Reacting at Grand Valley State University: Thresholds of Democracy

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 14 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 14 different games this year:

• The Threshold of Democracy: Athens in 403 B.C.E.
• The Crisis of Catiline: Rome, 63 BCE
• Confucianism and the Succession Crisis of the Wanli Emperor, 1587
  
• Stages of Power: Marlowe and Shakespeare, 1592
  
• The Trial of Galileo: Aristotelianism, the "New Cosmology," and the Catholic Church, 1616-1633
  
• Korea at the Crossroads of Civilizations: Confucianism, Westernization, and the 1894 Kabo Reforms
  
• Modernism Vs. Traditionalism: Art in Paris, 1888-1889
  
• Mexico in Revolution, 1912-1920
• Hands off Africa!: Pan-Africanism, Decolonization, and The All African People‘s Conference, 1958
• A Different Kind of War: The United States, the Cold War, and Vietnam, 1963-65
• Chicago, 1968: Policy and Protest at the Democratic National Convention
• Changing the Game: Title IX, Gender, and College Athletics
• The Prado Museum's Expansion: The Diverse Art of Latin America
• Climate Change in Copenhagen, 2009

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

Friday, November 8

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9

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

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 and Saturday 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