Teach & Learn: The Boycott Debate
PrintObjectives
Students examine primary sources reflecting different perspectives on the Canadian debate to boycott the 1936 Olympics in order to develop an understanding of the issues at stake.
Links to Historical Thinking Concepts:
-
Analyze Cause and Consequence - Students discuss the effects of boycotts as a form of activism.
-
Use Primary Source Evidence - Students analyze a political cartoon, a petition and an op-ed piece conveying different perspectives on Canada's participation in the 1936 Olympics.
-
Take Historical Perspective - Students consider the boycott debate from the perspective of Canadians in 1935/6.
-
Understand the Ethical Dimensions of History - Was Canada's decision to attend the 1936 Games justifiable?
-
Identify Continuity and Change - What other Olympics have been the subject of boycotts and controversies?
Thinking About Boycotts
As a class, brainstorm a definition of boycott: a form of activism involving the act of abstaining from using, buying, or interacting with a person, organization or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons.
Discuss boycotts, using the following questions as a guide:
-
Can students think of any examples of boycotts?
-
Have any students engaged in a boycott?
-
What are the motivations of boycott movements?
-
Are there risks associated with boycotting something?
-
Do students think boycotts are effective? Why or why not?
Journal Activity
Let students explore this website or pre-assign Student Reading: The Olympic Movement which provides contextual information for the activity.
Copy and distribute Documents: The Canadian Boycott Debate. Each student should have one document, each representing a different perspective on the boycott debate:
1) the Canadian Left, 2) the Canadian Jewish Congress and 3) pro-participation.
In journals, students reflect on the point of view represented by their document. What is the argument being presented? Is the argument persuasive? Why or why not? Which argument does the student find the most persuasive and why?
Students form groups of 2 or 3 to discuss their journals.
As a class, debrief the different perspectives reflected by the document collection.
Class Debate
In early November 1935, a widely reported debate at the University of Manitoba addressed the issue of Canada’s attendance at the Olympics. Re-stage this debate in the classroom, as a "4 Corners Debate." Students are to engage in the debate as if they are in November 1935.
Present students with the statement: Canada should participate in the 1936 Olympics.
Ask students if they agree or disagree, and to write a paragraph or list of points explaining their opinion.
In the meantime, post four signs around the room: Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree.
Ask students to stand under the sign that describes their opinion. Allow for debate; encourage students to justify and explain their position; students are able to move between positions.
Debrief the process. Restage the debate from the perspective of the present day, based on the following statement: Canada should have participated in the 1936 Olympics.
In the post-debate discuss how shifting historical perspectives affected students understanding of the issues.
Extension: The Politics of Sport
The International Olympic Committee has always opposed boycott movements, claiming that the Olympics are above politics and designed to promote international cooperation. Students write an argument in support of or in opposition to this claim.
Extension: Olympic Boycotts & Controversies
Students select another Olympic Games that was subject to a boycott or other political controversy. They write an essay summarizing the issues at stake, considering a variety of sources in their research.
Suggested topics: Mexico City, 1968 (expression of support for the Black Power movement by African American athletes); Munich, 1972 (massacre of Israeli athletes by a Palestinian militant group); Montreal, 1976 (boycott by 26 African countries as a result of the IOC’s refusal to ban New Zealand despite its rugby tour in segregated South Africa); Moscow, 1980 (boycott by the United States, West Germany and Japan in response to Soviet invasion of Afghanistan); Los Angeles, 1984 (boycott by USSR in response to Western nations’ 1980 boycott of the Moscow Games); Beijing, 2008 (concern about human rights in China); Vancouver (participation of women in ski jumping and participation of nations that ban women from competing on Olympic teams).
The following resources can help students begin their research on Olympic boycotts and controversies:
-
Reynolds, Paul. “Long History of Olympic Protests.” BBC. April 7, 2008
This article provides a good overview of the history of Olympic boycotts to introduce students to the topic.
-
Politics and the Olympics – CBC Digital Archives
The CBC Digital Archives provides a Canadian account of politics in the Olympics from 1936 to 2008 drawing on CBC radio and television clips.