|
Abstract # ED53A-0322
One of our main goals as instructors, particularly in introductory courses, is to impart students
with an appreciation of how geology has influenced the course of human events. Despite the
apparent accessibility of such topics, communicating this in a lively, relevant, and effective
way often proves difficult. We use a series of historical events, the Pacific island hopping
campaign of WWII, to engage students in an active, guided inquiry exercise to explore how
terrain and the underlying geology of an area can shape historical events. Teams of students
are assigned the role of planning either the defense or occupation of Okinawa Island, in the
Ryukyu arc, in a theoretical version of the 1945 conflict. Students are given a package of
information, including geologic and topographic maps, a list of military resources available
to them at the time, and some historical background. Students also have access to
"reconnaissance" images, 360° digital panoramas of the landscape of Okinawa, keyed to
their maps. Each team has a week to plan their strategies and carry out additional research,
which they subsequently bring to the table in the form of a written battle plan. With an
instructor as arbiter, teams alternate drawing their maneuvers on a map of the island, to
which the other team then responds. This continues one move at a time, until the instructor
declares a victor. Throughout the exercise, the instructor guides students through analysis
of each strategic decision in light of the island's structure and topography, with an
emphasis on the appropriate interpretation of the maps. Students soon realize that an
understanding of the island's terrain literally meant the difference between life and
death for civilians and military participants alike in 1945. The karst landscape of
Okinawa posed unique obstacles to both the Japanese and the American forces, including
difficult landing sites, networks of natural caves, and sequences of hills aligned
perpendicular to the length of the island and to American troop movement. This unique
topography forced innovative tactics ranging from reverse slope defense to "blowtorch
and corkscrew" offense in response. During this exercise, students apply their map-reading
and interpretation skills, as well as their critical analysis abilities; the historical context,
in turn, provides motivation to refine those skills. Sun Tzu wrote that all warfare is based
on deception. What we hope to communicate to students with this activity is that much of
warfare, and, more broadly, the way humans interact with the world, is inherently and undeniably
based on geology.
|