RESPOND 

 

1. What is the difference between the island of Ireland and the country of Ireland? Which country does Northern Ireland belong to?

 

2. What is an “orange parade”? Who marches in them, and what is their goal?

 

3. What does “The Troubles” refer to? What are the two groups involved in the conflict, and what do they disagree about?

 

4. What are “sectarian neighborhoods”? What kind of people live in them?

 

5. Assemble the following eight words into two groupings that characterize the two sides of “The Troubles” conflict: British, Catholic, Irish, Loyalist, Nationalist, Protestant, Republican, Unionist. Now, create an ideological spectrum with the moderate and extremist groups of both sides plotted on it.

 

6. What is “the peace line” in Belfast? And what are ways people in Belfast are working to establish a more collaborative, lasting peace?

 

7. What are the primary similarities and differences between Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs?

 

8. According to Rick’s co-author Cameron, why did Yugoslavia fall apart and the divisions between ethnic groups descend into violent conflict?

9. Cameron mentions the term “ethnic cleansing.” What do you think this term refers to? What evidence from the video makes you think this?

10. What is the Republika Srpska? Why was it created, and who lives there?

 

11. What was Mostar like in the early 1990s? What is it like now in the 21st century?

 

12. How do the primary ethnic groups of Israel and Palestine differ? What is the root of the tension between these two groups?

 

13. Why is the tension between Israelis and Palestinians especially high in Hebron? What evidence of this do you see in the city?

 

14. What are settlements? Why do governments choose to send settlers to new territories, and why do the settlers choose to go? What are at least two examples of settlers referenced in this playlist?

 

15. Why did Israelis build a wall to separate themselves from the West Bank? How do Palestinians view the wall?

 

 

16. Imagine a mysterious time traveler notifies you that 50 years from now, an armed conflict will tear your community apart. She won’t give you any details but says that the conflict is preventable. Which disagreements in your community do you think are most likely to escalate to larger conflict over time. What could you do today to begin preventing that future?

 

17. Rick’s guide in Belfast says that “the majority of the people in Northern Ireland are the moderates.” If the majority of people are moderates that don’t condone violent attacks, how can such conflict continue? How can moderates—across all conflicts—take action to denounce extremism and promote peace?

 

18. Rick talks about the “cultural fault line” between ethnic regions in the Balkans. Based on what you’ve seen in this playlist, what factors determine ethnic groups and cause these fault lines? What are the cultural fault lines in your community, state, or country? Are those fault lines at risk of causing any cultural earthquakes, or are they stable? And if no conflict is arising, is there a problem with separation between different ethnic groups?

 

19. Rick describes the minarets of the mosque and spire of the cathedral in Mostar as “sectarian symbols” and describes the rebuilt “New Old Bridge” as a symbol of reconciliation. What are symbols of sectarianism or connection throughout this playlist? How about in your community? If you were to propose a new construction in your community to connect different populations, what would it be? How do you think people in your community would react to the project?

 

20. Rick says he interviews both Israelis and Palestinians living in the West Bank to understand both “narratives.” In regard to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, what is the Israeli narrative and what is the Palestinian narrative? And, what is a narrative, really? What is its relationship to reality? What are two differing narratives on an issue in your community?

 

21. Rick talks about both walls and bridges in this playlist—both physical and metaphorical. What is an example of either a wall or a bridge from each of the three conflicts discussed? What is an example of a wall or a bridge in your community? In general, do you think walls or bridges are more effective at creating lasting peace? Why?

 

 

22. Create a series of three illustrations of street art: one supporting the Loyalist cause in Northern Ireland, one supporting the Republican cause, and a third that promotes unity between the two sides.

 

23. Write a series of three one-page journal entries as if you were a young person living in Mostar during the Yugoslav Wars: one at the outset of the war, one in the middle of the war, and one shortly after the war. Be sure to describe both what you observe externally—sights, sounds, smells—and what you feel internally.

 

24. Imagine you’re a journalist reporting on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. Write an 800-word article about recent updates in the conflict. Include quotes from both Israelis and Palestinians. (The people and quotes you reference should be invented, but use the interviewees from the playlist and their comments as inspiration.)

 

 

25. Watch one of the longer-form videos of Rick’s conversations with Israelis and Palestinians. How do you think the person or people interviewed feel about recent developments in Israel and Palestine? How do you think their lives have changed since Rick interviewed them in 2013?

 

WA SOCIAL STUDIES LEARNING STANDARDS: SSS2.9-12.2, G1.9-10.2, G1.11-12.6, G2.11-12.3, H2.9-10.2