TEACHING COMPANION
The Statement
Everyone heard the condemnation. Who changed?
Naming and shaming, noncompliance & causal inference · 35–45 min · optional +10–15 min
Learning goals
- Distinguish public approval, willingness to punish, and documented government conduct.
- Separate events that followed a condemnation from evidence that it changed behavior.
- Name which audience, action, and time period a causal claim covers.
Class setup & submission
Start For Class and enter your name. Course or section is optional. Complete six written checkpoints totaling at least 250 words. The Frontier extension is optional unless assigned. For Fun keeps separate progress and offers optional writing.
When the Class assignment is complete, choose Print / Save PDF and upload the PDF to Canvas.
Students type their written responses in For Class.
Course materials
Before the activity
No specialist legal knowledge required. Teach after sovereignty and international norms or let the case introduce the issue.
Syllabus description
Detainees are freed after a public condemnation. Governments, families, and diplomats tell different stories. Predict what the record would show under your explanation, inspect the evidence, and defend or revise your claim. Students produce a class pdf with six written checkpoints, the evidence trail, first and revised claims, and four concept checks.
Discussion prompts
- What connects the statement to the releases, and what would still need to be shown?
- Whose behavior or opinion changes in each account?
- Could a condemnation raise the political cost of a later violation or give officials cover?
What to assess
Assess the prediction, interpretation of dated records, distinction between the two studies’ outcomes, and a warranted claim and transfer.
Limitations
The scenario and dated records are fictional teaching materials. The articles measure different outcomes and do not supply a single general answer about condemnation.
Credit & permissions
Created by Yoav Duman. Free educational use, sharing and hosted embedding; software rights reserved. See the reuse information for software, artwork, branding and third-party materials.
Suggested citation
Yoav Duman, “The Statement: Teaching companion,” Trouble in Common, https://trouble-in-common.ishmaldon.chatgpt.site/teaching/the-statement. Include your access date.
ASSESSMENT & SUBMISSION
Assess the reasoning.
Set an endpoint and tell students which report or response record to upload to your course website. Use the activity’s own grading guide when available.
A suggested 10-point rubric
Give each criterion 0 points if absent, 1 if partial and 2 if clear and supported. Adjust the weighting to fit the activity.
- Concepts / 2
- Use a relevant international relations concept accurately.
- Evidence / 2
- Support a claim with a specific record or comparison.
- Mechanism / 2
- Show how actors, rules or pressures connect to the outcome.
- Revision / 2
- Consider a rival explanation or explain what changed your mind.
- Limits / 2
- Identify what remains uncertain and what evidence would help.
Before students begin
- Choose For Class if the activity offers a mode switch. Follow the endpoint your instructor assigns.
- Keep a progress backup when the activity offers one, especially before changing devices or websites.
- Review your responses and export the report or files listed in the assignment.
- Upload your work to the course website and check for the submission confirmation.
A progress backup restores a session. The readable report shows the work you’re asking students to explain or defend.
Prepare an assignment to share.
Edit this text, then copy it into Canvas or your course website. These edits stay in this tab.
Syllabus description & discussion prompts
Syllabus description
Detainees are freed after a public condemnation. Governments, families, and diplomats tell different stories. Predict what the record would show under your explanation, inspect the evidence, and defend or revise your claim. Students produce a class pdf with six written checkpoints, the evidence trail, first and revised claims, and four concept checks.
Questions for a discussion board or class debrief
- What connects the statement to the releases, and what would still need to be shown?
- Whose behavior or opinion changes in each account?
- Could a condemnation raise the political cost of a later violation or give officials cover?