This is the Lion’s Division resource list for all Behes Tournaments until December 31st 2018.

These selections are also valid for the Maha Behes ‘18! The theme is ‘Trouble in Paradise’. Go
through the leading questions and pointers mentioned under each subsection, familiarize
yourself with the suggested terms, and enjoy a few of our suggested works around the theme.

The reading list picks up where it left off last month, with us now exploring how the human mind,
human relationships, political entities and carefully planned systems fall apart. The bullet points
are merely examples and illustrations of the sub-themes. Take a deep breath, relax and explore.
Happy researching!

I. When Nations Fall

● Rome went from being a mere city-state to one of the most powerful empires the world
has ever seen. Explore the fall of the roman empire. Discuss with your team: What
lessons (if any) does this hold for current world leaders/politicians?
● Try this with your team: Individually write down the five best states (countries) you can
think of. After this, write down the five worst. Compare and discuss: What are some of
the similarities between the countries on your ‘worst’ lists? Can you identify some factors
that indicate whether a state is failing? Can you find any of them here?
● Being home to the first ever independent slave revolt in the world, Haiti’s history could
have been very different. It is a fascinating case study because so many of the factors
symptomatic of state failure have made an appearance; from human factors like poor
leadership and widespread corruption to natural ones like disease and natural disasters.
Discuss with your team: Can you think of other nations that are worse off because of the
above mentioned factors? Which of the above factors according to you is common in
most of the nations that you have discussed about?

Suggested Works

Literature:

● Ayn Rand’s ‘Anthem’ - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1250/1250-h/1250-h.htm

● Agha Shahid Ali’s ‘Land -
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/41227/land
● Khalil Gibran’s ‘War’ -
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/war-75/?fbclid=IwAR3df6QbNZs52wMeN_HSyaoZlb
kLFTFRXWWKAgdOcvI8_hWj1Ok6AZdr5B0

Music:

● Los Invensores de Nuevo Leon’s ‘Los Super Capos’ -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDXmu53RIUA
● Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlk9D9kY7ps
Movie:

Hotel Rwanda (2004) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZDQtCjNIh8&feature=youtu.be

II. When Systems Fail

● It is generally accepted that since the breakdown of the USSR, there is no opponent to
global capitalism. What is capitalism? Discuss with your team: Has true communism
ever existed? What according to your team would be a more appropriate form of
governance given the current scenario? Take a look at the modern failings of Global
Capitalism. Terms to explore: Capitalism, Communism, Socialism, Hyperinflation,
Economic inequality, Corruption, Recession, Subprime Crisis
● When you hear of a plane crash, the first assumption is that it occured due to faulty
equipment or poorly trained staff. Malcolm Gladwell argued through a few case studies
that often, these are the results of cultural factors. Discuss with your team: Can you think
of any other instances of system failure due to cross-cultural differences?
● In the early prisons of Ancient Greece, criminals were chained up to the walls of the
faeces-carrying sewers beneath the city of Athens. Clearly, we have come a long way
since then. Discuss with your team: Do you think it makes sense to privatize prisons and
correctional facilities? Here’s a video explaining how private prisons don’t work in the
US. And here’s an opposite viewpoint.
● Go through 'Million Dollar Murray', named after the case of a homeless alcoholic man in
Reno, Nevada who costs the welfare state a bomb every year just to keep alive. Do you
agree with Malcolm Gladwell's conclusions? What light, if any, do they shed on the way we
perceive societal problems? (http://dpbh.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/A%20MillionDollarMurray.pdf)

Suggested Works

Literature:
● Isaac Asimov’s ‘I, Robot’ -
https://www.ttu.ee/public/m/mart-murdvee/Techno-Psy/Isaac_Asimov_-_I_Robot.pdf
● Excerpt from Joseph Heller’s ‘Catch-22’ - http://wiztrit.com/excerpt/?e=17j
● Excerpt from Friedrich Nietzsche’s ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra’ -
https://genius.com/Friedrich-nietzsche-the-pale-criminal-vi-annotated

Music:
● U2’s ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM4vblG6BVQ
● Johnny Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDktBZzQIiU

III. When People Part

 ● The institution of marriage (while it may differ in form) is found in nearly all societies
across the world today. Discuss with your team: Why did people start marrying in the first
place? Why do they think marriages fall apart? What makes people opt for divorce? Do
you think a high divorce rate could be a GOOD thing?
● The term ‘balkanization’ is used to refer to the breaking up of states into smaller
fractions. Explore the complicated history behind the term. Discuss with your team:
When do you think a group of people should have the right to form their own country?
Are there any principles you think can be applied across the board?
● Common sense dictates that most people would leave their jobs/places of employment
for financial reasons - But is this true? Ask your parents (or any adults) about the jobs
they have quit in their professional lives so far. Find out: What do they think of those
decisions now? Discuss with your team: What other factors can contribute to bring about
a change in people’s professional choices?
● Have you ever been split up with your classmates at school? Ever since research into
intelligence and the emergence of IQ as a metric, students have been categorized and
segregated on the basis of their IQ score. Discuss with your team: Does this practice
make sense? Some people think not. Can intelligence be quantified? Assuming it can, is
it a reliable predictor of success? Also discuss whether it is preferable to evaluate
students only on the basis of a specific form of intelligence.

Suggested Works
Literature:

● Haruki Murakami’s ‘Seeing the 100% perfect girl’ -

https://genius.com/Haruki-murakami-on-seeing-the-100-perfect-girl-one-beautiful-april-m
orning-annotated
● Pablo Neruda’s ‘I do not love you except because I love you’ -
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-do-not-love-you-except-because-i-love-you/

Music:
● James Blunt’s ‘Goodbye my lover’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVyggTKDcOE
● Don McLean’s ‘Since I don’t have you’ -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0ebeKFwEkY

IV. Trouble Within

● “My sister has been depressed ever since the board results came out”. Depression,
Insomnia and Anxiety are some of the most misused (and overused) words around.
Research these mental disorders, their symptoms and causes. Research with your team:
What constitutes a mental disorder? What can someone dealing with mental illness do to
help themselves? Who can they seek help from? Are there too many things being
 classified as disorders? What makes some people more prone to these illnesses than
others?
● Picture this: You and your best friend are growing apart. She hasn’t changed much, but
something has changed. Explore the concept of cognitive dissonance, best understood
through Fritz Heder’s P-O-X triangle. Ask yourself and your team: What are the last few
occasions you have faced such a situation? How did you resolve them?
● Addiction comes in various forms, as we studied in the last reading list. Explore how it
affects the brain. Discuss with your team: Are some people more likely to become
addicted than others? Recent research seems to suggest so. What are some of the
external stimulants that tend them towards addiction? Is addiction curable or just
treatable? What are some of the treatments available for those fighting addiction?

Suggested Works
Literature:

● Ken Kesey’s ‘One Flew over the cuckoo’s nest’ -

http://www.somersetacademy.com/ourpages/auto/2015/9/29/56608819/cuckoos%20nest
.pdf
● Pablo Neruda’s ‘Walking around’ -
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/walking-around?fbclid=IwAR0_N1alieg8cBxRaKy7
xrjnQJHd7R8Su6ORtT_l3BOfwZTtf20-xwLW-k4
● Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘A dream within a dream’ -
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-dream-within-a-dream/
● Langston Hughes’ ‘As I grew older’ - https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/as-i-grew-older/
● Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ (Pg-12-22)
https://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks/the-strange-case-of-dr-jekyll.pdf

Music:
● Nirvana’s ‘Dumb’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT8lAWdTAho
● The Verve’s ‘Drugs don’t Work’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmdXB9qt3LY
● Don McLean’s ‘Vincent’ -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxHnRfhDmrk&list=PLSNvAkRHSOLKiqsxsdjauxY0Z
s9xsBOVT

V. Moving On..

● Less than 25 years ago, the african nation of Rwanda experienced one of the worst
genocides in human history. Today, it is one of the fastest growing economies in the
world. Research the Rwandan growth story. What lessons can we learn? Discuss with
your team: Is it really possible to rise from the ashes of the phoenix for such nations?
● Yes, in the end, Anthony Bourdain committed suicide. However, did you know what he
fought against his whole life to get where he was? Research examples of people who
overcame addiction. What kind of support do you think someone undergoing such a
 struggle needs? How beneficial is the support of interpersonal relations compared to an
individually driven battle?
● One of the most omnipresent forms of resistance that can be seen in the world around is
blues music. From call-and-response songs in the american South to Jazz and Bebop to
John Mayer’s genre-bending solos, explore the evolution of the genre. Discuss with your
team: What are some songs of resistance from your region that you can think of? Are
there any songs you know by heart?

Suggested Works

Literature:
● Maya Angelou’s ‘Still I rise’ - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46446/still-i-rise
● Lin Manuel Miranda’s ‘Alexander Hamilton’ -
https://genius.com/Lin-manuel-miranda-alexander-hamilton-lyrics

Music:

● Edith Piaf’s ‘Non, Je ne regrette rien’ -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Kvu6Kgp88&fbclid=IwAR3JK5F6H1UnCWsYEapy
5jrvv6ci7PrfC5VSrxTJiopQk2cBnk_bjamUwYs
● Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Bridge over troubled water’ -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_a46WJ1viA
● Joan Baez sings ‘We shall overcome’ -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkNsEH1GD7Q
● Queen’s ‘We are the Champions’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04854XqcfCY

Bonus:

● Conan sings the blues with School Kids -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7f26d-AIrM&fbclid=IwAR0JaL3u9cqZb-sdHGPXB1S
ZPv-aEVYqyobjcnXuonQCAKPtOiX9u1bzAlc