Debriefing from BaFa BaFa

-Note: The game itself will last about 65 minutes before we come back togetherIt is
vital that we T!I"T#$ follow the time scale%
-!emin& all 'artici'ants that the( are not to talk about the rules among themselves until
invite& to &o so%
-Bring ever(one together in the same room) sitting together in grou's of *l'has or Betas
+big circle if 'ossible,% +This shoul& be at --:.5/--:01,%
-Begin with the first -1 2uestions from the simulation itself +tr( to hol& to 31 min%,:
-see the &irection book in the BaFa BaFa simulation
-Then: +about .1 min%,
-4ow is this e5ercise 'erha's more useful in hel'ing us un&erstan& the e5'erience
of being a tourist or a business traveler than that of historical interactions6 7not
real cultures8 no change over time8 no communit(8 no sense of how it woul& be
&ifferent &e'en&ing on the conte5t of the interactionthese weren9t tourists%:
-This game is about momentar( contact in which 'eo'le come together briefl(
an& the se'arate an& go home% That was our theme from last (earfirst
encounters% ;ur theme for this (ear is buil&ing communities% "ommunities grow)
change) have long an& com'le5 histories) an& &on9t &isa''ear) even when another
grou' moves in% "ommunities in which cultures come together change both
cultures to create something new% <oreover) how the( interact &e'en&s on the
conte5t in which the( come together an& in which the( live together) right6 This
is even true for first contact: first contact was &ifferent when fur tra&ers met
Iro2uois or the <an&an met #ewis an& "lark9s team than when slaves met slave
tra&ers) for instance%
-o let9s see what ha''ens if we stretch this e5ercise to tr( to think about
communit(%
-=>=!"I=: % Imagine this: ?hat if *l'has an& Betas ha& to live together in a
communit(6 4ow might their cultures change6 If we looke& at the communit(
when their ki&s ha& grown u' an& become a&ults) how might it be &ifferent6
To &o this) we9re going to use some 2uestions about environment) societ()
'olitics) econom() an& culturebasic 2uestions that communities use to &efine
themselves an& their membersto imagine a communit( that inclu&es *l'has an&
Betas% These are 2uestions that will +as (ou9ll see later to&a(, inform our
worksho' this summer% =ach of (our grou's will focus on one of those 2uestions
for right now%
-<i5 u' *s an& Bs an& &ivi&e into about 5 grou's%
-=ach grou' gets a 2uestion an& a gui&e sheet% Drawing on what (ou
know about the two cultures +*l'has an& Betas,) I<*@IN= how these
cultures woul& change over time if the( live& in one communit(% 4ow
woul& the culture or communit( of their ki&s look6
-@!;AB:
-?here am I6 +think about environment an& +es'%, resources,
-?ho9s here with me) an& what &o we have in common6 +what will
the societ(relations among members of the communit( +e%g%
gen&er) status) etc%, work6
-?hat are the rules6
-?hat &o we &o for a living6
-?ho are we becoming6
-In (our grou's) talk about this 2uestionimagine how the communit(
might work in regar& to this one 2uestionan& use a 'iece of 'a'er to
write an&/or &raw (our answer%
-!e'ort out%
-#unch
-@et (our lunch%
-?hen (ou are eating) think about this: 4ow might (our/our vision of the
blen&e& *l'ha/Beta communit( be &ifferent if % % %
-*l'has con2uere& Betas6 +That is) forcibl( move& in among them an&
took over the societ(%,
-Betas con2uere& *l'has6
-The communities came together through immigration +one grou'
immigrate& in an& settle& among the other,6
-;ne grou' enslave& the other6
-;ne grou' establishe& a long-term tra&ing &e'ot in the other grou'9s
communit(%
-?hat other kin&s of conte5t might change the kin& of communit( that
&evelo'e&6
-?e9re going to re'ort out after lunch) so make a few notes% Then take a
break% 7ring a bell about -:11we9re recommencing in about -5 minutes8
take a break) go for a walk) etc% if (ou haven9t (et% ;r if (ou &i& this) then
be sure to talk about (our 2uestions now%
@rou' -: ?4=!= *< I6
Drawing on what (ou know about the *l'ha an& Beta cultures) imagine what kin& of
communit( might &evelo' if the( ha& to live together in the same communit(% ?hat kin&
of communit( woul& &evelo' b( the time their ki&s were a&ults6 In 'articular) (our
grou' shoul& focus on the environment an& resources%
*&mitte&l() this 2uestion will re2uire a great &eal of imagination since the *l'has an&
Betas are not overtl( situate& in a 'articular 'lace% 4owever) all communities are
ultimatel( groun&e& +no 'un inten&e&, in a 'h(sical 'lace) a 'lace that affects the
resources available to that communit() for instance% o (our Cob is to imagine a 'h(sical
conte5t for the *l'has an& Betas) base& on what (ou know about their societies an& their
resources% ?hat are their resources6 ?here &o the( come from6 Does an(thing about
their societ( suggest that the( have 'articularl( eas(or 'articularl( &ifficultaccess to
resources6 ?hat might that im'l( about their environment6 "onsi&er) as well) what each
culture perceives as resources%D ?oul& living together affect the wa( the new communit(
thinks about resources6
;n a se'arate sheet) make a listwrite a &escri'tionan&/or &raw a 'icture of (our
conclusions%
7D4istoricall() note that &ifferent cultures in the same environment 'erceive its
EresourcesF &ifferentl(% ?hile some folks might see the bison as a source of foo&)
housing) glue) bin&ing materials) etc%) others might see them 'rimaril( as a nuisance that
get in the wa( of trains an& cattle%:
@rou' 3: ?4;9 4=!= ?IT4 <=) *ND ?4*T D; ?= 4*G= IN ";<<;N6
Drawing on what (ou know about the *l'ha an& Beta cultures) imagine what kin& of
communit( might &evelo' if the( ha& to live together in the same communit(% ?hat kin&
of communit( woul& &evelo' b( the time their ki&s were a&ults6 In 'articular) (our
grou' shoul& focus on the 2uestion: who9s here with me) an& what &o we have in
common6
This 2uestion is one wa( of thinking about societ(the relationshi's among the 'eo'le
in the communit(% *s we will see) human beings organiHe their communities aroun&
certain basic relationshi's: famil() gen&er) age) an& status% $our Cob is to imagine the
wa( in which a communit( that &evelo'e& when *l'has an& Betas live& together woul&
structure their societ( +think in terms of these basic relationshi's,%
;n a se'arate sheet) make a listwrite a &escri'tionan&/or &raw a 'icture of (our
conclusions%
@rou' .: ?4*T *!= T4= !A#=6
Drawing on what (ou know about the *l'ha an& Beta cultures) imagine what kin& of
communit( might &evelo' if the( ha& to live together in the same communit(% ?hat kin&
of communit( woul& &evelo' b( the time their ki&s were a&ults6 In 'articular) (our
grou' shoul& focus on the 2uestion: what are the rules6
This 2uestion is one wa( of thinking about 'oliticsthe rules that govern how a
communit( works% These rules are agree& u'on) but are also conteste&% $our Cob is to
imagine the wa( in which a communit( that &evelo'e& when *l'has an& Betas live&
together woul& structure the rules of their communit(% "onsi&er) too) how these rules
might be conteste&%D
;n a se'arate sheet) make a listwrite a &escri'tionan&/or &raw a 'icture of (our
conclusions%
D7For e5am'le) if there were 'olitical 'arties in (our imagine& communit() what range of
'ositions might the( take6 ;n what kin& of issues6:
@rou' 0: ?4*T D; ?= D; F;! * #IGIN@6
Drawing on what (ou know about the *l'ha an& Beta cultures) imagine what kin& of
communit( might &evelo' if the( ha& to live together in the same communit(% ?hat kin&
of communit( woul& &evelo' b( the time their ki&s were a&ults6 In 'articular) (our
grou' shoul& focus on the 2uestion: what &o we &o for a living6
This 2uestion is one wa( of thinking about econom(the wa(s in which 'eo'le in a
communit( make a living +an& also what the( think Emaking a livingF means,% $our Cob
is to imagine the wa( in which a communit( that &evelo'e& when *l'has an& Betas live&
together woul& structure their econom(%
;n a se'arate sheet) make a listwrite a &escri'tionan&/or &raw a 'icture of (our
conclusions%
@rou' 5: ?4; *!= ?= B=";<IN@6
Drawing on what (ou know about the *l'ha an& Beta cultures) imagine what kin& of
communit( might &evelo' if the( ha& to live together in the same communit(% ?hat kin&
of communit( woul& &evelo' b( the time their ki&s were a&ults6 In 'articular) (our
grou' shoul& focus on the 2uestion: ?ho are we becoming6
This 2uestion is one wa( of thinking about culturethe wa(s in which 'eo'le &efine
their i&entit( as a communit( an& as in&ivi&uals within a communit(% $our Cob is to
imagine the kin& a culture a communit( that &evelo'e& when *l'has an& Betas live&
together woul& have% $ou have some evi&ence to go on) but (ou can also use (our
imagination with this) groun&ing (our i&eas in what (ou &o know about these cultures%
?hat kin& of religion) art) games) music) an& so on might this communit( have6
;n a se'arate sheet) make a listwrite a &escri'tionan&/or &raw a 'icture of (our
conclusions%
#unchtime Discussion
*fter (ou get (our lunch) come back together in (our grou's for a few minutes to talk
about the following:
7N;T=: This lunch/work time is sche&ule& from -3:.1 I -:-5% ?e will let ever(one
know when it is -:11) giving (ou time to finish u' (our &iscussion) take a break) walk
aroun&) or whatever before we recommence at -:-5%:
4ow might our vision of the blen&e& *l'ha/Beta communit( that we &evelo'e& before
lunch be &ifferent if % % %
-*l'has con2uere& Betas6 +That is) forcibl( move& in among them an& took over
the societ(%,
-Betas con2uere& *l'has6
-The communities came together through immigration +one grou' immigrate& in
an& settle& among the other,6
-;ne grou' enslave& the other6
-;ne grou' establishe& a long-term tra&ing &e'ot in the other grou'9s communit(%
-?hat other kin&s of conte5t might change the kin& of communit( that
&evelo'e&6
*s (ou reflect on these scenarios) tr( to kee' the five categories in min&% That is) if the
communit( that &evelo'e& came about because the *l'hans enslave& the Betans) how
might the view of resources) the societ() 'olitics) econom() an& culture of the resulting
communit(+s, be &ifferent than what we envisione&6