This seminar gave students the opportunity to learn history by traveling back in time and altering world events. In each class, we introduced students to one crisis in world history. After we taught them the necessary background, students played famous figures in historical "crisis simulations," debating and deciding which courses of action their country should pursue. Students served as ambassadors, cabinet secretaries, presidential advisers, Supreme Court justices, and even the Soviet general secretary. After each hour-long simulation, the class discussed what they learned from the crisis, and we compared their decisions to what really happened. In the process, students learned about world history, applied history, foreign policy, teamwork, leadership, uncertainty, and decision-making.

The seminar was taught in October 2020 to twenty students from around the United States. The youngest was a fifth grader, the oldest a high school senior.