Persuasion+Game+Description+and+Rules

English 204 Fall Quarter 2011 Dr. Crystal Lake (crystal.lake@wright.edu)
 * Persuasion: The Game **

Overview of the Game: One of the most enduring issue any novel by Jane Austen presents is the question of her characters. Do we love them? Do we hate them? How does Austen want us to feel about them? Are they round or flat? Do they symbolize something important? Do they act in ways that make sense and that we can relate to? What messages do they send readers about the nature of early nineteenth-century society? This game asks you to delve deeply into understanding Austen’s process and purpose of characterization in //Persuasion// (1816). You will need to read the novel carefully, and you will be inspired to find out more about how individuals could and did act during the time period when the novel was written. Thus, you’ll find yourself doing research on early nineteenth-century customs and practices. You’ll probably also find yourself consulting what reliable researchers have already said about Austen’s characters. You will do all of this because your job will be to either defend, prosecute, or judge one of five characters in the novel.

To that end, you will be placed into one of three teams. Each team will remain in tact for the duration of all five games. One team will always remain the jury. The other two teams will either defend or prosecute a character (based on a random pull out of a hat). You are responsible for meeting with and participating in your team. More information about what each team will do can be found below.

Throughout the game, your instructor will watch and assess your participation, and determine your grade by paying particular attention to 1) what materials you provide the class with, 2)the kinds of careful, close reading you demonstrate, 3) the critical thinking and research skills you bring to the class, 4) your confidence and reliability in presenting your case, and 5) your demonstration of collaborative teamwork. Your instructor will not participate in the games as anything other than an observer, although your instructor has the right to change the rules or procedures if such seems necessary to better enhance the learning process.

Once the game is completed, you may submit a 500 word reflection essay that describes how the game has affected your understanding of Jane Austen’s //Persuasion.// This will be graded based on its coherence, grammatical accuracy, and the quality of its overall argument. The team with the most wins based on votes from the jury will receive a 10% curve on this assignment.


 * Teams and Roles: **

If you are assigned to your characters’ defense, your job will be to defend their character by justifying and explaining their actions. You will do this by relying on two sources: 1) the information provided by the novel and 2) information about how individuals should or did act at the time the novel was written and published (i.e. around 1815). Therefore, you will need to read Austen’s text carefully as well as try out your research skills: in the library and on the internet, in order to better understand Austen’s characters. In addition to having one person in your group assigned to play the role of the character we’re putting on trial on a given day, your group may decide to have the following characters participate in the game: 1) Jane Austen 2) A nineteenth-century reader 3) A contemporary reader 4) Other characters as you see fit These are not required to participate, however. Your group may decide that the same students play the same roles for the entirety of the game; or, you may decide to share/rotate roles. You are also welcome to use groups to play a single character.
 * The Defense: **

If you are assigned to your characters’ prosecution, your job will be to criticize and find fault with the character and disparage their actions. You will do this by relying on two sources: 1) the information provided by the novel and 2) information about how individuals should or did act at the time the novel was written and published (i.e. around 1815). Therefore, you will need to read Austen’s text carefully as well as try out your research skills: in the library and on the internet, in order to better understand Austen’s characters. In addition to having one person in your group assigned to play the role of the character we’re putting on trial on a given day, your group may decide to have the following characters participate in the game: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">1) Jane Austen <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">2) A nineteenth-century reader <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">3) A contemporary reader <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">4) Other characters as you see fit <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">These are not required to participate, however. Your group may decide that the same students play the same roles for the entirety of the game; or, you may decide to share/rotate roles. You are also welcome to use groups to play a single character.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Prosecution: **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">If you are assigned to the jury, you will review materials provided by the prosecution and defense before the game and that you will actively listen to both sides during the game. You will then deliberate and come to a consensus about which one persuaded (ha!) you most to believe their description of the characters’ motives and actions in //Persuasion//. It’s possible that your decisions will go against the narrative told by Austen. That is perfectly fine. Your job is to judge your classmates’ arguments on their own merits. This means, however, that you will also need to do your own research and careful close reading – does the prosecution’s or defense’s case jive with how you interpret the novel? What you’ve discovered other researchers have said on the subject? What you’ve found out about early nineteenth-century society? After each game, your team will deliberate and decide on a winner. The decision needs to be one agreed to by the majority of the jury; a unanimous consensus would be even better. Before the next game, you will provide me with a sealed envelope that announces your decision; all winners will be announced during the final follow-up class session so as not to discourage or make overly confident either group.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Jury: **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Game Day Procedures: **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">You may circulate via our course wiki any information you would like to share with the jury and the opposing team, so long as it is //posted by 5pm the day before the game. You may not add information to the wiki after 5pm on the day before the game.//
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Before the Game Begins: **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">On game day, we will draw numbers to determine whether the prosecution or defense will begin. The first team will have 15 minutes to present their case to the jury. Then, the next team will have 15 minutes to present their case to the jury. These presentations must be uninterrupted.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Game Day: **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Your team may present its case in the manner that you think will be most persuasive: you may choose to perform a skit, make a speech, deliver an imagined dialogue between characters, draw attention to specific passages in the novel, examine a scholarly essay that supports your claims, or introduce an eighteenth- or nineteenth-century text that sheds light on a characters motivations or actions, etc.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">After the second team completes their 15 minute presentation, groups will have ten minutes to meet and develop a five-minute response to the other team’s argument. Then each group will have five minutes on the floor to present their response in the manner they deem most appropriate.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The last ten minutes of the game will be given over to the jury who can ask one or two clarifying questions to either group in order to help arrive at their final decision.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">After Game Day: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The jury will meet to decide the winner and share this information only with the instructor. //The decision about the winner of each game is to be kept in strict confidence until all the games are completed.//


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Game Rules: **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Maintain respect and professionalism at all times: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> All interactions with your team, the other team, and the jury – both inside and outside of the classroom – should be undertaken with respect and professionalism. You are each individually responsible for maintaining a civil tone and for conducting your work to the highest professional standards. Interrupting a classmate, disregarding a classmate’s perspective, undermining a classmate’s work, or disregarding the procedures of the game will all compromise your final grade.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Take responsibility for your participation in the game: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">A class like this demands that you actively participate by reading assigned texts, conducting independent outside research, and taking ownership of your team’s needs and goals. You need to be prepared to adjust your schedule as well as be flexible about the division of work and tasks among group members. Avoid taking on too much responsibility; avoid letting everyone else do the work. You are responsible for ensuring that the instructor can see the work that you’ve done for your team, and you will have to make considerable effort to ensure your presence and participation during game days.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Maintain the highest standards of academic integrity: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> You may not represent someone else’s work as your own. This is true in regards to the work of your team, the other team, and other specialized researchers you may consult. You need to explicitly acknowledge your reliance on other sources. For example, if you’re argument one day is based on the work of another researcher you may begin your speech with the phrase “According to [name of researcher].” Likewise, if you share information on the wiki, provide a bibliography of or a link to the sources you consulted. Finally, sabotaging the other team’s work by deleting it, stealing it, or making it difficult for them to conduct may result in a grade of 0 for your entire team. When in doubt about the integrity of your work, seek the advice of the instructor.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Failure to follow these rules may result in a grade of 0, both for participation in the game and on the reflection essay.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Schedule: **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Game Day 1: Sir Walter Elliot <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Game Day 2: Captain Benwick <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Game Day 3: Mr. William Elliot <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Game Day 4: Captain Frederick Wentworth <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Game Day 5: Anne Elliot


 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Good luck! **