Author's Keywords: Simulations, Comparative Politics, totalitarianism, Iran	Convention All Academic Convention makes running your annual conference simple and cost effective. It is your online solution for abstract management, peer review, and scheduling for your annual meeting or convention. Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! Click here for more information.
Association: Name: APSA Teaching and Learning Conference URL: http://www.apsanet.org
Citation: URL: http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p101368_index.html Direct Link: HTML Code:

Laible, Janet. "Putting 'Reading Lolita' on Trial: Teaching Non-Democracy in Introductory Comparative Politics" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the APSA Teaching and Learning Conference, Renaissance Hotel, Washington, DC, Feb 18, 2006 <Not Available>. 2011-03-14 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p101368_index.html>

Laible, J. , 2006-02-18 "Putting 'Reading Lolita' on Trial: Teaching Non-Democracy in Introductory Comparative Politics" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the APSA Teaching and Learning Conference, Renaissance Hotel, Washington, DC Online <PDF>. 2011-03-14 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p101368_index.html

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript Abstract: This paper explores the use of mock trials to introduce students to the ideology and practices of totalitarian governments. I draw on my experiences teaching an introductory comparative politics class in which the students conducted a simulated trial, placing the book Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi on trial for crimes against the Islamic Republic of Iran. I begin by describing the pedagogical goals of a mock trial and outline the structure of the simulation. I discuss the progress of the exercise in the classroom, focusing on the strategies of the prosecution and defense and on the impact of the characteristics of the totalitarian state on these strategies. I then examine the verdict and students' responses, both 'in' and 'out' of character, to it. I argue that mock trials can be invaluable for engaging students in a deeper understanding of the nature of totalitarianism. The workings of the trial revealed the preeminence of the totalitarian state in defining and enforcing 'morality' and obliged students to confront how the totalitarian state seeks to dissolve the boundaries between public and private spheres, redefining all behavior and thought in terms of revolutionary ideology. Furthermore, students were compelled to respond to 'courtroom' norms that at times appeared arbitrary but uncontestable, requiring them to negotiate the conditions of anxiety and uncertainty that totalitarianism frequently produces among citizens. I conclude by examining how this simulation might be adapted to other themes that are frequently explored in introductory comparative politics classes.

Re-questioning the Role of Religion in Politics: Secularism, State and Islamic Political Parties

Iran's Nuclear Ambition: Atomic Politics inside the Islamic Republic

The International Politics of Secularism: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Islamic Republic of Iran