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REACTING CONFERENCE AT GVSU
Thresholds of Democracy

November 7-9, 2024 | Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI


Grand Valley State University has been a stalwart of Reacting for many years and has done much to spread this pedagogy in the Upper Midwest. Now, this Founding Institutional Member of the Consortium is hosting a three-day “sampler event” November 7-9 for high school and college faculty looking to reinvigorate their classrooms. 


Theme

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.

Keynote: Nadine Strossen

Nadine Strossen, the John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law Emerita at New York Law School and past President of the American Civil Liberties Union (1991-2008), is a Senior Fellow with FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights and Education) and a leading expert and frequent speaker/media commentator on constitutional law and civil liberties, who has testified before Congress on multiple occasions. She serves on the advisory boards of the ACLU, Academic Freedom Alliance, Heterodox Academy, National Coalition Against Censorship, and the University of Austin.

Programming

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:

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.

    Sessions for High School and Language Instructors
    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.

    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 Eastern.

    The conference will take place in DeVos E in GVSU’s Pew Campus, downtown Grand Rapids.

    Thursday, November 7

    8:00 AM-9:00 AM


    9:00-12:00 PM

    BREAKFAST & WELCOMES

    8:30: Remarks from Donovan Anderson, Dean, GVSU College of Liberal Arts & Sciences


    MORNING SESSION (CHOOSE ONE)

    • Game: Changing the Game: Title IX, Gender, and College Athletics (GM: Kelly McFall, Newman University)
    • Game: A Different Kind of War: The United States, the Cold War, and Vietnam, 1963-65 (GM: Nick Proctor, Simpson College)
    • Non-Reacting microgame (offered from 10:30-12:00): Monumental Consequence (GM: Anne Caillaud, GVSU)

    12:00-2:00 PM

    LUNCH & REMARKS at Pide & Stick, 428 Bridge St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504

    12:45: Remarks from Christine Rener, Vice Provost, Instructional Development & Innovation; Director, Pew Faculty Teaching & Learning Center


    2:00-5:00 PM

    AFTERNOON SESSION (CHOOSE ONE)

    5:30-6:30 PM

    PRE-DINNER HAPPY HOUR

    Tonight's meal is up to you. If you wish, you can meet your colleagues at the Holiday Inn (310 Pearl St NW) to socialize and make plans for any of the dozen nearby restaurants. Emcee Cameron Jones will help you choose!

    Friday, November 8

    8:00-9:00 AM

    BREAKFAST & NOTES

    8:30: Remarks from Roger Gilles, Director, Meijer Honors College


    9:00 AM-12:00 PM

    MORNING SESSION (CHOOSE ONE)


    12:00-2:00 PM

    LUNCH & REMARKS at Pide & Stick, 428 Bridge St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504


    12:45: Remarks from conference co-organizers


    2:00-5:00 PM

    AFTERNOON SESSION (CHOOSE ONE)


    6:00-9:00 PM

    DINNER BUFFET AND GAME NIGHT at House Rules Board Game Lounge, 404 Ionia Ave SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 with Emcee Cameron Jones.

    Saturday, November 9

    8:00-9:00 AM

    9:00 AM-12:00 PM

    BREAKFAST & REMARKS

    8:30: Remarks from conference co-organizers


    MORNING SESSION (CHOOSE ONE)


    12:00-2:00 PM

    LUNCH & REMARKS at Pide & Stick 428 Bridge St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504

    12:45: Welcomes from the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures - Janel Pettes Guikema, current chair, Jason Yancey, chair-elect; David Shultz, Director, Language Resource Center

    2:00-5:00 PM

    AFTERNOON SESSION (CHOOSE ONE)

    • Game: Chicago, 1968: Policy and Protest at the Democratic National Convention (GM: Nick Proctor, Simpson College)
    • Session: "Giving High School Students a Voice with RTTP Pedagogy" (Alex Rolnick, MICDS; Harry Shontz, The Leffell School; Mark Whitters & John Milkovich, Eastern Michigan U, Ross Newman, Monroe High School)
    • Session: Reacting to the Past for World Languages (Anne Caillaud, David Eick, & Janel Pettes-Guikema, GVSU; Stephany Slaughter, Alma College)


    5:00-6:00 PM

    KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Nadine Strossen, “How to Play the Game of Ideas”

    This event is open to the public and will take place in Loosemore Auditorium (DEV E), on GVSU’s Pew Campus in downtown Grand Rapids.

    Jennifer Drake, Provost of GVSU, will introduce Nadine Strossen.


    6:30-8:00 PM

    DINNER BUFFET at House Rules Board Game Lounge, 404 Ionia Ave SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, with Emcee Cameron Jones.


    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!


    Locations, Lodging, and Food

    The conference will take place in DeVos Building E in GVSU’s Pew Campus, downtown Grand Rapids. The street address is 401 Fulton St W, Grand Rapids, MI, 49504.

    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 dinners 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.

    Our Conference Co-Organizers

    Ellen Adams, Frederik Meijer Honors College

    Rachel Anderson/ English

    Anne Caillaud, David Eick, Janel Pettes Guikema / Modern Languages & Literatures

    Charles Ham / Classics

    Michael Huner / History

    Cameron Jones / Civil Rights & Title IX

    Dawn Rutecki / School of Interdisciplinary Studies

    Terry Stockton/Literacy, Educational Foundations & Technology


    Thank You to our Sponsors

    Thanks to generous support from across Grand Valley State University, rates for this three-day event start at just $25! 

    College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

    Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center

    Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

    Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies

    Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies

    Department of History

    Frederik Meijer Honors College

    Office of Civil Rights and Title IX


    with additional support from:

    French section (Department of Modern Languages and Literatures)

    Spanish section (Department of Modern Languages and Literatures)

    Language Resource Center (Department of Modern Languages)



    This website is still in beta, as we add details and edit information.  Please email us with feedback and ideas. Thank you for your patience and understanding.  

    reacting@barnard.edu

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