Task:

You find yourself living in a tumultuous time for the people of the United States, the USSR, and the nations of Europe.  The differences in opinion are dividing you and your neighbors, as well as dividing the individual nations of the world. 

As a historian and journalist, your task is to examine a variety of documents and then to research a leading representative of the region you have been assigned.  You will then "interview" this person and compile a transcript of your meeting (directions can be found under PROCESS).

After careful review of your materials and the interviews, you and your group must determine who is ultimately at fault for the disintegration of relations between the superpowers and the division of Europe. 

Your product will be an article written for an historical journal that analyzes the historical perspectives and recommends a fair assessment of the situation.  Remember, historical journals expect you to be able to cite factual information to support your viewpoint.  Since your article will be published, your analysis and evidence must be considered very carefully. 

Role:

You have been assigned the role of a journalist/historian from either the United States, the USSR, an Eastern European nation, or a Western European nation.  The following will more fully describe your role:

1.  You will be responsible for gathering useful and relevant information regarding the various perspective of leaders and citizens from nations involved in the cold war.

2.  You will make judgments about source reliability, bias and perspective as you evaluate the information you find.

3.  You will research the cold war and the issues involved.

3.  You will each conduct an imaginary interview with a real person who represented the viewpoint you have been assigned.

4.  You will prepare a written transcript of your interview.

5.  You will share your findings with your group on time.

6.  You will form an opinion with the rest of your group on the responsibility for the cold war that can be substantiated by facts uncovered in your research and share that opinion in a scholarly article.

7.  You will contribute positively to our Socratic seminar when it occurs.