Global Issues: Using a webquest to teach Huntington’s Clash of Civilisations

After going through the theory of Huntington’s Clash of Civilisations theory using a webquest to allow students to decide for themselves how credible his thesis is can be useful. By using links to various news stories a group can both arrive at a judgement and also get to grips with a few case studies in modern conflicts that they might otherwise be unaware of. The list does not contain links to summaries of the Iraq War and Afghanistan - which will be tackled in a more direct focus later.

The next part of the jigsaw is to look at the various criticisms that have been levelled at Huntington and to ask how valid these are.

For an extension on this more able students might be encouraged to read Huntington’s original article and his riposte to his critics.