Revolutions

1. Identifying powerful underlying ideas

What underlying ideas or theories seem best able to organize the topic into some coherent whole? What are the most powerful, clear, and relevant theories, ideologies, metaphysical schemes, or meta-narratives?


The most powerful underlying idea or theory in this topic:
In most human activities things carry on according to a set of rules and conventions but at irregular intervals someone who promises to make things better initiates radical change. This happens in history, religion, science, and every area of sustained activity we can see. Is revolution a law of human affairs?

An alternative:
Is there a pattern to revolutions?

2. Organizing the content into a theoretic structure

2.1 Initial access

How can the underlying theory or idea be made vivid? What content best exposes it and shows its power to organize the topic?


Content that exposes the scheme or theory most vividly:
We can begin by examining in general terms political history and the series of prominent revolutions students may know about. Then we can look at the history of religion, and see how normal conventional practices are disrupted at regular intervals, creating schisms or breaking off as new religions, which those who adhere to the old orthodoxy label heresies. Then we can look at science, and see how “normal science” is interrupted by revolutionary theories that disrupt the pattern of normal science. We can then consider the Industrial and Technological Revolutions and their dramatic changes in forms of manufacturing. We can then ask the students to describe other forms of human activity, and ask them if they see a similar pattern. Forms of music, drama, entertainment, and sport?



2.2. Organizing the body of the lesson or unit

What meta-narrative provides a clear overall structure to the lesson or unit?


Lay out the content that will present a strong meta-narrative of the topic:
For this unit we could take an example of a revolution in the main spheres of human activity and examine it in some detail. Our alternative underlying theory might be brought into play here, in that we will invite students to see whether they can find a pattern in the revolutions they are to study.
We can start by re-examining the French Revolution, which most students will have studied in their history program. In this case we will direct students to focus on finding what caused the sudden change, why it should have happened then, and, in following its progress, what events were crucial in making it “revolutionary”, what was the main dynamic of the revolution?
We will begin to shape a theory of the revolution, which will be stimulated further by asking students to compare it with other revolutions. Different theories will begin to emerge as students identify different dynamics at work. The students can be asked to try to decide what is the essence of a revolution—what elements must be necessary for some change to be considered revolutionary?
We can leave the political and social revolution behind before reaching and firm conclusions, suggesting to the students that our understanding of revolution will be clarifies if we take a different kind of revolution. We might look at the birth of Christianity, or Islam, or Confucianism. Let us, for the sake of this example, take Christianity. We will ask students to study what we know of Judaism prior to Christ’s appearance. What was it about Christ’s message at that time that resonated so strongly with many people? Why should suggesting that one should love one’s enemies so powerful a message? Initially the followers of Christ would have seemed like many other Jewish sects: why was Christ’s death not the end of the matter? We can look closely at the dynamics that enabled Christianity to grow and expand across the Roman empire. How is the dynamic of Christianity’s revolution like and unlike that of the French revolution?
We can at this point revisit the discussions about the nature of revolution. As they become more refined, and perhaps as disagreements become clearer, we can turn to a scientific revolution, such as that resulting from Einstein’s theories of relativity. Why did they appear so revolutionary? What was the state of science before Einstein’s work, and what was it about his theories that changed how many physicists’ views of the world and how they could study it.
We can look in detail at the changes that occurred, and at the broad range of new ways of conceiving the sub-atomic world that resulted. We can consider how far the theories’ association with such technological products as the atomic bomb led to Einstein becoming an iconic figure of “the scientist”, and how far that is responsible for his work being considered revolutionary. We can then revisit our discussions about the nature of Revolution with this further example, and we can bring to bear on it our new ideas.
At this point we can begin to study the Industrial revolution, again focusing on causes, the actual changes, the technologies’ effects on people’s lives. The students’ developing theories of revolution will begin to direct their search for particular kinds of causes, facts, events, and effects.
Depending on the time available, one can similarly explore other revolutions, constantly coming back to the question about the nature of Revolution, constantly refining students’ theories.

3. Introducing anomalies to the theory

What content is anomalous to the general idea or theory? How can one begin with minor anomalies and gradually and sensitively challenge the students' general theory so that they make the theory increasingly sophisticated?


List the main anomalies to the meta-narrative:
We can begin by drawing to students’ attention things that didn’t change at all during each “revolution.” In reflecting on the French Revolution, ask them to find out what they can about the lives of peasants in France, particularly in the more remote regions. Did they even know there was a “revolution” going on? How many noble families are to be found after the revolution with their fortunes intact? What effects did the Industrial revolution have on peasants’ lives? Did it have significant impacts on housing? If it is seen as a benefit to people in general, what effects did it have on those it attracted from the countryside into towns? If it is seen as a catastrophe, what are the statistics for child-mortality and other diseases before and after?
In reflecting on the Industrial revolution, some students may have formed the idea that the revolution reflected a new industrial class coming to power. If so they could be asked to trace the number of old landowning upper class members who invested heavily in the new industries. Ask students to discover how much of the capital that financed the Industrial revolution came from the slave trade, and how far this might effect their theory about its causes.
We can continue to pose such anomalies to the students’ theories about each of the revolutions they study, and they can be encouraged to pose anomalies to each others’ theories. The aim of such anomalies is not to disprove the theory but to encourage the students to search for further knowledge that will both respond to the anomaly and support their theory.

4. Presenting alternative general theories.

What alternative general theories can organize the topic? What alternative meta-narrative can organize the topic? Which can best be used to help students see something about the nature and limitations of their theories and meta-narratives?



Indicate the alternatives theories or meta-narratives that will be used:
We can explore the two alternative general ideas that “revolutions” are simply accelerated forms of the normal changes that go on all the time in all areas, or that they are qualitatively different shifts in experience, understanding, social life, etc. We can ask the students to reconsider each of the revolutions we have seen in light of both of these meta-narratives. We might, first, look for signs prior to each revolution that things were moving in that general direction anyway, and focus on the facts and events that suggest that for many people the “revolution” would have not appeared as dramatic as we assume in retrospect. Then we might ask the students to adopt the alternative general idea and look at the revolutions again as creating qualitative shifts, if not immediately, then over a relatively short period of time. The changes were not simply accelerations of the normal, but led to dramatic and unpredictable events, kinds of understanding, modes of experience, etc.

5. Encouraging development of students’ sense of agency

What features of the knowledge will best allow us to encourage the students’ developing sense of agency?


List areas in which students’ sense of agency can be engaged and encouraged:
By drawing attention to the role of individuals in each of our revolutions we can encourage students to see that there was nothing inevitable about their actions of the effects of their actions: that dramatic changes are often brought about by people in circumstances that are not special. That is, a study of revolutions can help students feel that they too can have major effects if they apply themselves in some specific way.
The teacher can take opportunities to draw students into thinking about what they would or could have done in the circumstances of each revolution.

6 . Conclusion

How can we ensure that the student's theories or general ideas are not destroyed but are recognized as having a different status from the facts they are based on? How can we ensure that the decay of belief in the Truth of theories or general ideas does not lead to disillusion and alienation?


What concluding activity will help to both support and show problems with students’ theories, ideas, met-narratives, ideologies, etc.:

The teacher could organize a formal debate between those who view Revolution as qualitative change and those who view it is accelerated normal change— business as usual, only faster. The students would use all the revolutions they have studied as material in making their arguments. The formal nature of a debate should provide adequate protection against alienation through disillusionment, and the support of those on their “team” will likely provide further defense against such an outcome.
In addition to the debate, the students might be encouraged to produce large murals illustrating the various kinds of revolution. Representing their knowledge in this different form can be helpful in crystallizing what is essential to their theory and what peripheral. If done in groups, the debates about how the revolution is to be represented can help them recognize that the overall pictures are not as fixed in the same way as the facts or events that will be present in various forms in all the representations of the revolutions.

7 . Evaluation

How can we know whether the content has been learned and understood, whether students have developed a theory or general idea, elaborated it, and attained some sense of its limitations?


What forms of evaluation will give adequate evidence that the students have learned and understood the content and also have developed and used some theory or abstract idea:

We can use standard forms of evaluation to assess whether students have learned about the various kinds of revolutions, have understood their different forms, and can describe the salient characteristics of each revolution they have studied. But in addition we will want evidence that students have been able to form some defensible theory about the nature of Revolution. We can gain some assessment of this both from the discussions in class, from which teachers can record an assessment of the coherence and explanatory power of students’ theories on pre-formed Likert scales, and also from an essay assignment that asks them to articulate their own theory about the nature of Revolution.


A useful book to support this unit is Crane Brinton’s 1938 The Anatomy of Revolution,
New York: Norton.
There are no doubt other similar useful resources written more recently.