State capacity & political economy / Gemini
After the Headline: The Nigeria File
Why can a state be powerful in some ways and struggle in others? Join the research desk of a fictional magazine and investigate Nigeria through evidence about oil, taxation, public services, and political power. This guided chatbot challenges you to connect the readings, question easy explanations, and build an argument that can survive a skeptical reader. Before you begin: Read all three selections in the reading packet and keep it open during the activity. Lectures are optional. Allow approximately 40 minutes after completing the readings.
Before you begin
Complete the assigned reading before opening the bot; keep the source beside you.
A Google/Gemini account is required. Provider availability, age rules and usage limits apply. Conversations are processed by the provider. Do not enter student records or sensitive personal information. Opening this conversation does not send a Possible States simulation record.
Give the conversation a job.
- State the author’s central claim in your own words.
- Point to one passage or piece of evidence that carries the explanation.
- Offer the strongest rival account and ask which observation would distinguish them.
- Write your own bounded conclusion and one follow-up research question.
Without a bot
Use these four prompts as an individual reading response or a paired discussion. An instructor can assess the reasoning against the source. A bot’s feedback is not the final authority on an article.
A route from the main collection
Rights
The bot platform and assigned sources have their own terms. Listing a bot here does not make its platform, prompt system or source article an openly licensed resource. Read the collection’s reuse information →