Project Idea

Return of the Great Game:

Implications of 19th and 20th Century Imperialism on Politics in Central Asia

Author Judy Anderson

E-mail Address: janders2@mail.sandi.net

School: Kearny High School

Grade Level: Senior High or College

Principal Currlcular Areas Addressed: Social Studies

TPFS Section: Tuesdays @ Marston

Topic:

Shortly after World War I, Winston Churchill said "..."The war of the giants has ended; the quarrels of the pygmies have begun." He might have been speaking of today. Now, after the Cold War has ended and its accompanying euphoria has begun to dissipate, the words of Winston Churchill continue to haunt us. This project will cover an analysis of 19th and 20th Century imperialist policies in Central Asia and the resulting structural problems which complicate the development of viable democratic states, especially in the area of human rights and economic development.

Learning Goals:

Student will learn...

the competition for Central and Southern Asia in the 19th Century that became known as the Great Game
evaluate the damage done by 20th Century Soviet Imperial policy on the region
examine the way in which the region was "balkanized" , pitting ethnic groups against each otherop
to use Inspiration software to examine cause and effect elements of policy
explore internet sites to investigate current happenings in Central Asia
try to establish the nature of any possible direct or indirect links between earlier imperialist policies and current events

Learner Task:

The culiminating task in this project might be

learn and assume the roles of American State Department officials at the Central Asia Desk as they develop policy options for training the new democracies to deal with human rights issues, helping create conditions for conomic stability, and encouraging foreign investment in the region
attend the World Affairs Council's Youth Town Meeting and participate in discussions
conduct a policy meeting of State Department officials to make recommendations
prepare policy options which the embassy could recommend to the President for use in training

Resources:

What websites have you already identified that might be useful? What books, tapes and other offline resources do you know about?

Resources for this project idea might include....

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When you're done drafting your idea, erase all the green text prompts, and save the file under an appropriate name like tide-investigation.html. Your instructor or one of the mentors will collect it for you and it will be posted on the symposium website in a day or two.