BALKAN QUEST
INTRODUCTION
Balkan
Quest is an investigative journey into the former Yugoslavia. We often
hear of fighting in places like Kosovo or Serbia. What is actually going on
there? What are the historical circumstances that have led to all
the conflict? Hopefully, this WebQuest will answer some of those
questions. Yugoslavia has a rich and complicated history. Its
modern-day events have captured the attention of the world, and
military men from many other countries, including the Scottish
regiments, have served there and continue to serve there to
this day.
TASK
There
should be a minimum of four and a maximum of five people in your group. All of
you will read the background section of this WebQuest and then you will go
to "Individual Tasks" to find out what your individual
roles will be. The goal that your group is trying to achieve is to
come up with a statement based on the information available
which predicts what the group thinks is most likely to
happen in the future in the Balkan Peninsula (the former
Yugoslavia). A simple statement of your task is below.
|
Based on the evidence
you have found, what is most likely to happen in the former |
BACKGROUND
In this section of
the Balkan Quest, each person in your group will gain some background knowledge
of the former Yugoslavia. That way, each member in your group will start
out with some basic information needed to understand the individual tasks,
which will be given explained next. Make sure to take notes on each
section you read as you will need this information later. Yugoslavia has
had a long, troubled
history. After Joseph Tito, the dictator of Yugoslavia for
thirty-five years, died in 1980 the country started to break up into smaller,
ethnically controlled regions such as Croatia and Slovenia.
A series of events
has led to many ethnic conflicts since then. These conflicts have broken
into larger wars on several occasions, involving other countries. The
Balkans have been called a "powder keg" in recent years because
trouble always seems ready to blow up at any minute. A Beginner's Guide
to the Balkans addresses several basic issues in the former
Yugoslavia. Be sure to read "The Basics" on this page and
"Wiping People off the Map." After you have finished, you may
go on to Individual Tasks.
Now you and your group are ready to study the Balkans in depth by choosing one of the following tasks. You will be the expert in one area for your group. Your group will be depending on you to give them information that will be needed for your final group prediction and report. In addition, you will write up an individual report detailing the most important issues on your topic. Go ahead and pick your topic and click on a box to access your instructions.
Now that
each member of your group has a deeper understanding of some of the issues and
events that have taken place in the Balkans, come back together and discuss
your findings. Each member should give an account of his or her
findings.
Then as a
group, come up with a statement about what you think will happen in the future
in the Balkans. This statement should be supported by evidence that each
member has assembled from the individual task. Once again, the group must
make a clear statement based on each of the five areas.
Before coming to any final conclusions, however, the entire group should view two web sites, one on the Vojvodina conflict and one on the recent election in Serbia. Does this new information change your prediction?
IMPLICATIONS
After you and your
group have completed the final report, discuss as a group the implications of
your predictions for the world today. This means what effect will the
future events in the Balkan Peninsula have for people in the Europe and other
places in the world? Think about how the events in this region of the
world might affect you personally. Could you be serving in the British or
United Nations military in the former Yugoslavia some day?
EVALUATION
|
Evaluation for Individual Tasks |
|
|
Weak |
Average |
Excellent |
|
Written Report: |
All four web sites are not represented in the report. Information is inadequate. |
All four web sites are represented in the report. Information could be more in-depth. |
All four web sites are represented in the report. Information given is complete and well-written. |
|
Knowledge of Area: |
Knowledge is incomplete. |
Knowledge is adequate, but some areas are lacking. |
Knowledge is more than adequate. The student has a well- rounded grasp of the subject. |
|
Contribution to group: |
Student has little to offer the group discussion. Student hesitates to join the discussion. |
Student has an average number of points to add to the discussion. |
Student has a great amount to add to the group discussion. The Student is never pushy or angry. |
|
Evaluation for Group Prediction (teacher and one other group) |
|
|
Weak |
Average |
Excellent |
|
Prediction Clearly Stated: |
Prediction is hard to understand. |
Prediction is clear but could be stated in a better fashion. |
Prediction is perfectly clear and leaves no room for misunderstanding. |
|
Prediction Supported by All Five Individual Task Areas: |
Some of the areas are not represented as evidence to support the prediction. |
All of the task areas are represented, but some of the supporting evidence is unclear. |
All of the task areas are represented. All of the supporting evidence is clear and makes sense. |
|
Report is Well- Written: |
The report is hard to understand. There are many errors in punctuation and spelling. |
The report is fairly easy to read and understand. Errors do not detract from the meaning. |
The report is very easy to read and understand. Punctuation and spelling errors are at a minimum. |
LIST OF LINKS
Background
Links
1. troubled history:
http://www.worldbook.com/fun/bth/kosovo/html/history.htm
2. Croatia and Slovenia: http://www.linder.com/berserk/gallery.html
3. series of events: http://www.religioustolerance.org/yugo_his.htm
4. A Beginner's Guide to the Balkans: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/balkans_content/
Ethnic
Differences
1. map: http://www.lib.msu.edu/sowards/balkan/map02.htm
2. ethnic divisions: http://www.lib.msu.edu/sowards/balkan/lecture1.html
3. Montenegro: http://www.montenegro.org/glance.html
4. origins: http://www.montenegro.org/origins.html
Religious
Differences
1. religious beliefs: http://www.religioustolerance.org/war_koso.htm
2. converted: http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/6/0,5716,125456+1+115203,00.html?query=religion%20bosnia
3. conflicts: http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/archives/070299/070299q.htm
4. religious issues: http://fyi.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/kosovo/notebook/0127/
Human
Rights
1. abuses: http://europe.cnn.com/WORLD/9607/09/bosnia.graves/index.html
2. follow-up: http://europe.cnn.com/WORLD/9607/12/srebrenica.aniv/index.html
3. human rights: http://humanrights.about.com/newsissues/humanrights/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?
site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hrw.org%2Fresearch%2Fyugoslavia.html
4. issue: http://www.hrw.org/hrw/campaigns/kosovo98/photo.shtml
The
Bosnian War
1. information: http://www.abcnews.go.com/reference/countries/BK.html
2. Siege: http://campus.northpark.edu/history//WebChron/EastEurope/SarajevoSiege.html
3. trials: http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/Bosnia/updates/9607/01/war.crimes/
4. after: http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/Bosnia/index.html
The
Kosovo Conflict
1. background: http://www.kosovo.mod.uk/index.htm
2. NATO: http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9810/12/kosovo.01/index.html
3. refugees: http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9903/09/kosovo.03/
4. bombing: http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9903/23/kosovo.05/
Group
Prediction
1. Vojvodina: http://www.religioustolerance.org/war_vojv.htm
2. election: http://news.indiainfo.com/2000/10/07/defeat.html