Teaching About Terrorism

Extract

During the fall 1983 semester, I experimented with a terrorism simulation that seemed to engage student interest and heighten their awareness about the nature of terrorism.

I used the simulation in Political Science 221 — Introduction to International Relations. There were two sections of this course, which met three hours weekly for approximately 15 weeks. About half the students were political science majors; most were freshmen and sophomores. For purposes of conducting the simulation, however, it makes little difference what year students are in or what majors they follow. With the exception of a two-week unit on terrorism, the course devoted about one week to each of the standard topics normally studied by students in international relations.