QUESTION: African Imperialism Games

[Matthew Swanson]

I've been teaching about African Imperialism for the past several years and have always tried to come up with a creative game to play about the scramble for africa. I've done some stuff with squares of paper but it never really works that great. I'm getting a smartboard in my room in the next few weeks and want to try to make it the base of the game.  I was thinking something along the lines of risk.

Has anyone ever tried to use a game to teach about this?

[Jeremy Greene]

Yes, TCI (Teachers Curriculum Institute) has a game that I find quite useful.

I've also used a Berlin Conference Scramble for Africa simulation - see attached (need to copy map from projection).

You might also want to check out the Africa DBQs from 2009 AP tests:  http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap09_frq_wo...

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap09_frq_eu...

 

Googling Scramble for Africa simulation gets a few hits:  

http://historicalsimulations.com/details.php?fileid=9  http://historicalsimulations.com/simulations/africa-scramble_simula...

 

[Matthew Swanson]

Thanks Jeremy. 

I found that Berlin Conference one last night when I was googling.  I wasn't sure how it would work but since you've used it i might give it a try. I'm going to try and find the TCI one too and compare.

 

I really like to try using games but good ones are always hard to come by.

[Alice Stapler]

I don't know of a game, but I was wondering if you had taught The Poisonwood Bible, a novel by Barbara Kingsolver that is mostly set in Africa?

[Matthew Swanson]

No. I teach a modern world and comparative cutlures. Unfortunately the curriculum is so full we don't do novels. Our English curriculum unfortunately did not change when the social studies one did so its out of sync now.  The curriculum is too full already before adding in novels.

[Jeff Brain]

I browsed boardgamegeek, and came up with this link:

game of african empires

There are a lot of games set in WW2, but a couple more based on European expansion into Africa.

 

The description sounds a lot like the game mechanics in Vinci, and more recently SmallWorld (Games of Wonder)

Sounds like a great opportunity to turn your students loose in the game design mode. What if you were able to get your hands on the above game, published in 1977, and let your students do it better with materials you've introduced?

Ian Schreiber's blog

Steven Egan's blog

 

 

[Patrina]

I don't think this topic should be approached as a game.  European imperialism had a very serious and ongoing negative affect on many people around the world.   Perhaps a role play that includes the perspectives of Africans.

[Jeff Brain]

I understand your reply, and agree that any setting, be it roleplay, game, lecture, discussion, should include the serious nature of the time, and its long term effects as part of the curriculum.

[Jeremy Greene]

I understand the sentiment, but the biq question is will they learn more about African Imperialism with or without a game or role play (fyi - this same debate occurred on the AP World listserv in the past few years).

 

I believe that the role play is an excellent way to show the mindset of European government leaders during the "Scramble for Africa."

 

Of course, part of any good role play is debriefing (see:

• Four Elements of Successful Historical Role-Playing in the Classroom
• Kathryn N. McDaniel
• The History Teacher
  Vol. 33, No. 3 (May, 2000), pp. 357-362
  (article consists of 6 pages)
• Published by: Society for History Education
• Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/495033 )

 

The DBQ I posted shows a variety of responses to that imperialism.

 

Lastly, an important connection has been made between African Imperialism (Germany in Namibia) and the Holocaust (funny how many people see that as much worse!).  see:  Niall Ferguson, War of the Worlds.

 

So, overall, it all depends on what the range of your unit looks like (what other lessons are you teaching?).

[Matthew Swanson]

Hi. I understand that you would like Africans perspectives to be involved in the activity but thats not the point of this activity. I address that in a lesson on African responses to imperialism. It would also be historically inaccurate to include African perspectives in a simulation/game about the effects of the Berlin Conference and the Scramble for Africa because they're opinions weren't solicited or considered, however, wrong that might have been.

 

African perspectives don't belong in a lesson looking at how Europeans divided up the African map.