Classroom Activities 

These lessons are based on the documentary Your Serve or Mine. Although there may not be time to use the entire documentary, short excerpts from the film are available to screen or download online. Teachers can use any of the lessons as they teach about American and Chinese history, especially during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

HOW DID “PING PONG” BECOME A BRIDGE BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES? (click to see video)

SPORTS AND POLITICS

While sports are often regarded as separate and distinct from national and international politics, in fact they often are a central element. One need only look at the Olympics. The “ping-pong diplomacy” of the 1970’s is one of the most prominent examples. American athletes often make the best people-to-people diplomats, given their strong name recognition and perceived embodiment of American values.

AT THE 1980 WINTER OLYMPICS, A YOUNG AMERICAN AMATEUR ICE HOCKEY TEAM BEAT THE BEST HOCKEY TEAM IN THE WORLD, ACHIEVING WHAT’S BEEN CALLED “THE MIRACLE ON ICE.” (click to see video)

OLYMPIC BOYCOTTS

The Olympic Games have always had the power to voice international protest against nations that are considered rogue by the International Olympic Committee.

  • 1920, Antwerp: Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire could not participate in the games because of their World War I aggression.

  • 1964, (Innsbruck, Tokyo): South Africa did not return to the Olympics until the 1992 games at Albertville, in protest of apartheid.

  • 1972, (Sapporo): Rhodesia’s invitation was withdrawn after protests over racism were filed by several other African nations.

  • 1980, (Lake Placid): After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Soviet Union was banned.

    HOW AMERICANS SCHEDULED TO ATTEND THE 1980 MOSCOW OLYMPICS BECAME “INVISIBLE OLYMPIANS.” (click to see video)

Directions

  • Each group of four students will split up the four scenarios above, one per student.

  • Students will have 10 minutes to research their political protests on their phones or computers.

  • Students will share what each learned to the other three members of the group.

  • Teacher will debrief all four protest scenarios.

Discussion

The Olympic Games are watched by billions of world citizens. Do you think that these protests changed policy in any of these situations? Why or why not?

Which problems in the world today might cause protests directed against participating nations in the upcoming 2026 Olympics in Turin, Italy?

FROM ANTI-COMMUNIST TO DIPLOMAT

Richard Nixon, one of the leading anti-communist politicians of his day, seemed unlikely to engage in any high-profile diplomatic efforts with America’s chief rivals: China and the Soviet Union. Yet it was precisely this background which  allowed him to take the political risks associated with such moves. The Watergate scandal pretty much erased any and all of Nixon’s accomplishments, including a move which saw the United States and the People’s Republic of China eventually normalize diplomatic relations.

WHY DID RICHARD NIXON VISIT CHINA? (click to see video)