Alexander, could you pass the ribs?
November 3, 2006 8:53 PM 
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If you could invite *anyone* from all of history to your house for dinner, who would you invite, and why? Further details, and reasons why this isn't chatfilter:
I'm an English teacher in Indonesia and there's an activity I do where I divide students into groups and ask them to choose 10 people from a list of historical figures (plus two of their own choosing) to invite to a dinner party. They decide on the guest list and reasons for inviting people, seating arrangements, the menu, and any entertainment options.
The issue I have is that the list neatly provided on the worksheet is from 1988, features only 7 women, 10 people who aren't religious or political leaders, and 15 non-Westerners on a list of 60+ people, and the people it does feature includes people like Anwar Sadat and Mikhail Gorbachev. I'd like to update the list and make the activity more representative of today's world, as well as including more "minority" voices and non-politicians.
I've seen things like "The 100" but those lists seem really tilted towards the heavy movers-and-shakers of history while neglecting thinkers, artists, and other people who'd make fantastic guests at a dinner party. In this vein, note that the people don't have to be important or influential, just well-known enough to be discussed by secondary school/university students.
So, then, who's coming to dinner at your place? Feel free to list as many people as you want.
posted by visual mechanic at 9:00 PM on November 3, 2006