guide
The Web site will offer teachers' guides for use in high school and college level classrooms. Discussion questions and activities will feature strategies for analyzing evidence and historical context presented in both the film and Web site. Teachers will use such materials as historical documents, interviews, dramatizations, timelines, book reviews, bibliographies, art, and comparative historical cases to closely involve students in the process of critically interpreting history.
Themes for Discussion:
- values
- social classes
- technology/forensics
- role of government
- role of media
- prejudice
- psychology/group psychology
- economics
- art history
- law --> evidence
Discussion Questions Before Watching the Film:
1. What are the jobs of historians? What are their goals? What evidence do they use? How do they sift through conflicting accounts and facts?
2. What are the roles of judge, prosecutor, and defender in the American legal system? Do checks and balances exist between the groups?
3. What is the job of jury members? What is "reasonable doubt?"
4a. How might historical context affect a legal trial? Discuss in terms of such famous trials as the Sacco and Vanzetti case, the O.J. Simpson murder trial, and/or the impeachment trial of President Clinton.
4b. How does social class affect a legal trial? Discuss in terms of trials listed above.
Discussion Questions After Watching the Film:
1a. How does historian Simon Schama present his findings? What was his process as historian?
1b. Does Simon Schama believe John Webster got a fair trial? How did he reach his conclusion? What evidence did he use?
2a. Why might people outside the courtroom believe in John Webster's
innocence? What preconceived ideas might they have had about him? How did the media portray him?
2b. What preconceived ideas might the jury have about John Webster? Ephraim Littlefield? George Parkman? How might these thoughts and feelings contribute to the trial's outcome?
3. How is watching this film different than reading a book? What materialsdid the filmmakers use? What materials does a (an?) historian writing a book use? Do their goals differ?
Activities:
1. Use the "Schools of History" section of the Web site to discuss different approaches to history with students. Divide the class into groupsand assign each a perspective: Marxist, feminist, literary, cultural, social, and political, among others. Have them present the meaning of the trial from these diverse viewpoints.
2. Have students compare different historians' views on the Parkman case. Use the Web site bibliography to research books on the subject. Have students present the case to the class representing varying accounts. Afterwards, discuss processes used by the historians and discrepencies between accounts.
3. Ask students to choose a local court case to study. Have them research it using primary sources, interviews, and media accounts. Ask them to present their findings and conclusions in a report or using whatever media available (videotape, Web page, multimedia presentation).
