Gaming the Government: Reacting to the Past in European History

In Gaming the Government, you immerse yourself in different societies as you take on the role of historical characters in role-play and simulation games. Through the exploration of distinct governmental structures, at particular times in world history, you wheel, deal, and scheme behind closed doors to advance your own agenda (often at the expense of your classmates’) in order to win each game. Over the course of the semester, you may be assigned the role of an Athenian orator, and a Catholic priest in revolutionary France, with a brief stint as Queen Elizabeth’s most trusted adviser, William Cecil; alternatively, you could begin the semester Athenian general, then briefly become a plague doctor in medieval Norwich, and end the course as King Louis XVI of France—before his head topples into a basket, of course. Ultimately, in this class, the course of history is not up to the history books; it’s up to you. As with all games, and as with all historical battles, there will be winners and losers; in remaking these worlds, we may even rewrite history, but you will gain a greater appreciation for analyzing primary sources, persuading your classmates through written work and public speeches, and debating large scale ideas about the nature of government in both the public and the back-room spheres of history.