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GREENWICH VILLAGE 1913

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

by Mary Jane Treacy

Greenwich Village has been revised. Please double check your materials to ensure they're suitable for use in the edition that you're using.

A New Century, A New America?

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 are taking to the streets demanding the vote. What, they ask, is women’s place in society? Are they to remain in the home or take an active role in the political life of the nation? Labor has turned to the strike to demand living wages and better conditions; some are even proposing an industrial democracy where workers take charge of industries. Can capitalism foster an economically just society or must it be reformed, or even overturned? Members of these groups 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. The game asks which social changes are most needed, the ideals they espouse, and the best ways to realize their goals.  

ABOUT THE GAME

Details

Disciplines
Cultural and Social History; Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies; Labor Studies


Era 
20th Century; Late Modern History


In a Few Words
Suffrage, Labor, and the New Woman


Geography 
North America


Notable Roles

Emma Goldman, Crystal Eastman, W.E.B. DuBois

Themes and Issues  
Class, Gender, Race, Sexuality


Player Interactions 
Factional, Competitive, Collaborative, Coalition-Building


Sample Class Titles
Women's Studies; Roots of Feminism; First-Year Seminar


Level
Published Level 5 game (what's that mean?

Mechanics 
Rolling Dice, Randomizer/Lottery/Chance Element,  PIPs, Physical Props, Optional Simplified Die Roll, Surprise Letters


Chaos and Demand on Instructor 
The setting is informal, players have considerable freedom to move about and initiate debates, but the game is highly structured "under the hood."


Primary Source Highlights
 
Elizabet Cady Stanton, "Solitude of Self;" Karl Marx, "Bourgeois and Proletarian;" Charlotte Perkins Gilman, from "Women and Economics"

Using the Game

Class Size and Scalability 
This game can be played with 16-35 students. The Instructor's Manual provides casting for 14-15 students. The game also includes three Visitor roles for classes of 25+ students.

Class Time  
For this game, 3 setup sessions and 5 to 6 game sessions are recommended. The instructor can lengthen/shorten sessions with optional activities; Mabel Dodge's Evening can be in or outside of class time; game sessions can be condensed.


Possible Reacting Game Pairings
This game can be used on its own, or with other games. These pairings are meant to be illustrative rather than exhaustive or prescriptive. Greenwich Village, 1913 may pair well with:


Assignments
The assignments can be adjusted to fit the desired learning outcomes of your class. This game can include traditional paper/research/thesis-driven writing, journalism, creative writing, letter writing, and speeches. All roles have speaking requirements, but not all roles are required to give formal speeches.


GAME MATERIALS

Greenwich Village 2nd Edition is currently being revised and set to release in March 2023, you can read the changes made in the second edition below:

Gamebook

Students need a Gamebook, which includes directions, resources, and historical content. Greenwich Village Second Edition Gamebook is published by UNC Press. 

 Paperback ISBN:978-1-4696-7410-0

E-Book ISBN: 978-1-4696-7411-7

Published March 2023

 Available wherever books are sold.

Instructor's Manual

The Instructor's Manual includes guidance for assigning roles, presenting historical context, assignments, activities and discussion topics, and more.   

.docx file.

.docx file.

Role Sheets & Handouts

Students also need a Role Sheet, which contains biographical information, role-specific resources or assignments, and their character's secret victory objectives. 

.zip files.

Additional Resources 

Resources for Introduction and/or Debrief

  • Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times
  • Michelle Ferrari's The Vote
  • Steward Bird and Deborah Shaffer's The Wobblies



ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Mary Jane Treacy

Mary Jane Treacy is professor emerita of modern languages and literatures at Simmons University (formerly Simmons College), where she was also director of the First-Year Seminar and later, the Honors Program. She has been involved with the Reacting to the Past pedagogy since 2005, when she played a minor spy in the court of Henry VIII and then set out to write Greenwich Village, 1913, for her course in the roots of feminism. She has taught Greenwich Village in both women’s and gender studies courses and first-year seminars. A member of the Editorial Board, she has the privilege of reading and play-testing new games that take her to all eras and parts of the world.

QUESTIONS

Members can contact game authors directly

We invite instructors join our Facebook Faculty Lounge, where you'll find a wonderful community eager to help and answer questions. We also encourage you to submit your question for the forthcoming FAQ, and to check out our upcoming events


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Election of 1912
Progressivism at High Tide: The Election of 1912

reacting@barnard.edu

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