Final Project : Building a Toolbox for Difference
This lesson is the culmination of the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Behavior class in which we have studied contemporary genocide, the history of the Holocaust, and various forms of human behavior during these events.
The scholar Samantha Power, author of A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, has suggested that, in dealing with foreign policy and, in particular, genocide, governments imagine a toolbox at their disposal. Each tool in this toolbox would represent a different kind of intervention at the disposal of that government: economic sanctions, condemnation of the genocidaires, military intervention, etc. The problem has been, however, that too often governments and international bodies fail to open these toolboxes. According to Power, the systems, or toolboxes, that may have been designed to prevent genocide, far too often “shut down” at precisely the moment when they need to operate. For Power,
You would think that the bigger the crime, you know, the more you would move along this continuum towards the more robust options. But it’s almost as though (it’s very human in fact, sort of anthropomorphized at the governmental level), it’s almost as though the worse the crime, the more likely we are to say, “Ugh, who can even begin to go there,” and begin to think about making a difference when you have, you know, 8,000 people being murdered a day and bodies, like piling up around the US embassy and other outposts.
So if the toolbox – if you think of foreign policy as a toolbox, where you’ve got all these instruments that you use at different circumstances, different times, and it’s not all or nothing – the toolbox stays shut again and again in the face of genocide.
Your task: To create a REAL, tangible toolbox that will help you recognize where you can make change, and will help you to make that change in regards to the acceptance of difference and elimination of difference.
Many different things can go in your toolbox, and there are a number of questions that you need to consider in the creation of your toolbox:
In addition to the actual toolbox, filled with tools, you must also complete a short essay that explains each of those tools and how you imagine you will use it.
Assessment:
Your tool box should:
This lesson is the culmination of the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Behavior class in which we have studied contemporary genocide, the history of the Holocaust, and various forms of human behavior during these events.
The scholar Samantha Power, author of A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, has suggested that, in dealing with foreign policy and, in particular, genocide, governments imagine a toolbox at their disposal. Each tool in this toolbox would represent a different kind of intervention at the disposal of that government: economic sanctions, condemnation of the genocidaires, military intervention, etc. The problem has been, however, that too often governments and international bodies fail to open these toolboxes. According to Power, the systems, or toolboxes, that may have been designed to prevent genocide, far too often “shut down” at precisely the moment when they need to operate. For Power,
You would think that the bigger the crime, you know, the more you would move along this continuum towards the more robust options. But it’s almost as though (it’s very human in fact, sort of anthropomorphized at the governmental level), it’s almost as though the worse the crime, the more likely we are to say, “Ugh, who can even begin to go there,” and begin to think about making a difference when you have, you know, 8,000 people being murdered a day and bodies, like piling up around the US embassy and other outposts.
So if the toolbox – if you think of foreign policy as a toolbox, where you’ve got all these instruments that you use at different circumstances, different times, and it’s not all or nothing – the toolbox stays shut again and again in the face of genocide.
Your task: To create a REAL, tangible toolbox that will help you recognize where you can make change, and will help you to make that change in regards to the acceptance of difference and elimination of difference.
Many different things can go in your toolbox, and there are a number of questions that you need to consider in the creation of your toolbox:
- Where do I have the power to make real change?
- Who is in my universe of obligation?
- What will I need in my toolbox to sustain me when this work gets hard?
- What will I have in my toolbox that will help me remember why this work is necessary?
- What do I have in my toolbox as far as a “difference alarm” to wake me up when I need to do the work?
In addition to the actual toolbox, filled with tools, you must also complete a short essay that explains each of those tools and how you imagine you will use it.
Assessment:
Your tool box should:
- Be a tangible constructed, creative, 3-dimensional box that is filled with at least 5 items that are your tools.
- Demonstrate effort, thoughtfulness and insight into our course of study.
- Clearly and thoughtfully convey the themes we have considered this semester through the tools and possibly through the toolbox itself.
- Be accompanied by a well-written, thoughtful piece of writing that clearly explains the tools found in your toolbox, their meaning to you, and how they will help you in your anti-discrimination work.