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Group Project Assignment #2
“Good Guys/Bad Guys”
Due: Wednesday, March 5
This is a group project assignment. You’ll work in groups of four. Organize your own groups and divide your responsibilities as you see fit.
Preamble: In the world of espionage and intelligence, it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish “good guys” from “bad guys.” You’re about to discover why.
Research: With your group, choose one of the following individuals. Research their activities, philosophy, motivations and goals. Prepare a presentation to deliver in class on Wednesday, March 5, in which some members of your group portray these individuals as “bad guys,” while others present the case for them as “good guys.” Your presentation may consist of “speeches” given by each side, or a “debate” between the opposing sides, or, perhaps, in other creative ways. You may use props, costumes or anything else you deem useful. Some ideas:
- a “press conference” in which representatives of each view make their case
- a “prison cell” in which “prosecutors” attempt to obtain information from their captives.
- a “courtroom” in which the activists are on trial
- a “shouting match” or argument (TV talk show?) over tactics among dissident members of the group itself
- a series of “news bulletins”
- a “panel” presentation to a classroom
- Feel free to dream up other formats!
Your presentation should aim at 10-minutes, but class on March 6 may extend a bit beyond the normal time to allow all student presentations to take place. Because of your limited time, you’ll have to be concise. Your presentation must make clear to the class the essential facts about the individual you choose, the reasons they might be seen from different points of view, and the motivations for their actions.
It won’t always be easy to see these individuals from two points of view; be creative and broad-minded. Remember to try to place yourself in the timeframe when these individuals were active; it may help you discern the “good-guy/bad-guy” distinction.
Write:
Your group must submit a written bibliography of sources used to develop your presentation. There is no other writing component to this assignment. You’ll be judged on your presentation and your bibliography.
Select your individual from the following list. You must receive approval for your selections so that we avoid duplicates in our class, and so we get a diversity of presentations.
Note: These are in alphabetical order.
Aldrich Ames
James J. Angleton
Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, Harold (“Kim”) Philby (as a group)
Oleg Gordievsky
Robert P. Hanssen
Edward Lee Howard
Fritz Kolbe
Ryszard J. Kulkinski
Stanislav Levchenko
Ronald Pelton
Oleg Penkovsky
Jonathan Pollard
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
John Walker
Vitaliy Yurchenko
You may choose another individual if you wish, but you must seek approval.
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