Introduction: This site provides an example of an assignment
that my high school students have found both exciting and educational.
It can be used for any historical period, but I will use the Renaissance
to illustrate how it works. The inspiration for the assignment
is a PBS program created and hosted by Steve Allen called Meeting
of the Minds, which aired around twenty-five years ago. On his
program, Steve Allen would host four guests from the past. They
would generally be people from different historical periods. On
one show, for example, one might find Thomas Jefferson, Karl Marx,
Genghis Khan and Niccolo Machiavelli. Allen would lead a discussion
that aimed at highlighting the ideas, values, personalities, and
careers of the guests. The interaction between the guests was
the vehicle that elucidated emotion (anger, humor, pride, etc.),
as well as information. I have borrowed Allen's idea, adapting
it in two different ways. My hope is that with either adaptation
the student develops a greater empathy for the people who make
history, as well as insight into the clash of ideas and values
that have propelled the course of historical events.
Contents: