I'm feeling generous today so at the request of sipher (who is no longer around, but oh well) I will post a set of the discussion questions and Classroom Activities.
Discussion Questions
1. If you lived in a monarchy would you rather be the king or a slave? Why?
2. What is the central ideological difference between democracy and cannibalism?
3. You're a fifth century Greek city-state growing increasingly concerned over repeated Persian incursions into the central Peloponnesian peninsula. How many hoplites can you dispatch to Thermopylae without jeopardizing the tririemes comanded by Themistocles for the naval engagement at Artemisium? Show your work.
4. Does the expression "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" apply to all cities or just in Rome?
5. The notion that each individual has worth in society found political expression in the invention of democracy. What's bullsh*t about this?
6. Is direct democracy practical today? In a nation as big as ours, is it really possible to simultaneously gather the opinions of 300,000,000 people? (Log onto
www.americathebook.com to vote in our poll).
Classroom Activities
1. Have your students draw a topographical map of Greece. For each elevation they get wrong, punch one in the arm.
2. Give your students a taste of Athenian life before democracy by implementing a "Draconian" measure, like forcing them to wear togas to class every day for a month. Then celebrate deomcracy by being named the principal defendant in a class-action lawsuit against the school.
3. Have the class perform a real-time period-accurate reenactment otf the Protestant Reformation. That should buy you plenty of time to step outside for a smoke.
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