>> COLLEGE CERTAINLY REQUIRES STUDENTS TO STRETCH AS WRITERS.
IT FORCES THEM TO BECOME CRITICAL THINKERS.
IN THIS NEXT SEGMENT WE HEAR ABOUT AN INTERESTING ASSIGNMENT
IN A POLITICAL SCIENCE CLASS.
THE ASSIGNMENT IS ABOUT THE POLITICS OF THE END OF THE
WORLD.
CAROLEE MCGRATH SAT DOWN WITH POMAUL MUSGRAVE.
>> I HAD BEEN THINKING ABOUT THE CONVERSATIONS I HAD HAD WITH
UNDERGRADUATES AND THE WORLD THEY WOULD BE GOING INTO.
I RECOGNIZED TWO THINGS.
FIRST, A LOT OF STUDENTS AT THE TIME, A LOT YOUCHG FOLKS, WERE
REALLY INTERESTED IN DYSTOPIAN NOVELS.
YOU THINK ABOUT HUNGER GAMES, THIS IS WHERE BOOKS ARE COMING
FROM.
THERE IS KIND OF A SENSE THAT PEOPLE ARE ALREADY THINKING
ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD AS SOMETHING THAT WAS PRESENT IN
THEIR LIVES OR AT LEAST IN THEIR READING MATERIAL.
AND THEN I ALSO THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, I'M PRETTY SURE THAT THE
WORLD THAT THEY WILL BE LIVING IN IS NOT THE WORLD THAT WE'RE
GOING TO BE LIVING IN RIGHT NOW.
YOU THINK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE.
YOU THINK ABOUT POLITICAL TRAUMAS, ANY OF THESE THINGS BUT
EVEN IN OUR LIFETIME THE COLD WAR HAS COME, GONE, THE INTERNET
WASN'T A THING.
NOW IT IS.
THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT CAN CHANGE, AND I STARTED TO
THINK, WHAT ARE THE WAYS THAT SOCIETY ADOPTS AND RESPONDS TO
THESE SORTS OF BIG TRANSFORMATIONS THAT HAPPEN ALL
THE TIME BUT WHICH DON'T GET DEBATED WITH THE SAME SORT OF
FERVOR AS MEDICARE FOR ALL.
I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT HOW CHANGE HAPPENS AND AFFECTS THEM
AND HOW SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES OF ALL MIGHT AFFECT
THEIR LIVES.
THEY PICKED?
>> WE SAT DOWN AND WE WORKED, I DEVELOPED SOME PRELIMINARY
TOPICS AND THEN THE STUDENTS CHOSE WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO.
I DECIDED TO FOCUS THE COURSE, TEACH AT U MASS, FOCUS ON
MASSACHUSETTS, MORE THAN FOUR CENTURIES OF HISTORY SINCE THE
EUROPEANS CAME HERE.
THAT'S A LOT OF THINGS TO TALK ABOUT.
SO ONE WAS, HOW MASSACHUSETTS COLONISTS, THE PILGRIMS, DEALT
WITH THE NATIVE POPULATION WHEN THEY ARRIVED, BECAUSE THAT WAS
AN END OF THE WORLD FOR THE NATIVE POPULATION BUT OBVIOUSLY
THE PILGRIMS AND PURITANS ALSO THOUGHT THE END OF THE WORLD WAS
SOMETHING THAT WAS IMMINENT FOR THEM.
THEY HAD A VERY STRONG RELIGIOUS BELIEF.
THERE WAS A 19th CENTURY GROUP OF RANKINGS BELIEVERS WHO
ACTUALLY SET A DATE FOR THE END OF THE WORLD IN 1843, AND IN
1844.
THEN THERE WAS THE COLD WAR, WHERE THE END OF THE WORLD
BECAME SOMETHING THAT WAS REALLY IMMINENT FOR PEOPLE LIVING IN
MASSACHUSETTS AND THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES.
ACTUALLY IT CHANGED THE WAY THAT PEOPLE IN THE PIONEER VALLEY
LIVED WHERE WE HAD A MAJOR NUCLEAR BASE.
JUST UP THE RIVER FROM WHERE WE ARE NOW, AND THEN FINALLY GLOBAL
WARMING, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY BEGINNING TO
CHANGE HOW PEOPLE IN MASSACHUSETTS, PLACES ALONG THE
COAST, ARE LIVING AND ADAPTING TO WEATHER-RELATED CHANGES.
>> SO WHAT TYPES OF THINGS DO THEY DO ON THEIR PROJECTS?
DO THEY DO INTERVIEWS, WRITING?
>> THEY DID SO MUCH.
SO, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COURSE, I TOLD THE STUDENTS THAT
ANYTHING THAT WAS LEGAL WAS POSSIBLE.
>> OH, OKAY.
>> SO THEY HAD AS MUCH FREEDOM.
STAY LEGAL.
THAT WAS A REALLY BIG CONCERN FOR ME.
>> THAT'S A BIG ONE.
>> IT IS A BIG ONE BUT A MUCH BIGGER ENVIRONMENT THAN YOU
NORMALLY HAVE IN CLASS WHERE IS YOU HAVE ALL OF THESE RULES AND
REGULATIONS DESIGNED TO KEEP PEOPLE INSIDE A BOX.
I'VE RECOGNIZED THAT THEY ARE TALENTED IF YOU GIVE THEM A
LITTLE DIRECTION AND A LOT OF FREEDOM.
THEY DID SITE VISITS TO A FORMER NUCLEAR COMMAND BUNKER WHICH IS
PART OF THE U MASS LIBRARY SYSTEM.
THEY WENT AND THEY DID A TOUR OF A MUSEUM OF THE PRAYING INDIANS.
THEY TALKED TO PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN ACTUALLY PART OF U.S.
MISSILE FORCES IN THE UNITED STATES DURING THE COLD WAR, AND
THEY ALSO INTERVIEWED PEOPLE FROM HARVARD PROFESSORS TO
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ABOUT THE SORT OF CHANGES THEY WERE SEEING
AND ONE GROUP OF FOLKS, WITH THEIR PODCAST EVEN, I DIDN'T
KNOW THEY COULD DO THIS, COMPOSED AND RECORD THEIR OWN
SOUNDTRACK FOR THE EPISODE WHICH WAS REALLY SOMETHING THAT JUST
ELEVATED THEIR PRESENTATION OF A WORLD THAT WAS PRETTY REMOTE
FROM OUR OWN.
>> THIS MUST HAVE BEEN A GREAT PROJECT FOR THEM TO HAVE SOME
FREEDOM ON?
>> THAT'S WHAT I HOPE.
I THINK IT WAS MORE FUN FOR THEM AT THE END, AND THERE WAS
DEFINITE THINK SOME TREPIDATION AS THEY WERE FIGURING OUT WHAT
THEY CAN DO BUT WE TRIED TO WORK WITH THE STUDENTS TO SHOW THEM
ALL OF THE RESOURCES THAT THEY HAD AND THERE WERE PROGRAMS DONE
ONLINE.
ABOUT THEORY IN CERTAIN AREAS.
LEARNING HOW YOU WILL PRODUCE SOMETHING THAT WILL BE RELEASED
TO THE WORLD, A STORY AND A MESSAGE AND A TAKE AWAY THAT YOU
WANT TO SHARE WITH THE WORLD, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS
REALLY VALUABLE FOR THEM.
>> WHAT DID THEY LEARN ABOUT THE POLITICS OF TALKING ABOUT THE
END OF THE WORLD, IN MANY DIFFERENT SITUATIONS THAT YOU
MENTIONED THERE IS ALWAYS POLITICS BEHIND IT AND WE'VE
HEARD IT RECENTLY THAT IF WE DON'T CHANGE THINGS IN 12 YEARS
THE WORLD WILL END.
HOW DID THEY WALK AWAY WITH MAYBE A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
LOOKING AT THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT?
>> I THINK ONE OF THE BIG THINGS STUDENTS LEARNED IS WHATEVER WE
THINK OF AS THE WORLD IT'S ALWAYS IN THE PROCESS OF
CHANGING, AND THAT MEANS IT'S IN THE PROCESS OF, IN A SENSE,
ENDING SO THE STUDENTS WHO LOOKED AT RELATIONS BETWEEN THE
ORIGINAL COLONISTS IN THE MASSACHUSETTS BAYC -- COLONY,
THIS IS WHERE BELIEFS ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD MOTIVATED
PEOPLE TO COME TO MASSACHUSETTS, CONVERT INDIANS, TO BECOME PART
OF CHRISTIANITY, AND THEY WERE ABANDONED AND THAT WAS SOMETHING
THAT TAUGHT THEM THAT STRONG IDEAS MAY NOT BE ENOUGH THAT
THERE IS ALSO A LOT OF NEGOTIATION ABOUT HOW PEOPLE
APPROACH AND HOW PEOPLE CAN EVEN CAUSE THE END OF THE WORLD, AND
THEN FOLKS WHO WERE PART OF THE GROUP THAT LOOKED AT HOW COASTAL
COMMUNITIES ARE RESPONDING TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
I THINK IT WAS INTERESTING BECAUSE THEIR GENERATION HAS
BEEN REALLY RAISED TO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S
IMMINENT, BUT THE PACE OF CHANGE, THE PACE OF ADAPTATION,
EVEN AS THE PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS GET EVER MORE
OBVIOUS, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST NOT HAPPENING.
SO I THINK THAT THEY LEARNED THAT, THERE IS ROOM FOR PEOPLE
TO TAKE ACTION.
THERE IS ROOM FOR PEOPLE TO ADAPT.
BUT THERE IS ALSO A LOT OF REALLY BIG SUBJECTS IN THE WORLD
THAT DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE A HAPPY ENDING.
>> BUT IT'S CERTAINLY A LITTLE BIT, I GUESS, LESS DAUNTING TO
THINK THAT, YES, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT CHANGE.
THINGS CHANGE, THE END OF THE WORLD AS YOU KNEW IT, IT MIGHT
BE DIFFERENT, BUT CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW IN ALL OF THESE
CIRCUMSTANCES, LIFE WENT ON.
>> SO THAT'S THE QUESTION.
PART OF THE UNDERLYING MESSAGE OF THE CLASS WAS, YOU CAN
ACTUALLY DO REAL THINGS.
THIS IS A PODCAST THAT WE'VE PUT UP.
YOU CAN FIND IT ON STITCHER AND OTHER PODCAST INDEXING SITES,
AND THE IDEA WAS TO TELL STUDENTS YOU CAN REALLY DO
SOMETHING IN THE REAL WORLD, AND BY SETTING THESE STORIES, BY
HAVING THEM INVESTIGATE HOW PEOPLE HAD DEALT WITH THESE
PROBLEMS, MY HOPE WAS THAT EVEN THOUGH THEY MIGHT RECOGNIZE
THERE ARE PROBLEMS THAT ARE SERIOUS, THERE ARE STILL WAYS
FOR PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY TAKE ACTION AND AT LEAST TRY TO MAKE
A DIFFERENCE.
>> THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC HAS TOUCHED COUNTLESS LEAVES.
ONE EFFORT HOPES TO REDUCE THE STIGMA OF ADDICTION AND CREATE
AWARENESS ALL WHILE SPARKING CONVERSATION.
AS "CONNECTING POINT"'S TINA MARTIN REPORTS, THEY TELL
FAMILIES THROUGH ART.
>> TRISTAN ALWAYS WORE THIS BUFFALO PLAID SHIRT.
>> THESE COLLAGES DISPLAY PICTURES, PERSONAL ITEMS,
CREATED BY LOVED ONES.
>> I FEEL SO SAD SOMETIMES AND IT'S TOUGH.
>> RIGHT AFTER MICHAEL DIED, WE BEGAN FINDING DIMES IN THE MOST
UNUSUAL PLACES AND DRAGON FLIES WOULD LAND ON US WHENEVER WE
WENT OUTDOORS.
WE KNEW THESE WERE SIGNS FROM MICHAEL THAT HIS SPIRIT IS HERE
AND HELPING US.
>> THE DISPLAYS ARE PART OF THE OPIOID PROJECT STARTED THREE
YEARS AGO, BY A DOCTOR AND AN ARTIST.
PEOPLE TOUCHED BY THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC CREATE THE ART THAT
BECOMES PART OF THIS TRAVELING EXHIBIT.
>> IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT.
>> TERESA AND CATHERINE PIERCE BOTH LOST THEIR SONS TO
OVERDOSES.
>> MICHAEL PASSED AWAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2017, THREE MONTHS BEFORE HE
TURNED 26.
HE WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CHILD, THE MOST GORGEOUS SMILE.
>> TRISTAN WAS THE OLDEST OF MY THREE SONS.
AND HE WAS A VERY OUTGOING YOUNG MAN, VERY CHARISMATIC.
>> THE OPIOID PROJECT IS ON DISPLAY INSIDE THE LOBBY OF
NEWTON WELLESLEY HOSPITAL.
>> THE DOCTOR, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND OUTREACH FOR
SUBSTANCE USE SERVICEs, SAYS IT PUTS FACES TO A HUMAN EPIDEMIC.
>> IT PERSONALIZES SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND SHOWS THE IMPACT THAT
IT HAD ON INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES.
>> WITH THE HELP OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS THE EXHIBIT TRAVELS TO
HOSPITALS, MUSEUMS, SCHOOLS, AND OTHER PUBLIC SPACES.
>> BOTH THERESA REDDISH AND CATHERINE PIERCE HOPE PEOPLE
WILL SEE THEIR SONS AS PEOPLE.
>> I HOPE IT REDUCES THE STIGMA.
>> TO GET PEOPLE TO ABOUT IT.
THAT THIS COULD BE YOUR CHILD.
IT'S MY CHILD THIS TIME BUT WE'RE ALL EXPOSED TO THIS
DISEASE.
>> A DISEASE, THEY SAY THAT NEEDS NOT ONLY TREATMENT BUT
HUMAN COMPASSION.