Study Guide
Geography
Questions for Discussion
- Locate Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia on a globe or world map. What other countries and waterways are they near? Why do you think they are geographically important to the rest of the world?
- Compare a map of these lands during the Austro-Hungarian Empire with one after World War I to one after World War II to today. What has changed and why?
- At one point during the documentary, the filmmakers travel to Brcko, Bosnia. This city is known as an important "crossroads" in the Balkans. Why do you think this is?
- Over one week, record how the U.S. news media (TV, radio, print) cover any of the following places: Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo. How does the coverage differ between the three types of media? Where are these stories placed in the context of other news? Why do you think that is?
- The documentary follows the stories of people of different demographic groups beyond ethnicity. What impact do you think gender or age have had on the experiences of the people profiled?
Group Activity
Small teams will each be assigned a nation from the region (Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia, Turkey). Each team will research the geography (terrain, access to water, proximity to other nations, natural resources, language, etc.) of their assigned nation. They will then present to the class how these geographical factors affect the history and importance of their nation.