Procedures

• SET UP

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.

  You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handout and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.

  You can also save and share the following Google resource for students to use with this lesson.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).

  In Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.

• WARM UP

  Pose the following brainstorming questions to your students, directing them to record their responses in their graphic organizer, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  • What types of events define time periods? Provide two or three examples.
  • In 30 years, what one word might be used to describe our current time period in the 2020s? Why?

• INTRODUCTION

  Play the following introductory video clip of American University professor Joseph Campbell providing opening remarks for his lecture that explores a decade of political, foreign policy, cultural and social events to define the zeitgeist of the American 1990s. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #1: The Contested Zeitgeist (5:39).

  • Based on the clip, what did the decade of the 1990s see?
  • Define “zeitgeist” and “IPO,” and state how they are related to today’s lesson.
  • What other major events and points of interest will be discussed in today’s lesson, according to Joseph Campbell?
  • From where is the information in today’s lesson “drawn?”

• VOCABULARY

  Direct your students to their graphic organizers to view and define the vocabulary terms that will appear in the lesson in the chart in their graphic organizer handout. The vocabulary words are also listed to the right on this webpage.

  We recommend having your students complete the activity in a jigsaw format to save time. Or, depending on time and resources, you may consider having your students engage in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student is responsible for completing one or two items. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson.

  Note: this is not an all-encompassing list of terms included in each video. We recommend you preview the video clips to determine any necessary additions/subtractions to this list for your specific students.

• COMMON THEMES

  Direct students to the common themes section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following seven video clips in which Joseph Campbell proposes different zeitgeists that may be used to describe the 1990s. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #2: The Internet Decade (6:40).

  • Do Joseph Campbell’s students think the 1990s was the Internet Decade? Why or why not?
  • What “breakthroughs” occurred in the 1990s, and which organizations got their start in the time period?
  • Based on the clip, what was the effect of Netscape’s IPO in 1995?
  • How were the 1990s “primitive,” and what was the most popular app?
  • What “casualties” occurred in the 1990s?

• Clip #3: The Spectacle Decade (7:58).

  • Summarize the “O.J. Simpson case” and its impact on the country.
  • What happened to President Bill Clinton, and what did this “deepen” in the country?
  • According to Joseph Campbell, what cases of terrorism occurred in the 1990s?
  • How was the Gulf War (1990-91) a “spectacle?”
  • For what three reasons does Campbell say the 1990s may not have been the Decade of Spectacle?

• Clip #4: The Terrorism Decade (10:25).

  • Summarize the bombings from 1993, 1995, and 1996, as discussed in the clip.
  • What event occurred in 1999, according to Joseph Campbell?
  • Who was the “Unabomber,” and what did he do?
  • For what three reasons does Campbell say the 1990s may not have been the Terrorism Decade?
  • Summarize the comments from Campbell’s students. Do you agree? Why or why not?

• Clip #5: The Clinton-Dominated Decade (4:08).

  • When did Bill Clinton serve as President, and what was he the “first” to do since Franklin D. Roosevelt?
  • What were the economic conditions of the time and how did Clinton “govern?”
  • How was the 1994 Rwandan genocide considered a “failure” of Clinton’s presidency?
  • What was the Defense of Marriage Act, and how did Clinton try to have it “both ways?”
  • Summarize the last two arguments against a Clinton-Dominated Decade zeitgeist, as described by Joseph Campbell.

• Clip #6: The Seinfeld Decade (3:19).

  • Based on the clip, what was Seinfeld?
  • For what has Seinfeld been “criticized?” What have other critics said?
  • According to Joseph Campbell, what effect did Seinfeld have on the country?
  • View this clip (YouTube) of one of the Seinfeld “No Soup for You” segments. What do you see and hear?
  • What arguments exist against calling the 1990s the Seinfeld Decade, according to Campbell?

• Clip #7: The Clueless Decade (3:59).

  • From where is the term Clueless “borrowed?”
  • What does the characterization of the Clueless Decade “suggest?”
  • Based on the clip, what was the Y2K scare and what did it suggest about the time?
  • How is viewing the 1990s as the Clueless Decade a “presentist approach?”
  • According to Joseph Campbell, was the United States clueless about events abroad? Why or why not?

• Clip #8: The Best Decade Ever (2:00).

  • When and where did the “characterization” of the Best Decade Ever appear?
  • Based on the clip, what economic data supports such a zeitgeist?
  • What other things were “vibrant and healthy” during the 1990s?
  • What is the Best Decade Ever zeitgeist “steeped” in?
  • According to Joseph Campbell, what does this characterization overlook?

• ALTERNATIVE THEMES

  Direct students to the alternative themes section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following five video clips in which students offer several alternative zeitgeists that may be used to describe the 1990s. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #9: The Teenage Decade (1:46).

  • In what way does the student “personify” the 1990s?
  • What “characteristics” did the decade have?

• Clip #10: The Distraction Decade (1:59).

  • With which two zeitgeists does the Distraction Decade “intersect?”
  • From what was the country’s attention “taken away” during the decade and what did the U.S. “overlook?” Why?

• Clip #11: The Precursor Decade (1:57).

  • What “direct lines” can be drawn from the 1990s to later years?
  • Define the primary “counter argument” to the notion of the Precursor Decade?

• Clip #12: The Benchmark Decade (2:54).

  • Summarize the student’s comments about the development of Seinfeld and “shows about nothing.”
  • What are recognized as the “dominant forces” with a Benchmark Decade zeitgeist?

• Clip #13: The Pivotal Decade (3:48).

  • For what did the 1990s lay the “groundwork?”
  • What does the Pivotal Decade “come down to,” but how is it also a “conglomeration?”

• WRITING PROMPT

  After your students are finished with the lesson, direct them to complete the culminating writing prompt in their graphic organizers, and have students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates' perspectives: Having learned about the decade of the 1990s and potential themes that can be used to describe the time period, offer a zeitgeist that appropriately encapsulates the time period. Be sure to include evidence from the video clips in the lesson to support your response.

• REFLECTION AND CLOSURE

  After students share their responses to the writing prompt, direct them to the reflection and closure section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following video clip of Campbell offering his chosen zeitgeist. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #14: A Final Zeitgeist (3:40).

  • What zeitgeist does Joseph Campbell suggest best explains the 1990s?
  • Summarize the “watersheds and starting points” of the decade.
  • Does Campbell’s proposed zeitgeist change the view that you stated in responding to the writing prompt? Why or why not?