Background For Student Players |
| Comparative Politics is not one of
the more familiar branches of the political sciences,
although comparative country data may be an intregal part
of introductory and advanced political science texts. Comparative
politics should be distinguished from international
politics. The former examining politics within
individual countries the comparing the domestic political
experiences of particular countries with those of other
countries, the latter examining external relationships
of individual countries. With the global growth of the
Internet, the world's citizens now have an unprecedented
opportunity to examine the domestic political scene of
countries large and small, rich and poor, or at the
center of the news as well as countries and territories
at the edge of obscurity. With the help of Internet
directories, such as Yahoo, "travelers" can
also "experience" particular political
experiences from a number of contexts. To track the your
progress, a quiz engine will deposit and withdraw play
money from the your "fellowship account"
depending on how you answers the questions. By completing
this quizzical virtual tour of the globe, you will
acquire some skills necessary to use the Internet to
gather data and observations to make you a better
technician of comparative politics investigative
techniques.
Your main navigational guide will be Comparative Ben's Almanac, which is based on the CIA World Factbook. Comparative Ben is, of course, inspired by Benjamin Franklin, famous author of Poor Richard's Almanack (published from 1732-57), also known to his almanac readers as Richard Saunders. His almanac was loaded with bits of wisdom accompanying weather and astronomical information. The only person to sign the Declaration of Independence, in addition to the Treaty of Paris and the Constitution of the United States, Franklin firmly established himself as a key statesman among the Founding Fathers of the U.S.A. As worldly statesman, Franklin conducted important diplomatic missions to Paris and London. As a pioneering man of letters he started the first library in the American colonies. As a man of science, with bold inquisitive spirit, he performed his famous kite experiment in 1752 - proving that electricity is contained in lightning. With the inquisitive spirit of the famous Ben from America's birth, Comparative Ben will guide you through an inquisitive study tour of various countries' politics and governmental structures. |
Procedure |
The simulation game is divided into three rounds:
Students will first solve a crossword puzzle to prepare them for a virtual trip with Comparative Ben through the 15 countries listed in his almanac. After solving the crossword puzzle (using the Almanac and associated links) students will be given "seed money" to start corresponding with Ben as he embarks on his Geo-Political tour. He will quiz students on what he observes as he conducts his investigative travels. Students will share Comparative Ben's Internet travels through the 15 countries via a window on their computer screen. In order to get from one step in the journey to the next, students must answer the question at hand correctly or be charged GT$ 100 (globe trotting dollars) to be pointed to the correct answer, if they at first answer incorrectly. After completion of the Tour Round, students will be tested with a series of 7 questions -all about one of the countries in the Almanac. As players answer each question correctly one of 5 jig saw puzzle pieces of the country, in question, will fall into place. If they answer a question incorrectly, they will lose a puzzle piece. The object is to be able to fully assemble the country at the end of the round in the least amount of time as possible. |
Written Assignment |
After completing the quiz, students (or student
teams) may use the following discussion points to
structure their paper:
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