Empire of fear
Introduction - This webquest was developed by the team at WebQuest Direct for Old Parliament House, Canberra, Australia to complement their exhibition The Petrov Affair. The content for this webquest was written by the Old Parliament House Education team and Frances Moore of WebQuest Direct.
This is an Australian History unit of work. There are three steps to this webquest:
Step 1: The Petrov Affair. This section asks students to investigate the 1954 Petrov Affair. They are to do this from the perspective of an Historian, a Journalist or a Social Commentator.
Step 2: The Royal Commission. This section involves the class conducting a Royal Commission. There are four Royal Commissioners (including the teacher). The rest of the students are to be either the character (who now becomes a witness), a brain’s trust or an exhibit specialist.
Step 3: Conclusion and Recommendations. Students are to take part in a class discussion and present recommendations to Old Parliament House, to be placed on the WebQuest site.
Learners
This webquest has been designed for students in Years 9 – 12 studying Post World War II Australia, particularly Australia’s response to communism.
Pre-Requisites
Students should know about the Cold War and the spread of Communism before commencing this WebQuest.
Process
As this WebQuest involves many skills on the part of the students, it is recommended that you allocate the roles of Historian, Social Commentator and Journalist to students who will best suit these roles.
The Royal Commission requires role play on the part of some students: those who will be the witnesses (9) and the Royal Commissioners (3). As the teacher, you will also be required to take an active role in the Royal Commission by being the Chief Royal Commissioner.
The size of character teams will depend on the size of the class. Each team should, at least, have the character and one other supporting member.
All steps are important. The Conclusion allows the students to use History to inform them of the present. As a result, the discussion question is vital. ‘What can we learn about contemporary issues of fear and security from Australia’s reaction to the threat of communism in the 1950s?’
Old Parliament House will be grateful to receive any recommendations from these class discussions and they will be placed on this WebQuest site.
Web Resources
University of Wollongong, The State and the Communist Party of Australia: Surveillance of Dissident Politics, 1945 – 1955 by Glenn Mitchell
Multimedia Resources
The Petrov Affair mini-series, Australia, 1987
The Cold War: A listing of National Film and Sound Archive’s holdings. The Petrov Affair, 1954 (176k pdf)
Offline resources
Fitzgerald, Ross, The Pope’s Battalions: Santamaria, Catholicism and the Labor Split, Queensland University Press, ISBN 0 7022 33897
Hirst, J., Australia’s Democracy; A Short History, Ch 4, ‘Threats to Democracy 1920 – 1970’, 2002
Horne, Donald, 10 Steps to a more tolerant Australia, Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 2003
Lowe, David, Australia’s Cold War 1948 – 1954, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, 1999.
Manne, Robert, The Petrov Affair. Politics and Espionage, Pergamon, Sydney, 1987.
McKnight, David, Australia’s Spies and their Secrets, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1994.
McKnight, David, Espionage and the Roots of the Cold War: The Conspiratorial Heritage, Frank Cass, London, 2002.
Petrov, Vladimir and Evdokia, Empire of Fear, Andre Deutsch, London, 1956.
http://www.oph.gov.au/petrovwebquest/content.asp?pageID=179
This is an Australian History unit of work. There are three steps to this webquest:
Step 1: The Petrov Affair. This section asks students to investigate the 1954 Petrov Affair. They are to do this from the perspective of an Historian, a Journalist or a Social Commentator.
Step 2: The Royal Commission. This section involves the class conducting a Royal Commission. There are four Royal Commissioners (including the teacher). The rest of the students are to be either the character (who now becomes a witness), a brain’s trust or an exhibit specialist.
Step 3: Conclusion and Recommendations. Students are to take part in a class discussion and present recommendations to Old Parliament House, to be placed on the WebQuest site.
Learners
This webquest has been designed for students in Years 9 – 12 studying Post World War II Australia, particularly Australia’s response to communism.
Pre-Requisites
Students should know about the Cold War and the spread of Communism before commencing this WebQuest.
Process
As this WebQuest involves many skills on the part of the students, it is recommended that you allocate the roles of Historian, Social Commentator and Journalist to students who will best suit these roles.
The Royal Commission requires role play on the part of some students: those who will be the witnesses (9) and the Royal Commissioners (3). As the teacher, you will also be required to take an active role in the Royal Commission by being the Chief Royal Commissioner.
The size of character teams will depend on the size of the class. Each team should, at least, have the character and one other supporting member.
All steps are important. The Conclusion allows the students to use History to inform them of the present. As a result, the discussion question is vital. ‘What can we learn about contemporary issues of fear and security from Australia’s reaction to the threat of communism in the 1950s?’
Old Parliament House will be grateful to receive any recommendations from these class discussions and they will be placed on this WebQuest site.
Web Resources
University of Wollongong, The State and the Communist Party of Australia: Surveillance of Dissident Politics, 1945 – 1955 by Glenn Mitchell
Multimedia Resources
The Petrov Affair mini-series, Australia, 1987
The Cold War: A listing of National Film and Sound Archive’s holdings. The Petrov Affair, 1954 (176k pdf)
Offline resources
Fitzgerald, Ross, The Pope’s Battalions: Santamaria, Catholicism and the Labor Split, Queensland University Press, ISBN 0 7022 33897
Hirst, J., Australia’s Democracy; A Short History, Ch 4, ‘Threats to Democracy 1920 – 1970’, 2002
Horne, Donald, 10 Steps to a more tolerant Australia, Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 2003
Lowe, David, Australia’s Cold War 1948 – 1954, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, 1999.
Manne, Robert, The Petrov Affair. Politics and Espionage, Pergamon, Sydney, 1987.
McKnight, David, Australia’s Spies and their Secrets, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1994.
McKnight, David, Espionage and the Roots of the Cold War: The Conspiratorial Heritage, Frank Cass, London, 2002.
Petrov, Vladimir and Evdokia, Empire of Fear, Andre Deutsch, London, 1956.
http://www.oph.gov.au/petrovwebquest/content.asp?pageID=179
posted by professor rat at 12:03 PM
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