Tuesday, August 27, 2013

New Blog

To those of you looking for the new blog, here's a link. Please pass it on to anyone who hasn't found it yet!

Christendom Blog



Thursday, May 2, 2013

Viva Question Suggestions

The top 5-10 questions will be included on the final! Best of luck!

Monday, April 29, 2013

Week 29 Homework

Please read: "The End of History" by Francis Fukuyama

Please listen to: "The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" by Henryk Gorecki

The 20th century was one of the darkest periods in human history. Henryk Gorecki, a polish composer, experienced much of the worst that the century had to offer. In 1992 a recording of his third symphony was released which became one of the most important recordings of contemporary classical music to ever be released. This term we have discussed the many wars, coups, and other tragedies that marked the last half of the 20th century. Please take this time to reflect, read through the symphony's texts, and listen.

If at all possible, please listen to this piece in one sitting (ideally in the dark, with headphones on!)

First Movement: 

My son, my chosen and beloved
Share your wounds with your mother
And because, dear son, I have always carried you in my heart,
And always served you faithfully
Speak to your mother, to make her happy,
Although you are already leaving me, my cherished hope.

Lamentation of the Holy Cross Monastery from the "Lysagóra Songs" collection. Second half of the 15th century

Second Movement:

No, Mother, do not weep,
Most chaste Queen of Heaven
Support me always.
"Zdrowas Mario." *

Prayer inscribed on wall 3 of cell no. 3 in the basement of "the Palace," the Gestapo's headquarters in Zadopane; beneath is the signature of Helena Wanda Blazusiakówna, and the words "18 years old, imprisoned since 26 September 1944."


* "Zdrowas Mario" (Ave Maria)—the opening of the Polish prayer to the Holy Mother
Third Movement:

Where has he gone
My dearest son?
Perhaps during the uprising
The cruel enemy killed him

Ah, you bad people
In the name of God, the most Holy,
Tell me, why did you kill
My son?

Never again
Will I have his support
Even if I cry
My old eyes out

Were my bitter tears
to create another River Oder
They would not restore to life
My son

He lies in his grave
and I know not where
Though I keep asking people
Everywhere

Perhaps the poor child
Lies in a rough ditch
and instead he could have been
lying in his warm bed

Oh, sing for him
God's little song-birds
Since his mother
Cannot find him

And you, God's little flowers
May you blossom all around
So that my son
May sleep happily

Folk song in the dialect of the Opole region of Poland

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Week 28 Homework


Watch: "The Wall Comes Down"

Read: "Three Days in Foros" (Optional)

Read: "The August Coup" 

____________________________________________________

Please select a document (1-9) from "The August Coup" and sign up in the comments section. Two students may share a document. If you decide to share a  document, please be sure to discuss the assignment with your co-presenter before you prepare your research, as you will be presenting together.

Presentation Guidelines: 

1. Summarize the document.
2. Find one interesting quotation from the selection, share the quote, and explain it.
3. Explain the importance of your document and its relationship to the fall of communism.
4. Sum up your findings and describe what you learned from reading the document.
5. If you share a dialogue document, your quote should include portions of the dialogue read together with your partner.

Note:  Your presentation should use note cards. These will not be handed in.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Week 27 Homework


Please read: "The CIA in Somalia" 

Please read: "The US Army in Somalia"

Please watch: "Black Hawk Down" (optional) 

For the remaining classes, please submit one extended blog post, no journals.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Week 26 Homework

Please watch: "Soldiers of God"

Please listen to: "Afghan Elvis"

Please post your reading journals online, rather than the normal brief online posts.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Week 21 Homework

Read: "Introduction to the Cultural Revolution"



Watch: China (1949-1972)



Watch: "Nixon in China" (Please watch as much as you can!) 

No Reading Journals...however, please post your thoughts on the readings, in brief, on the blog.

Study for the test!! It will be substantive...If it is in the coursepack it will likely be on the test.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Week 20 Homework


Read: “Zanzibar: the Hundred Days of Revolution” (pgs. 29-51)



Read: "An African Cuba?" 



Today we depend on the data provided by the thousands of satellites that circle the earth. The first commercial communications satellite "Telstar" was the pioneer which changed the nature of how we live. Today, we are unable to imagine life without the many services provided by satellites. The sudden opening of international communication was marked in several pop songs at the time. Interestingly, Telstar's unique pattern was mimicked by Adidas when they created the "Telstar" soccer-ball, whose black and white pattern became the standard.

Watch: Telstar Documentary

Listen: Telstar in pop music 

"(Help Me) Telstar" by the Gee Sisters

"Telstar" by the Tornadoes 

Monday, February 11, 2013

Week 19 Homework

The 1956 Suez Crisis is one of the most important and controversial events in British history since the Second World War. Not only did Suez result in deep political and public division in Britain, it also caused international uproar. It has come to be regarded as the end of Britain's role as one of the world powers and as the beginning of the end for the British Empire. In future British foreign policy would be conducted in concurrence with American diplomatic support.

Suez Crisis - Timeline
26 July 1956
The Egyptian President, Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, announces the Egyptian nationalisation of the Suez Canal and its operating Suez Canal Company in retaliation to the reneging of an agreement by the American and British Governments to finance the construction of the Aswan Dam. The Suez Canal represented the main source of supply of oil for Britain and France and the potential loss of those supplies represented an economic threat that they could ill ignore.
27 July
The British Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden, forms the Egypt Committee, consisting of himself, Lord Salisbury (Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords), Lord Home (the Commonwealth Secretary), and Harold Macmillan (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) to co-ordinate Britain's intent to recover her access to the Suez Canal. The Foreign Secretary, Selwyn Lloyd and the Defence Minister Sir Walter Monckton were later members of the Egypt Committee.
16-23 August
A conference of nations meets in London in an attempt to find a diplomatic solution and adopts eighteen proposals which include an offer to Nasser of Egyptian representation on the Suez Canal Company board and a share in its profits.
3-9 September
The Australian Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, travels to Cairo to offer Nasser the eighteen proposals which he rejects. Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, seeks to distance the US Government from support for military intervention, ever mindful of President Eisenhower's hopes for re-election in the November US Presidential election.
19-21 September
A second conference of nations is held in London to discuss American proposals for a Suez Canal Users Association to ensure continued international use of the Canal.
13 October
The USSR vetoes the American plan in the United Nations Security Council.
14 October
Sir Anthony Eden holds secret discussions with French officials over a military operation to recover use of the Canal. The talks result in the formation of a plan by which Israel would invade Egypt and thus allow British and French forces to seize the Canal as an act of intervention between warring nations.
22-24 October
The British Foreign Secretary, Selwyn Lloyd, concludes the agreement with French and Israeli officials at Sèvres, France. The British copy of the resulting Sèvres Protocol is subsequently destroyed on Eden's orders.
25 October
Eden gains approval for military intervention from a divided cabinet. An increasingly sidelined Foreign Office is split over the Government's intention to adopt military measures.
29 October
Israeli forces invade Egypt.
30 October
The British and French ultimatum for an end to hostilities is rejected by Nasser.
5-6 November
On the night of 5-6 November, British and French troops invade Port Said and take control of the Suez Canal. In a meeting of the British cabinet on 6 November, Harold Macmillan raises stark warnings of economic peril as a result of the action. Macmillan had previously been one of the strongest supporters of resolute action. The US Presidential election results in the re-election of President Eisenhower.
7 November
The United States, USSR and the United Nations condemn British and French military action. The loss of confidence and American backing for the already weak British economy forces Eden into calling a cease-fire. British public opinion is deeply divided over the use of force.
9 January 1957
Under the impact of the Crisis, Eden's already fragile health has deteriorated to such an extent that he is forced to resign. Ill health or not, politically Eden's premiership had little future.
10 January
Harold Macmillan replaces Eden as Prime Minister.

Transcription.

Choose one diary entry/letter/etc and transcribe the text. Each item can be transcribed by a team of two or three. Sign-up in the comment section. 

Harold Macmillan diary entry, 27 July 1956. MS. Macmillan dep. d. 27, fols. 9r, 10r, 11r.
William Clark diary entry, 13 Aug. 1956. MS. Eng. c. 4806, fols. 114-15.
Paul Gore-Booth minute, 2 Nov. 1956. MS. Gore-Booth adds. 10/1, fol. 4r-v.
Paul Gore-Booth letter to mother, 3 Nov. 1956. MS. Eng. c. 4599, fols. 12r-13v.
William Clark diary entry 4-5 Nov. 1956. MS. Eng. c. 4806, fols. 179-80.
Gilbert Murray draft letter to Time and Tide, 6 Nov. 1956. MS. Gilbert Murray 111, fols. 215-6.
Violet Bonham Carter letter to Gilbert Murray, 30 Nov. 1956. MS. Gilbert Murray 121, fols. 219-220.



Watch Newsreels.



No Journals. 

Monday, February 4, 2013

Week 18 Homework


1. Watch: “Backyard (1954-1990)”


2.  Read: “Modern Art was CIA Weapon”


3. Prepare: Bring along an example of art by a CIA funded artist, be prepared to discuss. For your reading journal, please write a brief biography of the artist you chose, and discuss why CIA might have decided to fund their work. Blog postings are optional. 

4. Read :“Operation PBSuccess” (pgs. 25-80) 

     http://www.mediafire.com/view/?nr2ie492mdpa7z5   (With special thanks to Ryan!)


Monday, January 28, 2013

Week 17 Homework


The Shah is Victorious, please read pages 1-13. 


"Luck Be a Lady" was the theme song used by CIA during Operation AJAX.



We will be debating energy policy this week, please consider the question: 

"Is violence ever justified in the pursuit of energy security?" 

NO READING JOURNALS

In lieu of reading journals or standard blog postings, please post an affirmative and a negative argument and then respond to one another's arguments. 

In addition, please find two pieces of scholarly evidence (journals, reputable newspapers, think-tanks, etc.) 
1 pro/1 contra. 

This is an introduction to the new forms of debate we will be exploring, have a look! 



For next week...

Please begin reading Operation PBSUCCESS, pages 1-24. 


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Week 16 Homework


The Quiet American, 1958 


2002 version (note, this version is broken into small sections!) (optional)


Vietnam (1954-1968)


La Mer, 1946 


Lyrics: 

The sea, 
seen dancing along clear gulfs
with silver reflections
The sea,
changing reflections
beneath the rain

The sea
Under a summer sky
Merges whitecaps
With angels so pure
The sea, shepherdess of
Endless blue

Look:
Near ponds
tall, wet reeds
Look:
white birds
and rusty houses
The sea,
it has calmed
the clear gulfs
with a love song
The sea,
it has calmed my heart


Homework:
Please answer the following questions in one paragraph per question:

1. Why were the French unable to keep control of Vietnam?
2. Should the US have become more directly involved in helping the French at Dien Bien Phu?
3. What was agreed at the Geneva Conference, in relation to Indochina?
4. What was the significance of the agreements at the Geneva Conference?

Short Presentations: Choose either:

A French cultural contribution to Vietnamese history or society.
OR
A major battle in the French Indochina War.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Monday Presentations Calendar

Week 14 Frannie M. Disc. 
Week 15 
Week 16 Megan R. Soc./Robert L. Disc.
Week 17  
Week 18 Marc O. Disc./Christy B. Soc./Ryan Coup
Week 19 Jessica M. Disc. Megan R. Coup.
Week 20 Frannie M. Coup./Nathan K. Disc.
Week 21 Robert L. Soc.
Week 22 Jacqui M. Disc.
Week 23 Corinne K. Disc./Jacqui coup
Week 24 Christy B. Disc./Jessica Coup./ Marc Soc. 
Week 25 Frannie M. Soc./Robert L. Coup/Jessica soc.
Week 26 Christy B. Coup./Megan R. Disc./ Ryan soc.
Week 27 Ryan Disc. /Nathan Coup. / /jacqui soc.
Week 28 Corinne K. soc. Marc O. Coup
Week 29 Nathan Soc./ Corinne K. coup
Week 30 

Thursday Presentations Calendar

Week 14 Ian S. Disc.
Week 15
Week 16 Max P. Disc.
Week 17
Week 18 Sarah H. Coup./Callie S. Soc.
Week 19 Mark F. Disc.
Week 20
Week 21 Sarah H. Disc.
Week 22 Graham C. Disc.//Ian S. Soc./Rose S. Coup.
Week 23 Mark F. Coup/Graham C. Soc./Sarah H. Soc.
Week 24 Callie S. Disc./Rose Soc./Quinn Coup
Week 25 Max P. Coup/ Quinn Soc
Week 26 Graham C. Coup./Max P. Soc.
Week 27 Ian S. Coup./Mark F. Soc.
Week 28 Callie S. Coup./Quinn Disc.
Week 29
Week 30


Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Monday and Thursday Comments

Please post in the comment section. Thanks!

Week 15 Homework

Iron Curtain Documentary

The Truman Doctrine

The Bretton Woods Conference (Lecture) 

UN Charter

Note: When you create your alternative preamble to the UN Charter, please replace 1-7 with your own personal beliefs. If you completely agree with a statement, please leave it as it is.



WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED
1.      To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
2.      To reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
3.      To establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
4.      To promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
AND FOR THESE ENDS
5.      To practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors, and
6.      To unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and
7.      To ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Thursday Sign-Up


   Discussion Leader, Coup D’état, and Social History Sign-Up  (Thursday Only)

In the comment section below, please sign-up for a discussion leader slot and for both presentations. When signing up please include your name, class, and the dates you are selecting. Everyone needs to sign up for one of each. Time-slots will go to the first person to sign up. If you need to change times, this will have to be negotiated between students. If you have any concerns, please e-mail me. 

Monday, January 7, 2013

Leo Strauss Article

Here's the article on Leo Strauss and intelligence that I mentioned in class...

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/files/leo_strauss_and_the_world_of_intelligence.pdf

Our discussion of Strauss was largely based upon ideas found in this text, if you feel like ordering a copy:

http://www.amazon.com/Persecution-Art-Writing-Leo-Strauss/dp/0226777111/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357597179&sr=8-1&keywords=on+persecution+and+writing

If you'd like a brief introduction to Strauss, an excellent lecture can be found here:

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/194838-1

Friday, January 4, 2013

Welcome Rhetoric II!


Welcome Rhetoric II students! We will be using this blog as part of our class. It will serve several purposes. I will be using the class blog to post some of our reading assignments, as well as videos and other links. You should also begin using the blog to ask questions about assignments or resources. Additionally, each week you will be required to post a thought about the week’s readings. This could be anything from an argument you may have with something from a class reading to a potential virtue or vice demonstrated by one of the individuals we are learning about. You will also be required to post one response to another student’s post. The primary posts will always be due two days before our class meeting. Responses will be due by midnight prior to class. 

Discussion Leader:
During this term, each student will be required to lead discussion for at least one class period. The discussion leader should prepare a short summary of something interesting from the readings and at least three discussion-provoking questions. (Approximately 5 -10 minutes)

The discussion leader should:
1.      Provide a short summary of the readings
2.      Explain one detail which interested them
3.      Ask, at least, three discussion-provoking questions.
4.      Lead discussion
For a quick list of ideas for leading a discussion, have a look at the following guidelines.


Coup D’état Presentations:

Each student will give a presentation on one of the following coup d’états. This project is intended as an opportunity to develop your research skills. Additionally, the longer format presentation allows you the chance thoroughly discuss your subject, while learning how to give a lecture. The presentation will be from 10-20 minutes and will begin by explaining the context of the coup. The presenter will then provide a narrative of the events that led to the coup, a timeline of the coup itself, and the events which followed shortly thereafter. The presentation will then discuss links between the coup and other events discussed in class. Finally, the student will assess the legacy of the coup, by looking at more recent events in the country being discussed. As part of the presentation, students are encouraged to include handouts, images, original documents, sound recordings, video, power-point slides, etc.

Coup D’état Presentation Topics:

·         1949 Syrian coup
·         1953 Iranian coup*
·         1954 Guatemalan coup*
·         1960 Congo coup
·         1961 Cuban invasion
·         1961 Dominican Republic
·         1963 South Vietnamese coup
·         1964 Brazilian coup
·         1973 Chilean coup
·         1976 Argentine coup
·         1979 Afghanistan resistance*
·         1980 Turkey coup
·         1981 Nicaraguan 'contras'
·         2002 Venezuelan coup attempt

*By request only.

Social History Presentations:
Each student will give a short presentation on the social history of the era we are discussing this term. Presentations should use note-cards and include multimedia and/or examples of your topic (e.g. photos, food, music, item of clothing, etc.). Presentations should be around 5-10 minutes.

Possible topics include:  
·         Style in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s (Choose a decade)
·         Music in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s (Choose a decade)
·         Food in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s (Choose a decade)
·         Technology in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s (Choose a decade)
·         Recreation in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s (Choose a decade)
·         Family Life in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s (Choose a decade)

The following are more specific examples; additionally, students may request an alternative topic.
·         The Rise of the Supermarket
·         The Rise of the Automobile Culture
·         The Worldwide Rise of Fast Food
·         A History of the Internet
·         Television’s Impact on Modern Society

      Discussion Leader, Coup D’état, and Social History Sign-Up  (Monday Only)

In the comment section below, please sign-up for a discussion leader slot and for both presentations. When signing up please include your name, class, and the dates you are selecting. Everyone needs to sign up for one of each. Time-slots will go to the first person to sign up. If you need to change times, this will have to be negotiated between students. If you have any concerns, please e-mail me. 

Hour Zero (Week 14)


Please watch the following film (at least in part). This collection of footage shot at the end of World War II gives us a firsthand look at what Germany looked like at war's end. The footage is silent, however, can you get a sense of what is happening? What stands out to you? Post your thoughts and feelings in the comment section below! 


Please watch the following newsreel on the Dumbarton Oaks Conference


Listen to Stravinsky Dumbarton Oaks Concerto