Dom Nardi Rogue 33

Name- Dom Nardi Content Area- Political Science Location- Washington, DC   USA Current School- University of Michigan Grade Level- Post-Secondary Teaching Since- 2011 Facebook- poliscijedi Website-

I find that many of my students know relatively little about Asian history. I sometimes use Star Wars both to help them understand historical events and to illustrate how politics can be just as exciting as Star Wars.

Recently, I compared the era of military rule in Myanmar/Burma to the Original Trilogy, with the evil empire/junta, Rebellion/political opposition, Princess Leia/Aung San Suu Kyi, and Ewok insurgency/ethnic minority insurgencies. In that case, I wanted to demonstrate how before 2010 many people viewed the political conflict in Burma in stark black and white terms, much like the struggle in the Original Trilogy. Then, after the transition in early 2011, we're in a murkier period, where we have something resembling a democracy but often beset by corruption and other problems - much like the Prequel era Republic.

I've also talked about the impact of the Vietnam War on Lucas' story treatments for Star Wars when teaching the Vietnam War. I find it to be a good example because the image of primitive Ewoks defeating the technologically advanced Empire is the narrative many people still believe of the Vietcong "defeat" of the U.S. (I also point out that the true history is much more complicated).

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