War Games

I would like to introduce my students to the realities of archival research. To teach them about archival research, we are going to recreate a war. I will divide the class into two teams. Before the war, each student will produce their own primary document to describe how they are feeling about the war, what they expect, and why they're "fighting" it. Each team will have designated leaders in order to recreate the military structure.

I will find a location (preferably a park with places to hide, thus enhancing the guerilla aspects). The students will draw up operation- and tactic-level battle plans on how they will take down the most soldiers from the other team. The war will last until the other team is either decimated or surrenders. When the students return to class (after having dried off, they will write their recollections of the war. They will name names: whose fault was the loss? Who was the most heroic? Who shirked their duties?

The major assignment associated with this course will the writing of a "primary source" narrative based on the documents the students produce. Additionally, I will insert some documents written by students I have specifically instructed not to participate. These documents will consist of hearsay, conjecture, or their own personal communications with the combatants. I might also insert a "forged" document or two, depending on how bright the students are.

This will enable the students to get a feel for the historian's work. How do historians choose what stays in the book and what gets left out? How do they choose what to emphasize? This project will provide an excellent opportunity for students to understand how difficult it is to truly understand "what really happened."