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NWE Help: MOO: Instructor: Assignments: Scopes

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To see how this assignment works, check out Dayton, TN and the courthouse. To get to the Dayton, TN courthouse from Rolfs, type: 

 walk to subway

You'll walk through a circa 1925 New York to find:

The Subway A dark, forboding environment
clogged with the sounds of machinery and the smell of humanity,
popcorn, and hay. As you descend the stairs, you see a train idling to
your right. A ticketbooth fills up the wall to your left. Straight
ahead is the station manager's office.  The train is waiting to take
paying customers to Dayton.  You see a Bell, a Booth, a Sign, and an
officedoor here.

To get a ticket, which you'll need to get on the train to Dayton, type:

buy ticket from booth

Then, get on the train by typing "train" (type train without the quotes). You'll then see:

The Train You enter the passenger car as the train
slowly begins to move.  The percussive rhythm of the trains wheels
soon quickens to a continuous muted roar as you drift off to
sleep. . .  Fortunately, you ask the footman to wake you up just
before you reach your destination.  Are you going to Dayton, TN or New
York City? [Entering the first letter will suffice] A lonely passenger
sits two rows behind you, staring out the window.

To get to the courthouse, type "Dayton" (again typing Dayton without the quotes). Then, type "walk to courthouse" (again, type it without the quotes). You'll then see the courthouse. Feel free to look around. You can always use this setting for your own trial, or you could build a courthouse elsewhere.

Background on the Assignment

In 1925, John Scopes, a high school science teacher in Dayton, TN, taught his class the widely accepted but controversial theory that man had evolved from earlier life forms. He was promptly arrested for violating the recently passed Butler Law which made it a crime to teach ?any theory that denies the story of the Divine creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals? in public schools.

The resulting trial was one of the first court cases to earn the title "Trial of the Century," and in a sociological sense, the trial really foregrounded the deepening conflict between increasingly anxious and divided Americans. The trial was more than the State vs. John Scopes. The so-called "Monkey Trial" was a boiling point of sorts for conflicts of urban vs. rural America, Modernism vs. Fundamentalism, Progressivism vs. Conservatism, Jazz vs. Victorian morals.

Anti-evolutionists characterized the trial as placing God himself on trial. Clearly, the stakes were high.

In this assignment we will be exploring several aspects of this case as it, at the very least, demonstrates complex and powerful arguments from both sides as well as some very bad arguments. Therefore, we will be considering the trial as a case study in argumentation.

In this assignment you will:

  • Work in groups to research an assigned character develop a character sketch.
  • Create a MOO room to act as a meeting space for your group.
  • "Perform" as your character in a re-enactment of the trial's major debate using any MOO objects as props or defense that you deem necessary.
  • After the fact (individually), write a rhetorical analysis (news wire) of the debate as it happened in our class.

Your individual grade will be determined on the following criteria:

  • Your group's performance in the debate, character sketch, and moo space.
  • A personal report of how you feel the members of your group performed.
  • Your rhetorical analysis of the debate.

Caveat:

Remember, our goal is to explore the methods of successful argumentation within a (very) specific and powerful context. The debate itself over Biblical creation is still a matter of controversy. As such I expect that each of you will respect your classmate's personal beliefs on the matter and experience our MOO debate as your character.

Clearly, we will not solve this problem within this class itself but we will at least seek an understanding of the forces that created this particular moment in history.

Assignment Resources

Background on the Trial

Map of Dayton, TN

CHAPTER NO. 27

House Bill No. 185

(By Mr. Butler)

AN ACT prohibiting the teaching of the Evolution Theory in all the Universities, Normals and all other public schools of Tennessee, which are supported in whole or in part by the public school funds of the State, and to provide penalties for the violations thereof.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That it shall be unlawful for any teacher in any of the Universities, Normals and all other public schools of the State which are supported in whole or in part by the public school funds of the State, to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.

Section 2. Be it further enacted, That any teacher found guilty of the violation of this Act, Shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction, shall be fined not less than One Hundred $ (100.00) Dollars nor more than Five Hundred ($ 500.00) Dollars for each offense.

Section 3. Be it further enacted, That this Act take effect from and after its passage, the public welfare requiring it.

Passed March 13, 1925 W. F. Barry, Speaker of the House of Representatives L. D. Hill, Speaker of the Senate Approved March 21, 1925. Austin Peay, Governor.

Character Sketches

Please note that all of these sketches were done by the students as part of the research for this assignment.

H.L. Menken

William Jennings Bryan

Clarance Darrow

John Randolph Neal

John Scopes

More Specifics on the Assignment

Total project value: 150 pts (of the 1000 total for the class).

You will be receiving an individual grade for this project, but most of it will be based on your group's performance. As a group you must accomplish the following (either by delegation or collaboration).

  1. Research your character and develop a character sketch. This sketch should provide basic biographical information (full name, age, children, hometown, etc.) as well as a substantial description of his personality. The total length of this sketch should be 500 words. E-mail it to me by Wednesday. (400 pts.)
  2. Create a space in MOOville for your team to meet. I will tell you where to build once the infastructure of DaytonMOO is complete. Your job is to dig the room and appropriate exits, describe the appearance of the room, and populate the room with a few objects to make it authentic. This space should be ready by Tuesday.(200 pts.)
  3. "Perform" as your character on the day of the trial. Your characters and our discussions in class will shape the logistics of this event, but you need to be prepared to accurately represent your character within the context. (200 pts.)

The Courtroom Experience

The courtroom experience itself will be, above all, as orderly as possible. Remember that our goal is to situate ourselves in a historical context and experience an argument that depends very much on its context. For that reason, while you are welcome to program "Amen" bots, random, violent props or witnesses, I as judge may ask you to deactivate them or take them outside.

The proceedings will go something like this:

All of your player characters (i.e. Moose, Kareem, Adeline) will be in the courtroom as audience members. They cannot speak up in the courtroom. If you want to confer with a member of your group, use the `whisper' command so no one else hears you.

The only characters who may speak are the "historical puppets" I've given each group to operate, and any appropriate witness robots you've programmed.

The trial will begin with some opening remarks by the judge, me, and then will proceed into opening statements from both the prosecution and the defense. (note: since William Jennings Bryan and John Randolph Neal are both prosecutors, you may wish to confer with one another to make sure you're not overlapping each other's statements). The prosecution will then be allowed to call witnesses--which the defense may cross-examine, and when they're done, the defense may call witnesses, (perhaps John Scopes?), which the prosecution may cross-examine.

The trial will conclude with closing arguments from both sides, and the jury (me also) will retire to their room to make their decision at which time H.L. Mencken will deliver his press release on the proceedings.

After the trial, I may have some announcements, and then you are free to go. I'll email and post the assignment for the response/analysis essay which will be due next Monday.

This assignment is courtesy of Zach Whalen.