Since then I've shifted to selections -- based more on the amount of time
I have available than on the content of the tapes. There is an extensive
teaching packet that comes with the deluxe edition of the series, from PBS.
It includes handouts, teachers aids, transparencies, and an index to the
tapes. The latter would be esp. useful, although I haven't used it. I
had prepared my own rough index while watching the series. I like the
episode that culminates at Antietam -- the series still has a freshness
and sense of unpredictability at that juncture, and it provides a good
opportunity to explore problems related to northern dissent, limited
war strategy, and CSA opportunities to reformulate strategy.
I think it's a wonderful film that very effectively incorporates maps,
photographs, impressionistic sources, and narrative -- its general
thrust, (a rehash of the late 19th c. view that Americans were trapped
in a clash of institutions that deprives most of the participants of
any special responsibility for starting it or fighting it a certain way,
a kind of Simpsons fight over slavery or the "dysfunctional family at war,")
tends to overstress the heroic and futile nature of the conflict, but it
also provokes some thoughtful and reflective discussions by students.
I'd be very interested to hear how others are using or not using the series.
Peter Knupfer
Kansas State University