Remembering the Reichsrat: Students as Austro-Hungarian Parliamentarians

• In Event: Ludic Memory

Abstract

This paper will introduce the multiple ways in which undergraduate students have remembered Austro-Hungarian Members of Parliament through their playing of The Austrian Reichsrat, 1911-1914: Democracy, Nationality, and Privilege. The game, written by the presenter, is a part of the Reacting to the Past series which seeks to place students in historical situations with given roles that have “victory conditions.” The paper argues that the game destabilized inaccurate understandings of the late-Habsburg period by creating an emotional experience of the historical moment. In addition, the paper considers how creating the game opened new avenues for historical research.

Author

• Zachary Austin Doleshal, Sam Houston State U