan without adequate safeguards for safe passage, resolving land ownership, and simply the emotional trauma of splitting apart families, friends, and ethnic group that had lived together for centuries. Over the years, students in this simulation have created options for India preserving its current boundaries and more often actions to spin off one or more new countries. Despite India being composed of many ethnic groups, this simulation focuses only on the Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims. The bargaining positions for these three groups are sometimes more dramatic than reality simply to create a more energized negotiation environment. Many other ethnic groups would have been possibilities, but sake of simplicity only three groups were selected for the history simulation. The simulation receives approval by the students. As noted above, an evaluation form is completed by the students. It is partially a reflection on what they learned and partially an evaluation with suggestions to change. Often, those changes are reflected in the curriculum which is updated annually. This simulation has been used each semester for over one year. It has been effectively used in face-to-face and online classes of 30. They often share comments similar to face-to-face Yalta Conference negotiations simulation, some students find this activity a stretch since it relies on creative writing which is unfamiliar for some.