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To gain an understanding of what it was like to live under India's caste system, class members engage in a role-playing activity that assigns group members to four different groups, each with different rules for behavior.
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Concepts
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Instructional Ideas
- Before beginning the debriefing, emphasize again that the roles were assigned randomly
- Extend the debriefing period to ensure that all members have an opportunity to talk about the experience
- Use the activity to launch a more-in-depth study of the caste system
Classroom Considerations
- The activity concludes with a reading and discussion of a passage from the Christian Bible; however, this reading and discussion need not be included in the activity
- As with any role-playing activity that involves discrimination it is essential to prepare participants by explaining the purpose of the activity and why it is important that the roles be assigned randomly
Pros
- The roles are assigned randomly
- The focus of the post-activity discussion is how members of the various groups felt about their roles
Cons
- None