This semester, Dr. Mullgardt is hosting a new class titled “Critical Issues in U.S. History,” which deals with the students roleplaying different roles in different topics in history.

The basis of the class follows a guidebook titled “Reacting to the Past,” which explains all the rules of the game. In this class, students are split up into different groups (or factions as Mullgardt likes to call them) that were involved with the events. Within the groups, the individual students take on different roles and have to role play the different scenarios that are covered in this class in hopes that they can prove their side right in this event.

The scenarios being covered this semester are Anne Hutchinson’s trial in 1637, New York joining the American Revolution and the creation of the U.S. Constitution. As part of the class, students take quizzes prior to the game to see if they know the overview of the topic that’s being discussed. Once they pass that quiz, they are put into a faction and are then able to take on a role and participate in roleplaying the event.

They’re also given background information over the topic – which is done through primary sources – and have to use those primary sources to try to prove their point based on the role that they’re playing during the class. If they can successfully prove their point and persuade the other groups, then that faction “wins” that event.

While this may be the first semester that this class has been held at Millikin, this class has actually been held in colleges and universities around the country since 2000 starting with Barnard University in New York.

As part of the class, Mullgardt said that he serves as “the game master” as opposed to a typical professor role.

When asked how he came up with the idea for this class, he said, “This is a class I’ve been wanting to host for years, I’ve known about this class being taught at other universities and colleges, but I had to get other classes set up before I could get this class at Millikin.”

From the students’ perspective of this class, when asked why they took the class, Alice Moorehead said, “Well, I needed a history credit, but I decided that instead of taking a lecture based course, I thought it would be more exciting and interesting to take a class like this where it’s a new way to learn history by being involved with it.”

Another student, Amanda Skopek, said, “I want to teach middle school history someday, and I wanted to find a way to get kids who are not interested in history involved and it seems like this type of class would be a great way.”

Carla Franzene, another student excited for the course, said, “I plan on going to graduate school, and I really need to work on my public speaking skills and saw this class as an opportunity to improve. I also really enjoy board games and this class is essentially Dungeons and Dragons with history.”

When asked what the end goal of this class was, Dr. Mullgardt said, “I wish for my students to have a deeper understanding of events in history. Also I don’t want them to just learn about history, I want them to live it and see the impact it has on their lives.”