Imperialism on Trial
To start this project we read the book, Things Fall Apart, which was the central part of the entire project. While reading the book we were paired with a few people to discuss every chapter and to do exercises to help us understand and review each chapter. We finished the book before break, but once we returned to school we dove into the concept of imperialism, colonialism, and technology. We reviewed other events such as the Berlin conference, and how it was influenced by imperialism and colonialism. We spent time learning about this by playing a game that gave the gist of how the Berlin conference and more generally the Scramble for Africa worked. We then went into technology that influenced colonialism, we learned about this by doing activities such as Jigsaw presentations. With jigsaw presentations each mini group was assigned a technology that would be considered influential to the project/event (the three most influential technologies included Quinine, steam engines, and the Maxim Gun). Each group researched these technologies and shared with the entire class. After getting a good base of imperialism and colonialism and how they were connected with all of the other things we had gone over in class and how they were influential on the book and story we had read the mock trial was introduced. The mock trial was based on Okonkwo’s death and how it was connected with imperialism and colonialism. The lawsuit was based off of whether Okonkwo was responsible for his own suicide or if the British rule was responsible.
My role in the trial was to pose as a witness for the British. I was playing a Kotma/court messenger named Omuya, who was a Nigerian recruited to work for the British. I was testifying to the fact that Okonkwo was unpredictable, violent, and dangerous because of the fact that I had witnessed the Head Court Messenger being beheaded by Okonkwo. Having witnessed this I had a strong base to testify that Okonkwo was dangerous and unpredictable. It was challenging to play a Kotma because I was playing a character who had the disadvantage of being bad and cruel, so I had to defend myself as well as my actions throughout the exhibition which made it a difficult character to represent.
There were a lot of areas that I was able to grow and develop in, there were also areas that I discovered that I needed to grow in. The biggest thing that I grew in was my public speaking skills and communication. Being a witness clearly included testifying at the exhibition for direct and cross examination. Public speaking is something that I acknowledge that I can improve on and the exhibition was an opportunity for me to develop and practice on my speaking skills. Communication is something that I am good at and feel moderately proficient in. I developed more in communication because of the amount of communication that we had to share with our lawyers and other witnesses.
The way I perceive Africa (and other countries impacted by imperialism and colonialism), has changed a huge amount for me. After reading Things Fall Apart and then studying things such as imperialism, colonialism, and the Scramble for Africa the country's dynamic and current/past political situation came into light throughout the project. History is a topic in schools/in general that is often made to be perceived in a specific way, my understanding of the topic of imperialism and colonialism is a type of understanding that I was hoping to take away. Although my opinion on law hasn't changed my understanding of it has. Being able to experience the set up of a trial was interesting and gave me a deep understanding of the court and our justice system. Overall, reading Things Fall Apart, learning about British Colonial rule, and mimicking a court case has given me a deep understanding of the topics we have covered over the course of this project. Seeing colonial rule and imperialism from a different perspective has given me an idea of the many struggles and hard ships that Africa and other countries had experienced throughout the era of British/European colonialism. Learning about a different culture and religion was a special experience because I was testifying from an interesting characters perspective. This project helped me try to understand new cultures and the impact cultural and religious clashes have on social groups. I know that I am leaving this project with new found perspective, knowledge, and understanding of a different culture and religion.
My role in the trial was to pose as a witness for the British. I was playing a Kotma/court messenger named Omuya, who was a Nigerian recruited to work for the British. I was testifying to the fact that Okonkwo was unpredictable, violent, and dangerous because of the fact that I had witnessed the Head Court Messenger being beheaded by Okonkwo. Having witnessed this I had a strong base to testify that Okonkwo was dangerous and unpredictable. It was challenging to play a Kotma because I was playing a character who had the disadvantage of being bad and cruel, so I had to defend myself as well as my actions throughout the exhibition which made it a difficult character to represent.
There were a lot of areas that I was able to grow and develop in, there were also areas that I discovered that I needed to grow in. The biggest thing that I grew in was my public speaking skills and communication. Being a witness clearly included testifying at the exhibition for direct and cross examination. Public speaking is something that I acknowledge that I can improve on and the exhibition was an opportunity for me to develop and practice on my speaking skills. Communication is something that I am good at and feel moderately proficient in. I developed more in communication because of the amount of communication that we had to share with our lawyers and other witnesses.
The way I perceive Africa (and other countries impacted by imperialism and colonialism), has changed a huge amount for me. After reading Things Fall Apart and then studying things such as imperialism, colonialism, and the Scramble for Africa the country's dynamic and current/past political situation came into light throughout the project. History is a topic in schools/in general that is often made to be perceived in a specific way, my understanding of the topic of imperialism and colonialism is a type of understanding that I was hoping to take away. Although my opinion on law hasn't changed my understanding of it has. Being able to experience the set up of a trial was interesting and gave me a deep understanding of the court and our justice system. Overall, reading Things Fall Apart, learning about British Colonial rule, and mimicking a court case has given me a deep understanding of the topics we have covered over the course of this project. Seeing colonial rule and imperialism from a different perspective has given me an idea of the many struggles and hard ships that Africa and other countries had experienced throughout the era of British/European colonialism. Learning about a different culture and religion was a special experience because I was testifying from an interesting characters perspective. This project helped me try to understand new cultures and the impact cultural and religious clashes have on social groups. I know that I am leaving this project with new found perspective, knowledge, and understanding of a different culture and religion.