Big Brother is Watching Us – But We are Watching Back.

Another student post about whether we are living in Orwell's 1984.

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Sitting in the idyllic, countryside surroundings of Cambridge, England, it’s easy to feel like I have been thrown into another time. I am aware of and grateful for the luxury of focusing on a specific topic, diving deeply into the background and context to seek understanding and hopefully, someday, a solution. The topic is counter-terrorism, which is in stark contrast to the rolling green hills, walking paths of this university environment.

But a closer look reveals the ugly truths of modern day life where cameras are hidden in plain sight, monitoring our every move. Like most people, I try not to think too much about who might really be watching, and why. To do so would surely incite conspiracy theories and a compulsion to line the windows with tin foil. But the cameras are there, and suddenly it seems that possibly 1984 is here as well.

The British Being British

While in Cambridge, we had a contest with the students to find the best picture of "The British being British."  Below are some of the entries:

British tea time

1984? More Like 2016

Another sample of student writing.  This time, students were asked to write on the blog prompt: "Are we now living in Orwell's 1984?"  Given that we were in the UK, a country that has roughly 20% of the world's CCTV cameras and invented the TV show Big Brother, this question seemed rather appropriate.

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Have you ever had a person in a trench coat secretly follow you everywhere you go, listening to every conversation you’ve ever had, peeking over your shoulder every time you look at your phone, while staring at you the whole time, unblinking? If so, then you have some more critical things to do than read this blog post. If not, then you’re probably thinking something along the lines of,

"No way. That’s a gross invasion of my privacy. This is the whole reason I moved out of my parents’ house. Why would someone need to know which fungal cream my cat uses?”

David Farley (2006) [Cartoon], Retrieved from 
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/06/cartoon_nsa_sur.html

This type of surveillance behavior is similar to that conducted by Big Brother: a government in the chilling world of George Orwell’s 1984. Even more chilling – it’s the behavior that can be found today, in the United States.

Books in a Row

So what happens when you take a bunch of OSU students to a Cambridge University library to show them an exhibit on important historical books?

Well, if the front of the building has a bunch of pillars that look like books, and those books move independently, AND those books are out of order (see photo to the right)?

The Next Chapter in the Idiot’s Guide to a Successful Counterinsurgency Campaign

While the class may officially be over, we have a backlog of great pictures and student-written posts that we will be looking to share over the next few weeks.  For instance, here is a post, written by one of the students, for the assignment "write a chapter for the book The Idiot's Guide to a Successful Counterinsurgency Campaign."

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Image from http://www.idiotsguides.com/ 

Chapter 3: 
Get a Map

Here’s a hint: if you want to conquer your enemies and win your campaign, you need to know the lay of the land.

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This is helpful in any battle-like situation, from being able to hide the remote in the couch when someone tries to steal it to running after your dog when he escapes.  This is especially useful, however, on the battlefield.  The ability to know, and use, the land(scape) has won and lost wars.

Cowboys for Cambridge United

The service learning projects for the class paid off in another great experience for the OSU students. During their time volunteering at FoodCycle (a really fantastic organization!), a few of the students met the Club Chaplain for the Cambridge United Football Club.  He introduced our group to the club manager, who gave us a tour of the facilities...

Counterinsurgency for Dummies: Or How NOT To Win A Guerilla War

A new write-up from the students!  The blog prompt this time:

Help write the Idiot's Guide to a Successful Counterinsurgency Campaign.  List one tip, then give us an example of a successful (or mostly successful) operation that did it right, and an example of where an operation went wrong in regards to this tip.

We think the student who wrote the post below perfectly captured this theme!

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Congratulations! You’ve found an excerpt from Counterinsurgency for Dummies! Read on to learn more.

Shout out to the Henry Bellmon Office of Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research ...Facebook page

Can't get enough pictures of us?  Go to https://www.facebook.com/ScholarDevelopment/ to view more.

Cowboy Strategy

Yesterday we ran some security/counterterrorism simulations, and the students did some great work in their strategy discussions.

Students in their planning session

We had two simulations for them to explore:

What the British could have done differently to win the American Revolution

Another post on the question of how the British should have altered their tactics for the American Revolution.  You might notice that both students listed propaganda/media relations as important to a successful counterinsurgency campaign; in fact, ALL students who wrote on this topic mentioned this issue!

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Image credit: "Happy Treason Day" by Before It's News

http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2015/07/happy-treason-day-ungrateful-colonials-3028140.html

It's an odd experience for an American to write about how the English could have won the American revolution from England on the 4th of July, but I still managed to find a few things England could have done differently to win the war, one early on and one late. The first is control of Colonial propaganda and the second is supply chains (or lack there of) to the British forces.

‘Merica, or Nah? An Exploration of Unpatriotic “What Ifs”

Below is the first of the class response papers written by our students about what they have learned about British Counterinsurgency.  Today's writing prompt:

What should the British have done differently in order to win the American Revolution?  Focus on 2 things.

Enjoy!

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As a red-blooded American, there are few things I hold as sacred as Independence Day, the anniversary of the Greatest Divorce Paper of all time. Today is rather ironic for me, as this year I am celebrating July Fourth in the Mother Country of England while studying abroad. So, there is no better way to continue this theme than by playing devil’s advocate and brainstorming just what the British Empire could have done to retain the American Colonies back in 1775-1783. I believe the two main changes the British should have made to keep the colony were:

1. Run a strong propaganda campaign to generate greater public support for the war within Great Britain.
2. Choose stronger leadership and promote better communication between British officials coordinating the war efforts.

Welcome to Cambridge!

The 2016 "Cowboys in Cambridge" class begins today!  This year's class: "Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorism: The British Experience."

You'll be hearing more from us soon, but in the meantime, here's a beautiful picture of Cambridge.