Guided Questions for Regional Topic Presentations

On this page you will find the guided questions that you will discuss in your subgroups at the end of each regional topic session. These questions are meant to further facilitate discussion and encourage critical thinking about each regional presentation.

CLAS Regional Topic Guided Questions

  1. What might be some effective ways street art could be introduced to K-12 students?
  2. How does street art compare to other forms of public art (such as statues and monuments? Do they play different roles in society?
  3. How can art be used to teach K-12 students about democracy and/or social justice?

CSEEES Regional Topic Guided Questions

  1. Why have there been so many “color revolutions” in the former Soviet Union? Why have powerholders been so afraid of them? What kind of changes have they brought about?
  2. What can protests in Russia and the surrounding region tell us about the connection between economic grievances and political protest?
  3. What can protests in Russia tell us about cleavages in many societies along lines of social class and geographic region?

EASC Regional Topic Guided Questions

  1. What are the key social movements and major protest events that characterize South Korea’s post-war history (1953 to present)? In addition to broad periodization, are you able to identify and describe the overlapping and interdependent movements like the anti-authoritarian protests for democracy, anti-violence movements with varying degrees of ties to feminism, peace activism that often connected with anti-militarism and environmental justice movements?
  2. Is bigger always better? Some protest movements draw a large number of participants and a lot of media attention, but does that necessarily mean they’re more successful than protests that remain small? Are small-scale protests inconsequential? How do we understand the significance of protest size and scale?
  3. Related the first question, what do we know about minority politics? Some might claim that minority contentions become winnable only when they become numerically significant, such as when their claims are adapted by the majority. But this is just one way that social change can take place. What are some ways that minority politics complicate our discussion of justice, normativity, and hegemony?

MESC Regional Topic Guided Questions

  1. Why might music be an effective tool for encouraging political action and creating solidarity?
  2. What are some insights we might gain about Turkish history and culture by learning about the role of music in protest and political activism in Turkey?
  3. What comparisons can we make between the role of music in social movements in Turkey and other examples from different places and times?

Pussy Riot Documentary Screening Guided Questions

  1. What does the Pussy Riot case tell us about the state of women’s rights and the expectations of women in Russian society? What does it tell us about the status of freedom of speech there?
  2. What aspects of punk rock (that you know of or saw in this documentary) make such performances an effective or ineffective tool for voicing discontent with societal issues, political issues, etc.? How do you think such performances would have been received if Pussy Riot had used a different genre of music (i.e.: hip-hop)?
  3. From what we’ve seen in this case, what roles have religion and the government played in the shaping of societal expectations of women in Russia?