Readings for November 1st

Home stretch here, folks, and not a bad week for reading.

You have three primary sources from the reader for this week: Mohandas Ghandi (p. 295), George Kennan's The Long Telegram (p. 326), and Isabel & David Crook (p.340). They are all on the longer side, but I think all of these have really important content. Hopefully, you'll be able to see the impact of the things we discuss in the coming classes in some of the events today.

Because this week is half October, half November, I'll make you guys a deal: I'll count the activity, if you complete it, toward EITHER October or November. So, if you didn't do a post in October, now's your chance. If you want to get November's out of the way, it would work for that too.

You'll get your map quizzes back in section, as well as an update on your participation grades going into the last few weeks of the semester.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT FOR SECTION:

1) Ghandi writes about satyagraha - what is it, and what are some examples that he provides throughout the letter? Why use it as a method of rebelling against the colonial government? Why write to Lord Irwin to announce his next proposed Salt March? What wrongs does he accuse the colonial government of committing?

2) Kennan is attempting to explain to the US State Department the mindset of the post-WWII Communist regime in the Soviet Union (Russia). How does he describe Soviet policy? How does it feel about the West? What are its goals, according to Kennan? What should the US do in response? Does it sound like he's describing Communism fairly?

3) The Crooks were in China during the struggle between the KMT (the Chinese Nationalist Government) and the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) for control of the country. How do the Crooks describe land ownership prior to Communist intervention? What changes did the Communists make, and how did it affect the peasants? What was the main problem the villagers had with Fu Gao-lin? What do these accusations and the subsequent punishments show about the villagers attitudes toward inequality?

ACTIVITY - due by 11:59pm on Wednesday, 10/31 if you choose to complete it

Pick ONE of the above THREE questions and answer it in the comments. It may be easier to wait until after lecture on Wednesday so you have some more context, but feel free to do so sooner if you prefer.

Stay safe with the wind & see everyone on Thursday!

Also: if any of you are considering seeing a movie, Argo is very good. It depicts a portion of the events of the Iranian Revolution (albeit a small part and from an American perspective), which is also the topic of Persepolis. I've embedded the trailer below.

Extra Stuff: History of WWI & WWII via a Facebook News Feed

If you're still fuzzy on the sequence of events of WWI & WWII, we'll talk more about it in section, but there's also this "Facebook Feed" history of the events of WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII on College Humor. It's kind of fun, but it's also a pretty good overview.

College Humor - History of the World via Facebook

Readings for October 25th

Hello all!

If you can believe it, we're up to World War I & II this week. The readings for this week aren't too bad in terms of length. Please look at the British Army's Form A 2042 (p.285), then read Wilfred Owen (p.287), Adolf Hitler (p.307), and Hanna Lévy-Hass (p.312). Also, PLEASE REVIEW THE READINGS FOR LAST WEEK about Japan, as we'll be going over them too. After this week, we'll be caught up with the syllabus.

Remember, map quiz on Friday in lecture - the study guide is up online. I'll be handing back last Friday's quizzes in section.

THINGS TO CONSIDER FOR SECTION:

1) What part of the World War I experience is Wilfred Owen writing about? From the poem, what can you tell about the soldiers' experiences during World War I?

2) For Adolf Hitler, what was the connection between race and the state? What did Hitler think about Russia? What were his plans, based on this reading?

3) Hanna Lévy-Hass describes conditions in the concentration camps - what was life like in the camps in general?

ACTIVITY - due by 11:59pm on Wednesday, 10/24 if you chose to do it

This one is based on your OWN knowledge. In order to know how much background I need to give you on the World Wars, I need to know what you already understand. So, pick ONE of the following six topics, and tell me (in 6-8 sentences) what you already know about the subject. If you know anything about the wartime experience in places other than Europe, the US, and Japan, please include that.

1) The causes of World War I
2) The actual events of World War I
3) The changes in the world political system after World War I
4) The causes of World War II
5) The events of World War II
6) The Holocaust & concentration camps

See everyone in lecture & section!

-Kirsten

Readings for October 18th

Hello everyone!

First, here's a quick chart of family trees for characters for The River Between and which ridge they were from:

As all of you know, since we chose to review for the midterm, we're running a little behind on the primary sources. This week, in addition to finishing The River Between, you have two primary sources to read about Japan. They are Honda Toshiaki (p. 198) and Yamagata Aritomo (p. 304).

I'm going to post the discussion questions here, but chances are that we'll spend most of the class on Africa - we'll go over the novel and the Kenyatta and Morel sources. This is especially likely since most of the lecture material on Japan will come on Friday, after this week's session, and I'd like you to have context before we go over the readings.

THINGS TO CONSIDER FOR READINGS:

1) According to Toshiaki, what does Japan stand to gain through colonization and expansion? What does the process look like? What are the obstacles to expansion? How do Toshiaki's suggestions compare to Europe's early colonial experiences?

2) Why does Yamagata think the world is becoming racialized - what evidence does he provide? What does Japan need to do in the face of the "white" threat?

ACTIVITY - due by 11:59pm on Wednesday, 10/17, if you chose to do this one

In The River Between, there are several key themes that carry throughout the novel. Pick ONE of the following questions and answer it in the comments, using SPECIFIC EXAMPLES from the book to support your answer.

1) There are virtually no European characters in the book, yet the threats and damage caused by their presence is very apparent. Who is responsible for the conflict and change in the novel? How does the presence of the Christian ministry make pre-existing tensions worse?

2) Why is circumcision so controversial? What larger conflict does it represent? Which argument do you find more convincing - should female circumcision be banned or not?

3) What is the main disagreement between the Kiama and Joshua's church? Is it just religious, or is it something different? What do "traditional" and "Christian" mean in this case?

4) Education is prominent in the book. What are the arguments for and against establishing the tribe's own schools on the ridges? Do the schools succeed? How much of the arguments are actually about education?

See y'all on Thursday.

-Kirsten

Readings for October 11th

So, the midterm is over. That's good, right?

Before I get into this week's primary sources, I want to remind you that you should be reading the first half of The River Between this week. Professor McDow has put a study guide up on Carmen, so you should take a look at that before class. You'll have a chance to ask questions at the beginning of section.

This week, we'll be discussing both LAST WEEK'S and THIS WEEK'S primary sources, which I actually think go together rather well. We'll try to get an idea of what the ideological transformations in the nineteenth century meant for the process of colonization.

The new readings for this week are Cecil Rhodes (p. 227), Edmund Morel (p. 232), and Jomo Kenyatta (p. 735 in the WTWA textbook).

THINGS TO CONSIDER FOR SECTION:

1) After reading Rhodes, what image do you get of British nationalism? What is it based in? Why does Rhodes think it is so important for the British Empire to expand?

2) According to Morel, why is economic domination in Africa so dangerous? Why doesn't European capitalism work in Africa?

3) Why, specifically, does Kenyatta think the European presence in Africa is damaging? How does he describe the Africans? What do you think of this description?

ACTIVITY - due by 11:59pm, Wednesday 10/10, if you choose this week's activity

I'm using the same activity as last week: Pick a quote (1-2 sentences) from any of the readings. YOU MAY CHOOSE ANY READING FROM THIS WEEK OR LAST WEEK (make sure to specify which one you are using). Give us the quote, tell us what you found interesting, surprising, confusing, etc about it, and then tell us one question that it raised for you. Please put your response in the comments section, and remember it only needs to be about 5-6 sentences total.

See you all on Thursday,
Kirsten

Readings for October 4th

Hello, all.

Just a reminder that I have the following review sessions scheduled - MAKE SURE YOU COME WITH SPECIFIC QUESTIONS!

Tuesday, October 2nd, 10am-12pm, Dulles 250
Tuesday, October 2nd, 3pm-5pm, Dulles 020
Wednesday, October 3rd, 9am-11am, Dulles 250

Since it's now October, we're on a new cycle of blog posts, so all of you are required to complete one activity in the next four weeks. If I suggested to you that more frequent posts would compensate for absences or infrequent in-class participation, you might want to consider doing more.

This week's readings are all about social change in the 19th century. You have three primary sources for this week: George Valentia (p. 186), Testimony for the Factory Act (p. 190), and Temple Wage (p. 225). The Temple Wage is a chart that we'll discuss, so please make sure to bring your book to section.

We'll also be reviewing a bit for the midterm. Remember, it's on Friday.

THINGS TO CONSIDER FOR SECTION:

1) According to Valentia, how do the Brits keep control over the population in India? What does British society in India look like?

2) In Testimony for the Factory Act, what are the main arguments for limiting the workday? What are the arguments against it?

ACTIVITY - due by 11:59pm on Wednesday, 10/3 if you chose to complete this week's activity

Pick a quote (1-2 sentences) from either of the readings. Give us the quote, tell us what you found interesting, surprising, confusing, etc about it, and then tell us one question that it raised for you. Please put your response in the comments section, and remember it only needs to be about 5-6 sentences total.

Good luck with your studying!