ARTICLES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
HELP LIFT REACTING TO THE NEXT LEVEL!
Over the last year or so, the community--led by our Executive Director and Editorial Board Chair--has been working on a new vision for Reacting to the Past, that better meets the conditions we face in our classrooms today. We're calling it Reacting 3.0.
Our user base is wider and more diverse than it has ever been, and changing political, cultural, technological, and social circumstances have brought new challenges and opportunities.
If you've attended a conference in the last year, you might already have been part of one of the conversations, but whether you've heard of Reacting 3.0 or not, we want to hear from you!
Over the next month, we're hosting three 90-minute listening sessions to learn from you what you want to see as we move forward. You're welcome to drop in for 15 minutes at a single session, or come to all three. We've tried to cover a range of times and days to allow as much participation as possible, and we hope that you'll join us and share your thoughts on the future of RTTP.
The sessions will meet:
There is no fee to participate, but we do ask that you register so we can send you the relevant Zoom link/s.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts on Reacting 3.0!
PLAY A ROLE IN UPDATING A REACTING CLASSIC!
Join us September 26-28 for an online playtest workshop of The Trial of Galileo, which is being revised for new edition! In addition a play-through of the updated "Crider Cut," we'll have time set aside for you to ask questions, make suggestions, and offer feedback on how to make the game even better for our community.
WHAT IS A PLAYTEST WORKSHOP?Playtesting is essential to the development of Reacting games, even when a game is already established. Longtime Reactor and literal astrophysicist Tony Crider has created a revised version of The Trial of Galileo that we hope will, with your help, become the official second edition of this legacy game. You don't need to be a expert to take part in this playtest, but it's helpful if you've already played and/or run a few games before, and it's ideal if you've run or played The Trial of Galileo before. If you'd like a sneak peek at where this game is heading, and especially if you want to throw in your two cents on how to make the game work better for you and your students, register now! If you're unsure if this playtest is right for you, email Jenn Worth (jworth@barnard.edu) for more information.
THE GAME: THE TRIAL OF GALILEOThe Trial of Galileo: Aristotelianism, the "New Cosmology," and the Catholic Church, 1616-1633 is set in Rome in the early decades of the seventeenth century. Debates occur within the Holy Office (which supervises the Roman Inquisition), the lecture halls of the Jesuit Collegio Romano, and the palace of Prince Cesi, founder of the Society of the Lynx-Eyed, which promotes the new science. Students assume roles as secular faculty members as well as Cardinals who seek to defend the faith. Some embrace the “new cosmology,” some denounce it, and still others are undecided. The issues range from the nature of faith and the meaning of the Bible to the scientific principles and methods of the Renaissance.
PRICING Become a member (sliding scale for individual membership starts at $25)$40 for members $65 for non-members
SCHEDULE
September 26 - 7 pm - 9:30 pm Eastern
September 27 - 11 am - 4:30 pm Eastern
September 28 - 11 am - 12:30 pm Eastern
Register Now
REACTING 3.0: THE RETREAT
Thanks for being part of the elite taskforce charged with shepherding RTTP into the future. Below, check out the goals and plans for the weekend, which balances work time with meals, recreation, and socializing.
In advance of the retreat, which runs from October 10-13, 2025, we'll ask that you review a briefing book of concerns gathered from the larger community, and attend at least one of the several "listening sessions" we'll be holding online during September and early October. More information on these materials and dates will follow shortly.
THE CHARGE
There will be three working groups during the retreat. Each group will be tasked with creating tangible, actionable documents on their topic area that will be shared with the broader Reacting Community for considerations. Attendees will only participate in one the following groups:
PRICING
For you? It's free! (Remember: you're covering your travel; we've got the rest.) Jenn will have sent you a registration code already, but if you need it, just ask!
Friday, October 10 - If possible, please arrive at the retreat site by 5pm CDT. Breakfast and lunch options will be available for those who arrive early.
Saturday, October 11
Sunday, October 12
Monday, October 13 - Travel home! We must vacate the house by 11am CDT, and we'll collaborate to make sure everyone gets where they need to be on time.
Register here!
GRAPHIC TK
Join us October 17-19 for an online playtest workshop of Joe Sramek's Birth of the Public Sphere, a Level 3 game with connections to history, political science, sociology, and cultural studies. Over the weekend, you'll play through a slightly condensed version of this exciting new game, and have time to ask questions as to how to employ it your own classrooms.
THE GAME: 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. Other themes, such as the burgeoning Scientific Revolution, cultural transformations such as Restoration theater, gendered debates about the appropriate role of women in public debates, and the role of sociability in the development of major intellectual and moral theories are also foregrounded in the game. The game concludes by simulating the so-called “Glorious Revolution” of late 1688, resolving this significant event in English and Anglo-American history through a variety of player actions throughout the game.
PRICING Become a member (sliding scale for individual membership starts at $25)$90 for members $125 for non-members
SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)
October 17 7:00-8:30 pm Set up & Faction Meetings October 18 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Sessions 1 & 2 (November 1685 and June 1686) 12:30-1:30 pm Lunch Break 1:30-3:00 pm Sessions 3 & 4 (January 1687 Open Sessions) October 19 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Sessions 5 & 6 (Winter/Spring 1688 and Fall 1688) 12:30-1:30 pm Lunch Break 1:30-3:00 pm Sessions Loose ends & Debrief
October 17
7:00-8:30 pm Set up & Faction Meetings
October 18
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Sessions 1 & 2 (November 1685 and June 1686)
12:30-1:30 pm Lunch Break
1:30-3:00 pm Sessions 3 & 4 (January 1687 Open Sessions)
October 19
11:00 am - 12:30 pm Sessions 5 & 6 (Winter/Spring 1688 and Fall 1688)
1:30-3:00 pm Sessions Loose ends & Debrief
FUNDED REGISTRATION FOR DEI ADVANCEMENT The Reacting Consortium is committed to fostering a broad and inclusive community by subsidizing participation in all of our programming for instructors who are members of historically underrepresented and marginalized identity groups, and for those teaching at minority-serving institutions (HBCUs, Tribal colleges and universities, AAPI- and Hispanic-serving institutions). If you are interested in applying for one of these spots, please send an email to reacting@barnard.edu with the subject line “Funded Spring Conf Spot” by October 10, 2025 and respond, briefly, to the following questions:
GAMEMASTER BIO
Joseph Sramek is an associate professor of history at Southern Illinois University - Carbondale, where he also serves as program coordinator and Director of Undergraduate Studies for the History and History-Education majors. He is the author of Gender, Morality, and Race in Company India, 1765-1858 (Palgrave, 2010) and frequently cited journal articles on British tiger hunting and masculinity (Victorian Studies, 2006) and religion and greater senses of Britishness in the empire (Journal of British Studies, 2015). He is currently researching senses of British and imperial national identities as lived experiences in colonial India over the long 19th century. He is also working on a second game for RTTP about British politics during the “Age of Peel” during the 1840s. Since 2015, he has actively taught with RTTP and has played nearly 20 different games with his students thus far.
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