Interpreting the French Revolution

Read either: ROBESPIERRE AND THE TERROR -or- Of Anglo-Saxons and Revisionists: A New Interpretation of the French Revolution Emerges In what way does your article reflect the idea of "living history" or the fact that history is not static? Briefly compare to any other period of history where ideas, views and opinions have evolved over time. Due Friday 2/17

You say you want a revolution...?

"What country before ever existed a century & a half without a rebellion? & what country can preserve it's liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon & pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is it's natural manure." Thomas Jefferson. Letter to William Smith.

"A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets." Napoleon Bonaparte

Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.
Mahatma Gandhi, 'Satyagraha Leaflet No. 13,' May 3, 1919

Is radical and violent revolution justifiable? Be sure to explain your response.

Due Friday 2/17

The Madness of King George

Read the two links below for some more background on King George III of Great Britain.  Having viewed the video (you can review if needed), you should now be able to address the essential questions below.  What did you feel where the most interesting, surprising or otherwise noteable scenes from the film? (This is your response element due Friday.)   Also take a look at the "To the French Revolution" questions.  These should be kept in the back of your mind as we move forward.

King George III: Mad or misunderstood?

The Madness of King George: the only insanity is Nigel Hawthorne losing out on the Oscar to Forrest Gump

The Madness of King George and the Evolution of British Politics.

Essential Questions:
• What is the relationship between the Crown and parliament in 1780’s Great Britain?
• What is the role of the King in British society at this time?
• What actions did Parliament take to increase it’s power and weaken that of the monarchy?
• How were mental health issues perceived and treated at the time? Had healthcare advanced much since the Middle Ages?

To the French Revolution:
• How does Britain as depicted in MKG compare to France in the 1780’s?
• How does the role of the Monarchy in England compare to that of the French King?
• Why do you think revolution takes place in France and not in Great Britain?

Any way you look at it, military service for the rank and file soldier was a nasty business in the 18th century, where the lifestyle was as likely to kill you as the cannonballs, bullets and bayonets. Having completing your reading, and drawing specific examples from those readings or other sources, would you rather serve in the British Army on land or the navy at sea?

Response due by 12/23

Rap Canterbury Tales

What are your thoughts on Baba's approach to Chaucer?  Is is "scholarly"?  Is his work relevent with regard to a modern appreciation of Chaucer?  Feel free to contribute any additional thoughts from the show. 

Due Friday 12/9 7:30 am.

For those unable to attend - read either "Sovereignty, Supremacy and the Origins of the English Civil War" or "THE AMBIVALENCE OF ABSOLUTISM: STATE AND NOBILITY IN 17TH CENTURY FRANCE AND ENGLAND." Both are located with the other online resources. Identify the author's thesis and key arguments. Evaluate the effectiveness of the argument(s) put forth. (work on your critical evaluation skills)
1/2 to 1 page.  Due Tuesday am.

Paradigm Shifts

The terminology of the paradigm shift was popularized by Thomas Kuhn in the 60's, providing historians with yet another wonderful opportunity to argue about what the most important "shifts" have been in the modern era (post-medieval).  What do you think?  What would you argue?

Trail of Henry VIII

I expect each of you to be actively engaged during the trial. That means no other work out, and focusing on taking notes on the following:
1 - Two strengths of each witness' testimony
2 - One weakness of the testimony
3 - Suggestion for summation based on the witness testimony

REMEMBER - While you may refer to notes during your testimony or questioning, over-reliance will lead to a reduced grade. You should be very familiar with your character and testimony.

Turnitin Registration

Make sure to register NOW! If you wait until Friday you are tempting fate and jeopardizing your grade.

Class ID
4483487 2011 Period 2 Euro
4483489 2011 Period 5 Euro

Password = chsrams

Connections2

Is Burke on to something or just, in the words of Tom Esty, "suffering from History ADD." Both? Take a look at the James Burke Institute's Knowledge Web. What does he share in common with David McCullough ? (Make the Connections, ha...ha).

One Word Part 1
One Word Part 2
One Word Part 3


Due Monday 10/17 @ 7:30am

Columbus

How should we as a society view Columbus? Should he be celebrated? Vilified? Something else? Why?

Read the following articles on Columbus, each of which provides a differing interpretation, and answer the questions posed above.

The moral dimensions of 1492
Genocide in the Americas
When Worlds Collide:
Clash of Cultures during the Age of Discovery

Responses due by Tuesday 7:30am 10/11

Do not respond to this until your class section has viewed the Da Vinci video.

Is there a modern day Da Vinci? Can you think of anyone in our time who may be looked upon in the same light centuries down the road? If so, who and why? If not, why not?

Due Wednesday 9/21.

A Dark Ages?

Having read London, would you describe the Middle Ages as A Dark Age? Why or why not?

Weekly Readings - Semester II

For 5/14-5/25
Finish Ordinary Men by 5/35
Speilvogel Chapters 26-27

There will be quizzes on both the week of 5/21

5/7-5/11  
WWI - See APeuroblog for your reading assignments.

4/23-4/27
Speilvogel 26

19th Century revolutions in Thought - Some individuals to familiarize yourself with.  Many can be found in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Compte - Positivism
Spencer - Social Darwinism
Jeremy Bentham
George Hegel
John Stuart Mill
Robert Owen
Emile Zola
Joseph Conrad
Mary Wollstonecraft
Emmeline Pankhurst
Michael Faraday
Joseph Lister
Louis Pasteur
Auguste Compte
Thomas Henry Huxley
Herbert Spencer
Sidney Webb
Karl Pearson
Heinrich von Trietschki
Søren Kierkegaard
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Friedrich Nietzsche
Sigmund Freud
Jean-Paul Sartre
Carl Jung
Samuel Wilberforce
Arthur Schopenhauer
Oscar Wilde


4/13-4/23 - Spring Break
Speilvogel Chapter 25
Students Taking the AP test should finish the book ASAP!!!

4/10-4/13
Speilvogel Test Chapters 19, 21,22,23,24.  
Letter to Queen Victoria
Indian Primaries

Victorian Era Page

3/19-3/30
Romantic Era - Teaching projects


3/9 through 3/16
Spielvogel Chapter 22
The Ottoman Sultans.... (pay attention in class or you will read a lot!!!)
TBA


3/5 through 3/9
Spielvogel Chapter 21


Readings for 2/13 through Winter Break
EBSCO Online Robespierre and Interpreting the FR
From French revolution page on AP MEH

1. Abridged Burke
2. The French Revolution in the English Papers
3. Origins of the French Revolution
   

 Week Seventeen 12/19-12/23
Online Located under "War and Warfare" link on the old homepage.


Week Sixteen  12/12-12/16
Diderot
Rousseau
Voltaire


Week Fifteen 12/5-12/9
Baradat #1 for Monday (Quiz)
Baradat #2


Week Fourteen 11/28-12/2
Speilvogel Chapter 17
Links to readings located HERE 
1 - James I addresses Parliament
2 - Leviathan Chapters Intro, 13, 14, 29
3 - SE - Hobbes
4 - What is Enlightenment
5 - SE - John Locke


Week Thirteen 11/21-11/23

Modern History Sourcebook: Galileo Galilei: Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany, 1615 
Thomas Kuhn
Samuel Wilberforce: On Darwin's Origin of Species, 1860 
WMAP


Week  Twelve 11/14-11/18
Speilvogel Chapter 15 & 16
War and Revolution in the 16th and 17th Centuries

Week Ten 10/31-11/4
Speilvogel Chapter 14
Wars of Religion Online Sources - Read all

Week Nine 10/24-10/28
XXXXXXXXXXX

Week Eight 10/17-10/21
Work on your Lit Reviews!

Week Seven 10/11-10/14
If you have not read the following from Week 4:
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion
Schleitheim Confession
The Complaint Against Michael Servetus
Michael Servetus
St. Ignatious Loyola, “Spiritual Exercises”
Martin Luther 95 Thesis
Luther - Letter to the Archbishop of Mainz
On Jews and Their Lies (Just skim for tone)
The Way of Perfection (Review Only)


Weeks Five-Six 9/25-10/8
Meeting w/ Brit Lit + begin research for Lit Review

Week Four 9/18-9/22
Online readings/Primary Sources HERE

Week Three 9/12-9/16
Spielvogel Chapter 13
The Prince

Week Two 9/6-9/9
Spielvogel Chapters 11-12
Links from MWT Renaissance Primaries and Weblinks
1 - Letter to Boccaccio
2 - Petrus Paulus Vergerius: The New Education (c. 1400)
3 - The Book of the City of Ladies
4 - The Courtier (skim)

Week One 8/30-9/2
David McCullough There Isn't Any Such Thing as the Past
Clive Ponting World History - A New Perspective

Welcome Back

Bookmark this page, as most of the online content will be migrating to this site from the older ECE Modern Western Traditions page. I HOPE YOU HAVE BEEN READING!!!!!

How We Survived....

Due to the school computer virus, I have been unable to create a pdf for your reading. Handouts are on my desk.

"Slavenka Drakulic has been called the Simone de Beauvoir of Eastern Europe, and this book is a testament as to why." Robin Morgan

Read the two chapters "A Chat with My Censor" and "How We Survived." Respond to at least two of the prompts below:
What do these chapters reveal about ordinary life under a communist regime?
What are three things the author said that you think are important?
How do panty hose, shoeboxes, cans and old pants relate to the title of the final chapter?
Is this picture of communism what you expected? How does it compare to CNN's The Cold War - Spies?

Due Monday MORNING

The Marshall Plan

What is your analysis of the argument put forth in "The Tragedy of American Diplomacy? Rethinking the Marshall Plan?" What are the strengths and weaknesses of this thesis? What are the main points criticised by other historians?

Due Tuesday MORNING

How should those who have participated in genocide or mass murder (such as the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Srebrenica, and the list goes on)be dealt with by society. To what degree should individuals be held accountable? What about those who give orders and those who carry them out? Do experiments such as those conducted by Milgram, Zimbardo and others mitigate responsibility? Why or why not? In order to get full credit on this response, you must cite specific evidence from Ordinary Men, as well as other class sources.

Due Monday 5/16

Evaluate Browning's thesis in light of class discussions and the Goldhagen readings. Does it hold water? Could ordinary people like you or I be turned into killers? Is it LIKELY that in a similar situation we would follow the same path of the men of OPB 101? Do any of Goldhagen's criticism undermine Browning? Discuss, citing examples from all three required readings.

Due Friday 5/13

WWII Rresponse - Choose an option.

Blog Options

#1 - Compare and contrast Triumph des Willens and Why We Fight #1: Prelude to War (1943). Both are linked to the WWII page on my website. You can address cinematic style, messages, psychological appeals or other elements employed by 2 of the most influential producers of the period, Leni Riefenstahl and Frank Capra.

#2 - Watch Inside the Mind of Hitler. What did you find most interesting or disturbing about Dr. Langer's psycho-analysis of Hitler? Be sure to support your views with specific references to the video. What about Langer's conclusions?

Due Friday 5/25 by NOON.

Vote for the MVD!!!!

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