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Group Project Assignment #2
"Oval office Meeting"
Due: Wednesday, March 16, 2005

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.

We'll have 6 groups of 4 plus one group of 5 in our class. You'll "present" your results in class on Wednesday, March 16. With 75 minutes in the class period, each group will have just 10-minutes to present.

Preamble

The President of the United States routinely finds himself meeting with world leaders from greater and lesser nations, all of which either want something from the United States or find it in their interest to curry favor or at least ward off U.S. hostility. Some of these meetings involve the U.S. requesting help from other nations, in one way or another.

Research & Present:

Choose one instance in which the President of the United States (and close aides) are meeting with leaders of another country. Investigate why the U.S. and your chosen nation are meeting, explore the issues they are likely to discuss during their meeting. Research their activities, philosophy, motivations and goals. Imagine the give-and-take of the discussion, based on your research.

After pleasantries (if any), the two sides get down to business. How does the conversation unfold? Are any agreements reached? Promises, commitments or threats made? Timetables established? Decisions to involve other countries? Actions taken or announced?

Prepare a presentation to deliver in class on Wednesday, March 16, in which members of your group portray individuals involved in the meeting between nations. Your presentation may consist of a reenactment of a meeting, “speeches” given by each side afterward, or other creative formats. You may use props, costumes or anything else you deem useful. Some ideas (but don’t limit yourself to these):

  • a joint “press conference” in which representatives of each nation make their case
  • a “shouting match” or argument (TV talk show?) involving leaders of both nations (either together or separately)
  • a series of “news bulletins” tracking the outcome of the meeting
  • a “panel” presentation by the leaders to an international organization (United Nations?)
  • Feel free to dream up other formats!

Your presentation should aim at 10-minutes, but class on March 16 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 your chosen international discussion, the reasons it might be seen by the United States and others from different points of view, etc.
It won’t necessarily be easy to see this meeting from two points of view; be creative and broad-minded. Don't limit yourself to military or political considerations; remember economic and cultural competition. In some cases, you may have to place yourself in a different timeframe.

Write

Your group must submit a written bibliography of sources used to develop your presentation, and a list of the members of your group and their responsibilities in your project. There is no other writing component to this assignment. You’ll be evaluated on your in-class presentation and your bibliography/list.

Form a group. Select from the following list, or suggest another choice. To avoid duplication and to achieve diversity of subjects, your group must receive approval for your selections. Feel free to suggest other ideas.
Note: These are in alphabetical order.

Belarus

Lebanon

Brazil

Libya

Colombia

Myanmar

Cuba

North Korea

Egypt

Pakistan

France

Russia

India

Syria

Indonesia

Sudan

Iran

Turkey

Israel


You may choose others if you wish, but you must seek approval.