Vacation Homework

Over the vacation, as you ponder whether or not you are still actually alive or if the world has ended and you are living in a matrix-like simulation, you should complete another book/movie project.  Choose a non-fiction or fiction book from the list posted here, or select a non-fiction or fiction film (be sure to run it by me first) and complete the assignment linked up here.  Remember that you must complete at least two of these assignments as non-fiction, and you may only do a total of two films out of the four options, so plan ahead if you know that either February or April vacations will be tough to complete. The rubric is linked up here.

If you are interested, Newsweek ran an article about the search for Genghis Khan's tomb last week.  The article is linked up here.

In addition, you should read chapter 17 in the textbook.  We will not discuss it, as it is focused on Europe, but it is an important pre-cursor to the later chapter on Europe (chapter 20) that we will discuss!  We come back to Sub-Saharan Africa in 2013!

Enjoy the break! We hit the ground running when we get back...

Weekend work

Over the weekend, you should be sure that you have your character roles ready to go. The direct examination should be scripted, and witnesses should be ready to address cross examination questions.

We will have a test on Thursday, Dec 20. (The day before the Mayan Calendar runs out. That's called "going out in style"...) The test will be 70 multiple choice questions.  Questions will be drawn from the Post Classical Era, chapter 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18.  NOT chapter 17.

If you are re-writing your essay, you need to hand in the original and the re-write at the start of class on Thursday.  Late submissions will not be accepted.

Post Classical Trade Presentation

Here is the powerpoint slideshow from our discussion of Post Classical Trade.

Post Classical India Slideshow

Here is the powerpoint version of the slides about Post Classical India.

Chinese religion slideshow

Here's the slideshow from the class discussion about religion.

Nomad slide show

Here is the slideshow I showed you in class.

Your plan for today

Hi folks-

Sorry not to be with you all today.  Today you should work on pulling together your questions for direct and cross.  If you are a witness, be sure that you know the answers to your direct examination, and brainstorm what the cross examiner might focus on.  You will not have the full class to work on Friday, so be sure to maximize your time today!

Class Blogs

The class blogs (as I have them) are:

Period 3: mongolprosecution.wordpress.com
               mongoldefense.wordpress.com

Period 4: mongoltrialprosecution.posterous.com
               MongolDefense.blogspot.com

Trial Definitions

For the purposes of our trial, the following definitions will be used by the court:

Genocide—The deliberate or systematic attempt to destroy either all of a group of humans or the ways of life of a group of humans because of their shared ethnic/religious/cultural traits or their intrinsic beliefs.

Terrorism—The attempt to instill a heightened state of fear in a group of humans in order to enact political, religious or social change.

Kidnapping—The taking of a human being (or multiple human beings) against his or her will and subsequently depriving that person of freedom of movement and choice.

A guilty charge will stick if the prosecution provides evidence that the Mongols did in fact act in ways that match these definitions. The defense providing reasonable doubt to the witnesses credibility that the Mongols acted in these ways, or direct evidence to the contrary will prevent a guilty verdict. Good luck!

Mongol Trial, Day #2

Some thoughts about the role that the Witnesses play in the trial are linked up here.

The scoring guide that will help to determine the winner (whichever team scores the most points) and your mark is linked up here.

Over the weekend, you should get into the researching of your character.  Who is this person? FOr example, if you are a Chinese peasant, what time period and region are you from? What's your name? What is your life like?  How did the Mongols change your life?  You will need to build your character.  If you are a named witness, like Guillaume Boucher, you need to discover as much about him as you can. (hint: the textbook chapter begins with him...)

You also need to build on today's class to learn more about the Mongols and what they did and where they went, so read Chapter 18!  The sooner you finish that, the easier your job will be in the trial, regardless of your role!

Mongols on Trial

We are going to put the Mongols on trial for crimes against humanity over the next week. Half of you will serve as the Prosecution, and the other half will serve as the Defense.  The Mongols are charged with Genocide, Terrorism and Kidnapping, and we must agree what these terms mean before the trial begins.  You will choose a role and have to play that part in the trial--the roles range from actual Mongol leaders, to alleged victims of the crimes, to lawyers on each side.

You scanned the documents in class today, but just in case your app is wonky, the link to the trial overview is here, and the link to the trial process is here. You can follow the trial on Twitter with the hashtag #mongoltrial. We will live tweet the trial and blog about the process as well!

This will be slightly different than what we've done before, in that you are all going to need to read Chapter 18 over the next week, as it contains information that is relevant to all facets of the trial.  However, I will not be breaking the chapter down into chunks for you; you will do that on your own based on what you need to read for your role.  HOWEVER, EVERYONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR READING THE WHOLE CHAPTER!

The trial itself will begin on Monday the 17th and continue through the 18th. In between now and then I will present some materials that will help you go beyond the textbook. So there will be some in class work time for you to do research, prepare questions and figure out your characters.

For those of you planning ahead, we will have a test on Thursday the 20th. It will cover chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, and 18. It will be in the usual format: 70 multiple choice questions.

You will note that we are taking things slightly out of order in the book--we skip Chapter 17.  Don't worry, though, you will still get to read it, just not before vacation starts!

Homework for the long weekend, 11/30

Over the weekend, finish reading the chapter, pages 418-428.

We will have an in class essay on Wednesday.  It will be Change Over Time.  The time period will be Classical through Post Classical Era, and the regions will be Rome-Byzantium, China/East Asia, India/South Asia, Middle East/Dar-al-Islam. (It will only be one of those regions across two time periods.)  You will be able to re-write this essay, but it will be for an averaged mark between the first time through and the re-write, it will not be for an all new grade.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Homework for 11/29

For tonight please read pages 410-418 in the textbook, covering the economic systems of the Indian Ocean basin.

Homework for 11/28--The Idol Smasher

The textbook doesn't really do a lot with a very controversial figure in Indian history, Mahmoud of Ghazni.  So for tonight, look at two views of Mahmoud of Ghazni (a.k.a.: the Idol Smasher) to read. First:

http://www.indianmilitaryhistory.org/kings_master/kings/mahmud_ghaznavi/Mahmud%20Ghaznavi.html

Second from a professor at UCLA:
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Mughals/mahmud_mughals.html

Read them both tonight.  We will work with the contents of each in class tomorrow. Bookmark them so you can get to them easily from your iPad.

Homework for 11/27

For tonight's homework, we are moving on to India, the next chapter in the book.  Please read 405-410.

Tonight's homework

For tonight, read pages 383-389 in the textbook.

The description of the book report is linked up here. Remember, you can substitute the word "book" with the word "film." You may do up to 2 fictional books, and 1 non-fiction and 1 fiction film. The rubric I'll use to score it is linked up here.  Remember the difference between meeting expectations and exceeding expectations!

The list of books is linked up here.  You may use another book, but you must have it approved first before you submit the project.  You must also have approval for your film if you choose to go that route.  An email conversation is sufficient for attaining approval.

The scoring guide for the COT is linked up here.  We will practice with it next week, and then write one for real the week following.

In class and homework 11/16

This chapter contains lots of information that you need to know.  There are many names, terms, and ideas that are new and important.  Working in a group of no more than 4, design a quiz that would cover this chapter. (You probably can use a google document, but as long as you all can share it with me, I don't care what you use.)  Your quiz must have the following three sections:

      1. Terms/names--you must ask questions or design an activity that checks to see if the person taking the quiz can successfully identify the terms/names and their significance.

      2. Timeline--you must ask questions that allow the quiz-taker to place the important events in order of occurrence.

      3. Themes--you must cause the quiz taker to articulate how the themes of this course (Remember them? They are posted waaaaay back at the start of the class) show up in the dar-al-Islam in this time period.

      Oh, and the quiz should be do-able in 20 minutes or less...That means you don't have to cover everything!  Just cover what you believe to be important! That also means it doesn't have to be even--you could decide that the themes are less important, so you have fewer questions.

How you design the quiz (the format of the questions, etc.) is entirely up to you.  The quiz you make will be graded as a (gasp) quiz! It will be worth 30 points total.

So your information must be:

• factually correct (no wrong information or incorrect spellings!); 
• you must have the three sections with questions/relevant activities; 
• and you must include a key/answers to the quiz.  

All of your names must be on it, and everyone will get the same grade for the work. It must be done and shared with me by the end of the class. Any not done and shared by the end of class today will automatically lose 5 points. You aren't going to be taking these quizzes, so don't worry about making them super easy so you don't become less popular...

For homework, dive into the next chapter. We are going back to China, but adding in Japan and Korea as well. Read pages 375-383.

In Class and Homework 11/15

It's Harun al-Rashid day!  In class, find and read Harun's Wikipedia page. (The wikipanion app can make this easier, or you can go through...lightspeed...) He is mentioned in the textbook, but only briefly.

After you read the wikipedia entry, turn to your trusty blog and think and compose the following:

First, evaluate this as a quality source. Is it a good one, mediocre one or a bad one? Note how the page is organized.  Is it evenly written? Is there any evidence of bias or is it an objective source? What tells you so?

Second, do some thinking about what you read. Having read this entry, what questions do you have about Harun, his life, his importance? Does this Wikipedia page answer questions or generate more?  Where would you go to find out more about him?  When you google search his name, you get over 490,000 hits...how would you filter it? (explain the process of refining your search.)

Lastly, ponder: Why does Harun al-Rashid spark such imagination? Why is he so prevalent in pop culture? How do you explain his "fame"/notoriety? Does this wikipedia page serve to add to it, or temper it?

For homework, read pages 365-370. Feel free to start this if you complete the above task.

If you are interested, A Thousand and One Nights is linked up here. It is from the gutenberg project, which means you can download it in a couple of different formats and read it here! For those of you who get all nostalgic for the Disney version of Aladdin, this would be a very interesting read for you!

Homework for Wednesday

For tonight, read Benjamin of Tudela's description of Bagdad on page 358. Consider the information provided about the author in the preface of this and his description of Constantinople on page 329. On your blog, discuss his qualifications to discuss these cities. Should we take him seriously as an objective viewpoint? Is he in fact unbiased? Use evidence from the texts to support your points. Does he like one city better than the other? How can you tell?

Homework for the long weekend

For the long weekend, you are to read the selection in the book from the Quran on page 350. Answer the italicized question at the end of the reading on your blog.  Then read pages 352-365 in the textbook.

And thank a veteran!

Homework November 8

For tonight, read pages 345-352.  It provides a more in depth look at the formation of Islam than the packet provided last night.

Parent-Teacher meetings sign up form

Please use the spreadsheet linked up here to sign up for a time to meet with me on November 13th. Times are first-come, first-served, and parents are on the honor system to not alter other parent's pre-existing appointments!

Reading again? Yep...

For tonight's assignment, please read the article entitled The Islamization of the Silk Road by Richard C. Foltz.  As you read, keep in mind Bentley's argument that the three ways people convert to a new religion are through Voluntary Association, Assimilation/syncretism and Pressure/Force.

Write up a blog post in which you argue that Foltz does or does not help to prove Bentley's point. Does the spread of Islam support or refute Bentley's argument?  Be sure to incorporate evidence into your point!

Some fun for election night

Time for another experiment in reading what Historians Like to Write About!

Tonight and tomorrow, please read the following piece linked here.  Written by Jerry H. Bentley, titled The Spread of World Religions, it argues that people convert to a foreign religion in three main ways/for three main reasons:

1) Voluntary association
2) Syncretism
3) Pressure

He is going to use Buddhism and Christianity in the Classical Era as evidence to support his claims.

Your task tonight is to just read this piece.  As you read, know that we are going to work with his three ideas in class tomorrow to determine if he makes a good (well supported and well reasoned) case or not.  You will need to have access to your blog during class, as you will be posting answers to questions posed to you in class, so be sure that you can do so!

We will be looking at this article in class, so if you prefer paper copies to work with, please print them at home and bring them in to class.

Vote if you are eligible, and stay informed regardless!

A light weekend to recover from halloween

Over the weekend, read pages 336-341 in the textbook.  We won't be talking about this section unless you have questions, so be sure you read carefully and to remember information!

Monday we will start in on the formation of Islam...

on your own today

Hi folks-

Sorry to not be with you today.  So we'll take this slightly out of order.  After Rome falls, the city of Constantinople becomes the remaining, fully-functional urban center in the Mediterranean region.  In fact, people all over just called it "The City."

Below are three different descriptions of The City, from three different chroniclers of the time, all non-residents of the Constantinople.  Your task in class today is to read all three.  On your blog, I'd like you to write about the perspectives of the author of each piece (so don't write about them as an aggregated whole, but take each article individually).  What does this author think about Constantinople? Is it a positive or negative or neutral article?  You must support your assertions with specific evidence from the articles. Lastly, do you think you can trust each of the descriptions as accurate? Why or why not?

The articles are linked up here:

1. First article Ibn Battuta's description
2. Second article Benjamin of Tudela's description
3. Third article Liudprand of Cremona's description

For homework, start on Chapter 13 about, you guessed it, the Byzantine Empire. Read pages 317-325.

Homework for All Hallow's Eve

For tonight, read the short essay on pages 314-315 about the Postclassical Era. The pages aren't numbered, so you'll have to do a little math to find them in the book.

Once you've read the selection, compose a brief blog post about the reading.  What do you expect that the Postclassical Era is going to be about?  What will be happening?

We'll start to talk about the Byzantine Empire tomorrow, picking up where the Romans left off...

Halloween - boooo!

Scariest thing I can think of: an in class compare and contrast essay!  The topic will be the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the collapse of the Roman Empire.  Be sure you review the scoring guides!

AND

The extra credit opportunity is still on, regardless of the town's plans for Halloween.  Come to class in costume as a historically significant figure and get 3 points on the quiz! (that's 3 points up to a 100%--I can't offer more as Aspen doesn't like it when I do that and it freaks out...so maximum is 20/20.)

A costume must be more than a baseball cap, or a headband, but it does not have to be a full out rental costume either!  Be creative and cheap! You only have to wear it in class, but don't do something that you plan to put on during class--you will lose time on the essay if you do that!

Rock me like a hurricane!

Hi folks-

AP World waits on no natural disasters! We will still have the quiz on Tuesday--we'll do it at the end of the period, the last 20 minutes, and take some time at first to quickly go over the collapse of the Han and Roman empires.

We will also still have the essay on Wednesday.

So this means you really need to read carefully! Which, if you are trapped at home, what could be better than reading the textbook? It will help you catch up on your sleep...

If we suffer larger power outages, or are kept from school for more than just tomorrow, the quiz will happen on the day we return, and the essay on the subsequent day, they just won't count on this quarter.

Losing power will not be an excuse for not taking the quiz or writing the essay!

Good luck with the storm!

Weekend homework

For this weekend, finish reading the chapter, which will cover the collapse of the Chinese and Roman empires.  The quiz on this chapter will be 20 multiple choice questions.  The essay on Wednesday will be a compare and contrast essay of the collapse of both the Roman and Han empires.

Homework October 25

For tonight, read the document linked up here.  The Chinese sent people to the Roman Empire (called it Da Qin).  This account comes from one of the people who went to Rome and reported back to the Emperor.

Post on your blog: If you were the Han Emperor, receiving this document, how would you regard Rome? Is it a rival? Threat? Friend? Neutral? Describe your response and explain why you would have it.

Homework October 24-Silk Road

For tonight you are to read pages 294-302 in the textbook--about what travels on the Silk Routes from China to Europe and back again.

We are going to have a quiz on this chapter on Tuesday of next week.  Format to be described later.

We will write a compare and contrast essay, the topic will be the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the collapse of the Roman empire, on Wednesday of next week.  There will be no re-write option for this essay!

Wednesday is also Halloween.  If you come to class in costume as a historically connected figure, you can earn extra credit points on the quiz! More details to come...

technology problems

The reading I wanted to give you is choosing not to cooperate with my technology, so I'm going to give you an alternate reading.

Please go to http://www.ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk.html#3.  Once there, read the selections: The Nature of the Route; The Development of the Route. We will work with this reading in class, so be sure you can access the contents from your iPad!

Tests, shmests. We don't need no stinkin' tests...

Yay, it's done...

For tonight, read pages 287-294 in the book.  Time to look at the Silk Road...

For the weekend

You have a test on Monday.  It will consist of 70 Multiple Choice Questions, drawn from chapters 7-11 (Persia through Rome, inclusive).

The slides of the Flyswatter Review game are linked here.

Review actively and don't wait until the last possible minute to cram!

Homework for Wednesday

Tonight you have three things to work on.

1) You have a test on Monday, 10/22. It will cover chapters 7-11 inclusive. 70 Multiple Choice questions. We will play a review game in class tomorrow.

2) Your dialog between philosophers at Starbucks is to be finished by midnight on Friday.  You will have some time in class on Friday to work on it, but not the full period.

3) Tonight you are to go to the website: www.womenintheancientworld.com.  Once there, in the section on Rome, read the selections under marriage and divorce to get a sense of the role of women in the Roman empire.  Given what you read, and what we saw in class, write on your blog whether or not your image of the Roman Empire is positive or negative?  What shaped your opinion? How does the perspective of the subjects impact your thoughts?

The videos we watched in class today were called Frontline: From Jesus to Christ, and Roman City with David Macaulay.  The former can be seen in its entirety on Frontline's website (just type the title into the search) and the latter is available on Youtube.  Both are linked.

Classical Age thinkers go to Starbucks

Tonight you will start working on a project that will be due on Friday, October 19th.  In groups, you are to imagine what would happen if the philosophers of the Classical Age were to gather in a Starbucks and talk with each other. Your group will compose a dialog of that interaction in a Google Document.  I will give you the prompt.

To aid you in this endeavor, there is a reading linked up here, that provides an over-view of the philosophers and their viewpoints.

More detailed instructions are linked up here

The rubric I will be using to come to a grade is linked up here.  Please note that the standards for a 4 are to exceed my expectations...

Your first step is to share a google doc with everyone in the group and with me. Please do that tonight and read over your section of the reading to be sure you know what you are writing about. You will have some time on Thursday to work as a group, but you won't have the full period to do so.

Due to the PSATs we will not meet tomorrow; if you are not taking the test you will have a study hall during class. 

Homework for 10/15

Read pages 271-280, stop at Judaism and Christianity.  We will talk about Christianity tomorrow.  We will not talk about the contents of the reading, you will be on your own for that.

There will be a test on Monday, 10/22...

In class Friday 10/12 and homework

Today in class we are looking at the transition Rome makes from being a Republic to becoming an Empire.

Plato says that being a republic is the best form of government. Why? Because upon escaping the cave, many men will seek to return to the cave and attempt to lead others out.  Those men are the best suited to lead us, for they are able to perceive reality as it really is, and thus they will be able to communicate that reality to the rest of us.  Thus, they are representatives who are best able to make decisions on our behalf.  A republican government is one that consists of those "best" men whom we select to make decisions for us. (you can judge the state of our own republican system--I don't mean the party, I mean the system--on your own.  Do members of Congress see reality as it really is, or just how they wish it were?)

Rome begins (after shucking the Etruscan monarchs) as a republic.  But it doesn't stay that way.  Today in class you can see 5 different sites that are from that transitional period.  They are linked through QR codes in the room, but the links are also re-created here in case your cameras aren't working, or you have trouble scanning.

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Link 4
Link 5

Your task is to start with #1. Read/look at/gaze upon the site it takes you to. Then distill the content into a tweet.  Tweet using the hashtag #RepublictoEmpire.  You can follow the hashtag using hootsuite, or I will be compiling a list which you can see under my twitter profile @rtw4.  Look over the tweets posted by your classmates.  Go to your blog and create a narrative of Rome's transition from Republic to Empire using these tweets (yours, or you may use your classmates.  Modification is ok!)

The narrative must be no longer than a paragraph. So that is a topic sentence, 5-7 sentences, and a concluding sentence. And it must make sense as a cohesive paragraph.  Don't simply cut and paste tweets together!

Compose the blog post and read pages 265-271 in the textbook over the weekend.

We have a test coming Monday October 22.

gosh essays are fun...

For tonight, we move on to the founding of the Roman Empire.  You are to read pages 259-264 in the textbook.  I will not be checking notes, but they are encouraged!

You will have a test on the material from Persia THROUGH Rome on Monday, October 22...please plan accordingly and begin your review process sooner rather than later!

Homework for Wednesday, 10/10

For tonight, you should prepare for the in-class essay tomorrow. It will be a Compare and Contrast essay.  You must write in blue or black ink.  It will draw from material from Chapter 7 (Persia) through Chapter 10 (Greece) inclusive of both chapters.

We've spent time working with how to structure a thesis and how to incorporate evidence, so I'm looking for both those things as you write this essay!  Remember that in order to get the points the Thesis must include time, both comparison and contrast and specifics! Evidence must be linked to the thesis to count, and must refer to specific details and not be vague statements.

Homework for Tuesday, 10/9

For tonight, you are to read an excerpt from Plato's The Republic. It was emailed to you earlier today to your school email.  In case you can't access that, the reading is linked up here.  You should read until it says "stop reading," and until you think you are able to explain the contents to another person.

Homework over the weekend 10/5-7

Over the long weekend, read pages 242-254.  We will discuss the philosophers next week, but the rest of the contents is on you to pay attention to.

Upcoming:

Compare and Contrast Essay on next Thursday or Friday 10/11-12.

Test on chapters 7-11 inclusive, so Persians through Romans on 10/22.  It will be 70 Multiple Choice questions.

Thursday homework 10/4

For tonight, imagine for a moment that Alexander the Great were running for President of the United States. Take his character, personality, drive, desire, etc. and place him in a modern context.

Post on your blog: would he be electable? Why or Why not? 

you can also start a Michael Woods fan page on Facebook if you like... ;)

Wednesday Homework 10/3

For tonight, you get to explore a bit of the character of Alexander the Great. 

The readings that are linked up here were written by Plutarch  and Arrian. (Note that both historians were writing well after Alexander was dead and buried...) 

Read them over, and we'll dig into what makes someone "the Great" tomorrow with the help of these historians and documentarian Michael Woods.

Tuesday's Homework 10/2

For tonight, peruse your classmates' posts about Democracy. (Protopage containing the addresses is linked up here) Spot the trend in your thinking.

Then watch the Daily Show interview with King Abdullah II of Jordan, part one linked up here and part two linked up here. This probably won't load at school due to lovely lightspeed and the filters...you should be able to find it on youtube, but beware, he's been on before, so you want the September 25th 2012 episode.  Compose a post for your blog: based on what you've written about Democracy in all of your blogs, and given what we've seen with Democracy's implementation in the rest of the Middle East (Iraq, Egypt, Tunis, Libya), is King Abdullah II of Jordan facing failure with what he's trying to do or do you think he can succeed? Why?

Homework for Monday

Tonight you have two tasks.

1) In light of our conversation about different types of government today, on your blog, I'd like you to reflect about a Democracy as it was described in class! Separate from your natural jingoistic tendencies for a moment and consider: is this a system that is best used in small societies, or can it be successfully implemented in large, complex societies.  Explain your thinking!

2) This will be your first foray into reading "historical writing," which means thoughtful (if ponderous) works by certified "smart people." Tonight's reading is by William McNeill, and it is a comparison of Indian and Greek societies and how people built a sense of belonging within these societies.  The reading is linked up here.  You can start on page 4, which gives you a quick introduction to McNeill, and give you a few questions to think about.  You don't need to write anything here, just read up to page 11.  You also won't be reading the primary source documents he references, but you have seen some of them...We'll talk about the reading tomorrow and see what you think about it.

Weekend fun, assignment and blogging privately

Over the last weekend in September (some trees are turning color; gonna be full-out Fall soon!) you should take some time to prepare for the quiz on Monday. 

The contents of the quiz will be drawn from Chapters 8 and 9, China and India respectively.  The format of the quiz will be short answer, which means you will be asked a question and have to provide an answer in 1 or 2 sentences.  There will be a total of 5 questions, and you must answer 4 (so you can choose to skip one, and no, there is no extra credit for answering all 5.  If you do, I will read and grade the first four and skip the last question regardless of which answers are best.)  You will need a pen.

We are moving on, and for the next week, Greece is the word! So start reading Chapter 10, pages 231-237. I'll not be checking notes.

And as an extra to today's discussion about blogs and followers, specifically blocking unwanted followers:

WordPress doesn't allow you to block specific followers, but you can make your blog private and invite your classmates to view it.  You can see instructions by clicking here.

Blogger allows you to remove followers from your "Following" list, by blocking them from being shown on your page. You can see instructions here.  But you can't stop that person from viewing your blog as long as it is still public.  As with WordPress, you can make your blog private and invite your classmates to follow you, and instructions are posted here.

Inviting your classmates will involve sending them an email with a link (likely you can do this directly from your blog) however, bpsk121.org won't accept invites from emails outside the system.  So, you either need to invite people through their personal emails, or copy and paste the invite link into a school email and send it to them that way.  (That may or may not work, I'm not sure yet...) Either way, you will face some data entry time in order to do this.

Please be sure to invite me to view your blog if you make it private, and let me know if you make your settings private, as that may change the way Protopage.com's links work...

Homework for Wednesday

For tonight, read the selection about Ashoka on page 223.  Answer the italicized question on your blog.

Homework for Tuesday

For tonight, read pages 217-224. You don't have to take notes as you read, but you can if you want to.

For tomorrow, you will need to have a Twitter account that is active...You may want to add the app Hootsuite to better track hashtags as well...

Homework for September 24

Happy Monday-

Your homework is to read pages 213-217 and take written notes on the material if you have not done do already.  You should finish your maps and put them on the blog if you did not do so in class. On the map you should have the Qin and Han Dynasties, the Great Wall, the Xiong Nu area, and the two major rivers. Take a picture of the map and post it on your blog.

Classical Era China Slideshow

Here is the slideshow we've been using the past few weeks.

Happy weekend!

Over the weekend, we are leaving China and heading into Classical India.  You are to read pages 207-217, which will cover the political systems created in India. 

After you read, compose a post for your blog in which you describe any differences that exist between the Chinese Dynasties and the Indian Dynasties; how do these political systems differ from each other?

late homework post

For tonight, you are to finish up the chapter.  But if you didn't get this until late, don't worry about it--we'll be going over the reading in class.

Homework for Wednesday night

For tonight, read the selection about Legalism linked up here. (If we didn't get to it during class today) and pages 189-193 in the textbook about the Qin dynasty. They enacted a Legalist government. Nice people.  Really...

And now for something completely different...

Tonight, read a little Daoism!

Some selections from the Dao De Jing, the principle text for Daoism are linked up here.  Read them, think about them, then read them again.  Then think some more...

Then probably read them again...

Happy Monday!

Your homework for tonight is as follows:

Read the selections from Mencius linked up here.

Read the selections from Xun Zi linked up here.

Post on your blog: What does Mencius believe about human nature?  What does Xun Zi believe about human nature? Who do you line up with? Why?

Confucianism over the weekend

Over the weekend, do the following:

Learn that the name is spelled: C-O-N-F-U-C-I-U-S.

A person who follows this philosophy is a: Confucian. Many of them are Confucians

The name for the philosophy is: Confucianism.

Then, you will need to have the iBooks app on your iPad.

Go to the iBooks store (also a part of iTunes)

Search for the iBook: The Chinese Classics--Volume 1: Confucian Analects by James Legge and download it. (It is free, but you will need to have an iTunes account, which is also free to get.)

Read Books 1 and 2.  Skim another book of your choice.  On your blog, post the following:

1) Is this a religion or not?  Why do you think so?
2) Does this reading support the idea that people are born good/bad/neutral? Cite three examples that support your point of view.

Homework to do for Friday

Tonight you should finish up your map (if you didn't do so in class)  Be sure to make a key for the map and include: a compass rose, the Tigris, Euphrates, and Indus Rivers, the cities of Sardis, Susa, Pasargadae, and Persepolis; the regions of Anatolia and Greece; and the Mediterranean, Black, Red and Caspian Seas, and the Persian Gulf.  Post a picture of your map on your blog for your future reference. (I'll not be collecting the physical maps from you, so you can put them on your refrigerator if you like...)

We start with China tomorrow, so read pages 181-189 tonight.  That will take you through the Chinese philosophies of Legalism, Confucianism and Daoism, which get a bit confusing...

Homework for Wednesday

For tonight's assignment, you are to read the primary source document (a selection from the Gathas) on page 176.  At the bottom of the source, there is a question in italicized font.  Please write an answer to the question and post the answer to your blog.

And remember, if your parents come to Back to School night tonight and bring either your ipad or a smartphone that can scan QR codes, you get an extra three points on the next test!

If you are interested, the keynote on the Persians is below and stored on slideshare.net.

Homework for Tuesday

For tonight, finish reading the chapter on Persia (chapter 7), pages 168-178. 

Think about how you are organizing your notes and remember not to be slaves to the way the textbook organizes the material!

History Head Part Deux and reading

For tonight, you are to proceed to Part Two of the History Head assignment.

Go to the class Protopage, linked up here.  (You will want to bookmark this page; you'll be going back here a lot...) There you will find "containers" (for lack of a better word) for the blog addresses of your classmates' blogs in the form of links embedded within their names.  Click on the name to open the link to the person's blog. 

In class today you should have taken note of your peers' work from other societies.  Tonight, you are to go to two (2) of your peers' blogs where they have posted pictures of their History Heads, and post a comment about their work. (You may not visit a blog about your society; go to a new society. So, if you did China, you can't comment on another China project.)  Post comments on the blogs for your peers to read AND post a copy of your comments to your own blog as a new post.  In your comment you should do the following:
     1. Start with a greeting!
     2. Complement the work: point out something that was done well;
     3. Constructively critique the work: point out something that could have been better and suggest how it could be done better;
     4. Describe one way in which the two societies were similar--something that overlapped;
     5. Describe one way in which the two societies were different--something that was divergent;
     6. Ask at least one question of the author--what do you want to know more about? this could be about a choice the author made, it could be seeking clarity about a confusing image, or the arrangement of material...
      7. Sign your post

Then go to the textbook and read pages 159-168.  We are off to Persia.  I strongly recommend you take written notes, but I am not checking them.  Yet...

For the weekend: History Head

Over the weekend, your task is to create a History Head for a region of the world you read about in Chapters 1-6.

Goal: To show how the average person “lived” the five themes of the course during the first period of time the course covers.

Materials: You will be provided with a printout of a human head in profile, a large sheet of construction paper.  You will also need markers, glue/staples/tape, your iPad and your blog.

Task I: Your task is to create a history head that presents how the five themes of this course would have been present in the daily lives of the average person in one region you have been assigned.  You are to incorporate images, not words, into the head, number them in accordance with the themes and provide a key on the construction paper. This must be done physically, not digitally.  You may draw, clip or print images for incorporation.

You must have at least five (5) images inside the head to represent a personal connection (this is something the average person would do/think/feel) and five (5) images outside the head (this is something that would be done to or experienced by the person by external forces). You must also include on the sheet the name of your society, a timeline indicating the era, and your name. What you create will then be posted on the wall of the classroom when you come to school on Monday. Be sure that before you do that you get a clear/visible picture (or pictures if you need) of the final product.  You'll need to post them to your blog as part of Monday's activity.

Homework for Friday

Congratulations, you've now made it through the two major types of assessments we deal with in this class.  Believe it or not, they don't get harder than what you just did--they just get regular.

Part one of your homework: compose a blog post reflecting on the test and the essay. You can use these questions as a guide: How do you think they went?  What was your reaction to them? Were you prepared? What would you do differently going into the next test or essay?

Part two of the assignment is to review the themes of the course listed below.  The College Board has identified five themes around which this course is structured.  Since virtually all of the essays and nearly all of the test questions connect to these themes, you really should know them frontwards and backwards.  We will be starting a project tomorrow that will introduce you to these themes, so you can get a jump on it by becoming familiar with them. They are:

1. Patterns and impacts of interaction between humans and the environment (demography and disease, migration, patterns of settlement, technology).
2. Development and interaction of cultures (religions, belief systems, philosophies and ideologies, science and technology, the arts and architecture).
3. State-building, expansion, and conflict (political structures and forms of governance, empires, nations and nationalism, revolts and revolutions, regional, trans-regional and global structures and organizations).
4. Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems (agricultural and pastoral production, trade and commerce, labor systems, industrialization, capitalism and socialism).
5. Development and transformation of social structures (gender roles and relations, family and kinship, racial and ethnic constructions, social and economic classes).

You'll notice that a lot is fit into each heading.  This is good, because it gives lots of leeway.  This is bad because it gives lots of leeway.  You'll see...

And now for the Essay

Tomorrow, Thursday, you will write an essay during class.  The style will be Compare and Contrast and the topic will be drawn from Chapters 1-6.

You should look over the scoring guide that the College Board uses for this style of essay.  It is linked up here.

You will need to write the essay in either blue or black ink.  Lined paper will be provided for you.  You may not use any notes, oulines or materials existing outside of the contents of your brain to compose the essay.

And for those of you who haven't done so, I need your blog addresses emailed to me ASAP.

Welcome back! Now take a test...

Welcome back to school!

Tomorrow (Wednesday) you will be taking a test. It will consist of 70 multiple choice questions.  The questions will be drawn from Chapters 1-6 of the textbook.  You will have 45 minutes to complete the test, and you will need to have a #2 pencil.  I will not be providing pencils. That's up to you.

On Thursday you will be writing an in-class essay in the Compare and Contrast format. It will also be drawn from chapters 1-6. The scoring guide was linked in the last post and will be linked again tomorrow night for your review.

Both of these serve to tell me more about you and what help you will need as we go forward in the class; they are not happening because I'm mean. Mostly...

Summer Reading assignment, 2012-13

AP World History Summer Reading 2011-2012 Welcome to AP World History. Over the summer you are to do the following:

1) Read the first six chapters in the textbook. That's chapters 1-6 of Bentley and Ziegler's Traditions and Encounters Third Edition published by McGraw Hill Higher Education. I strongly encourage you to take written notes as you read, but I will not be checking those notes, nor will you be graded on them. These chapters will cover the Foundational period of time, and establish the origins of the major civilizations we will explore this year. There will be a 70 question multiple choice test on these chapters on the second day of class. There will also be a Compare and Contrast essay on these chapters on the third day of class. The scoring guide for the essay is linked to a Google Document HERE

2) Read the Prologue and Parts One, Two and Three (chapters 1-14) of Guns, Germs and Steel, by Jared Diamond. You can find the book at the local library and on-line through numerous booksellers and through iBooks. There is an audio book that is fine to use, but be aware that the film version of the book differs significantly from the text and will not be acceptable to use for this assignment. You can use it to supplement your understanding, but not for the project. (I have seen it, and I do know what is used in the film that isn't in the book--some pretty easy give-aways...) I encourage you to own your own copy if the book, so you can mark it up. You have a choice of what you do next:

 OPTION A) Join Edmodo.com. Enter the code lb40pi, and you will be made a member of the Guns, Germs and Steel group I have created. There are prompts for each of the chapters you will read. Your task is to respond to the prompt I posted, and then to at least one other posting made by classmates for each of the prompts. (So you are posting at least twice for each chapter.) These will each count as a homework assignment, and must be completed by August 26th at midnight in order to count.

OPTION B) Compose summaries (typed and double spaced) for each chapter you read. The summaries may be no longer than 250 words each, and they must be done in a Google Document that you share with me. Each summary will count as a homework assignment, and they must be completed and shared with me by August 26th at midnight. To share a Google Document with me, please use the following email: whitten@bpsk12.org . You can also use that email to communicate with me during the summer, but be aware that I go for long stretches of time without checking email while on vacation. So if you do email me, be patient, and I'll respond eventually.

During the year, over each vacation you will be required to complete a book report. If you want to get a jump on that, the list of books from which to choose is linked up HERE as a Google Document. Note that you will be required to read both fiction and non-fiction, so don't read only one type of book!

Enjoy your summer and rest up for the fall! We will hit the ground running in September.

iPad survey form

The iPad survey has been emailed to you, or you can use the form below to complete it.

Winnah Winnah, Chicken Dinnah

Winner of the May Madness Tournament of Leaders is Tang Taizong of the Tang Dynasty! Congratulations!

The course survey is linked up here.  It is to be done anonymously. Please take a moment to give me some feedback about the course!

The iPad survey is linked up here.  We'll talk about it as well.

The final activity will consist of a silent, written conversation between two students in the class.  You will have a large sheet of paper, two different writing implements and a prompt.  In the course of the conversation, you must each reference five different leaders in more than just a name-droppy way. (i.e.: you have to discuss why you are bringing this leader into the conversation.)

May Madness

Updates:
Period 1 class finals will be between Alexander the Great and Mansa Musa
Period 2 class finals will be between Tang Taizong and Fidel Castro
Period 3 class finals will be between Genghis Khan and Ho Chi Minh.

The format of this round will be a Lincoln/Douglas-style debate with questions from me, your humble moderator.  An explanation is linked up here. It has also been shared with you via school email. Leaders may tap in a lackey, phone a minion, or ask for a hint, and must designate three lackeys to serve this purpose.

The scoring for this round will follow Boxing's 10 Point Must system: for each round the winner must get 10 points, and the loser must get less than 10 points (i.e. 9 through 1). The score sheet is linked up here and has been shared with you via school email.

Monday will be a work period/organizational period, and we will conduct the debate in class on Tuesday.  We will have the finals after school in room 222 on Wednesday, June 13th

May Madness Update 2

On the second day of Round One:

Period 1
FDR defeated Darius 390-267
Jesus rose above Toussant 268-235
Charlemagne defeated Napoleon 464-236
Julius Caesar defeated Babur 287-230
Mansa Musa defeated Otto von Bismark 230-167

To come: Reagan vs. Alexander, first thing on Monday

Period 2
Tamurlane defeated Empress Cixi 191-93
Tang TaiZong defeated Akbar 252-164
Gandhi defeated Ismail 239-200
Fidel Castro defeated Han Wudi 218-213

To come: Kubilai vs. Ashoka; Cyrus vs. Sundiata; Augustus vs. Queen Elizabeth, first thing on Monday

Period 4
Mandela defeated Hatshepsut for class valedictorian, 273-260
Justinian defeated Tokugawa 203-181
Bolivar defeated Lincoln 246-153

To come: Qin Shihuangdi vs. Ho Chi Minh; Chandra Gupta vs. Attila the Hun, first thing on Monday.

The deal: Round Two will begin on Tuesday, June 5, and likely carry over into Wednesday. Monday matchups will go after all the others are done. Minions may be used in the debates in whatever way the leader determines.  Costumes, props and visuals are still optional. The focus of the second round is lasting legacy, and the score card we'll use is linked here.

May Madness Update 1

After the first day of competition:

Period 1
        Charlemagne defeated Deng Xiaoping 332-107
        Queen Victoria defeated Marcus Aurelius 194-168
        Ronald Reagan defeated Cincinnatus 153-146
        Catherine the Great defeated Peter the Great 189-185
        Toussant defeated King Pedro of Brazil by default

Period 2
       Sundiata defeated Juan Manuel de Rosas 167-145
      Queen Elizabeth defeated Emperor Meiji 132-86
      Akbar defeated Robespierre 130-112
      Hong Xiuquan defeated Suleyman by default

Period 4

       Kwame defeated Mao 225-105
       Genghis defeated Mehmed II 230-100
       Churchill defeated Stalin 216-185

In class on Monday

Sorry to miss class today, but the flight home didn't pan out as I'd hoped, so I'll rejoin you all on Tuesday. Today in class you'll begin the May Madness project, which is how we will finish up the year. It is an interactive game that will feature your assuming the role of a leader from world history and completing tasks to decide who the greatest leader of all time was/is. To get things started, each class should come up with a list of the world leaders we've encountered. Work in groups od no more than 4, Start a google document, share it with each other and with me, and go through all of history and come up with a list of names of leaders you think are significant. I will compile them into one list and divide them up among all of the classes. You will not be allowed to choose your leaders; you will be drawing names at random, so don't get attached to any one person! Please note that for reasons I will describe later, Adolph Hitler is not included in the game, and you should include no more than three leaders from US history. The second task for you to complete is to come up with a description of the ultimate leadership qualities that you believe the greatest leader should possess. Is it all about conquest? Creation of new structures? Patron of the arts? Kindness? Ruthlessness? Argue it out amongst your group and write down your conclusions in the aforementioned google doc. Finally, brainstorm a list of ways you think we can determine the leader and his or her dominance over other leaders. How can we know Tokugawa is greater than Bolivar? What do you want to do that will help us to determine greatness? No violence is allowed, and you must be in character as the leader are my requirements, but write down what you think would be fun to do as well in the document. That's it. No homework for tonight...

Friday, May 17, Post Exam

Congratulations on finishing the test!  Sorry to not be with you in class on Friday; I have some family business to take care of today. (And when I say "family business" I don't mean the running of landfills in New Jersey-type of family business, if you follow me...)

So for today, I have two things I'd like you to do while you are in class.

1) Write me a blog post about the exam.  How did it go? hard, easy, moderate?  Were you surprised by anything? Did you feel prepared? Unprepared?  What needs to be different/stay the same about the review?  We will do a course review at the end, so I'm mostly interested in knowing your response to the exam at this point while it is fresh in your memory so I can think about next year's preparation and make it better... (cricket and politics??? Columbian Exchange with Americas and Europe??? un-freakin-believable...I'm feeling a nasty letter to the College Board coming on...). This will be a homework grade, and must be done by the end of the period on Friday. (and if you are dismissed for the prom, you still need to have it done, just do it for homework.)

2) Create a final Posterous post in your class' space.  Your task is to find an image that you think sums up world history as we've talked about it and explain why you chose it. (Let's see what you do with that, you Harry Potter fans...)  You may work on this in class and get it out of the way, or finish it over the weekend. This will be a project grade. I won't be looking at anything until I get back, so relax and take your time....

I know the question on all of your minds: Where do we go from here?

I'll tell you more about it next week, but we will begin a game called May Madness that will involve determining who the greatest leader of all time is based on role play, debate, lackeys/minions, costumes, props, and a bracket system of head-to-head challenges...

The best news, though, is that you are done with essays, done with tests, done with quizzes, done with note-taking (except as you want to do opposition research...) Enjoy your weekend, and for those of you going to the prom have a safe and fun time!

Final thoughts, Pre-Exam

Tonight you should do the following things:
1) Don't Panic
2) make sure you have a couple of pencils and a couple of pens (blue or black ink only)
3) Make sure you have some way to time yourself on the essays that doesn't involve a cell phone, iPad/iPod, or beeping watch.
4) Bring water! (you are only allowed to have water, nothing else!)
5) Read over your blog from the year (ah, nostalgia...) You can also look at your peer's blogs as well.  You can go to the Protopage, linked up here to see everyone's blogs.
6) Visit your class space in Posterous.  You have images and content there to refresh your memories of each society in nearly every time frame!
7) Get a good night's sleep
8) Eat breakfast!  You will have time for snacks during the break, but you can't eat during the exam, so fuel up before hand.

If you don't remember what room you are assigned to, or you can't find the email I sent, send me an email ASAP and I will let you know where to go!

Good luck!

Practice Test Key

The key to the practice test is linked up here. 

Review--practice test

OK, so I'm gonna see if Dropbox is showing me any love after the whole Mao/Stalin movie sharing experiment.  Click on this link here to see a practice test I've scanned.  You can take the test on your own however you like.  If this is sharable, then I'll put up an answer key for you all to check your work from...

Reviewpalooza on Edmodo.com

To help us in our review, we are going to merge the 3 classes into one large discussion forum STARTING TOMORROW IN CLASS.  To do that we're gonna use www.edmodo.com, which you may remember from such past hits as the summer reading assignment. ah, fond memories...

In any event, head to www.edmodo.com.  The code for joining the fun is y105h6. There you will find discussion prompts for each of the themes of the course.  Pick and choose what you want to respond to and start posting! You must make at least 5 posts (each one counts as a homework grade!), but don't limit yourself...dabble in as many conversations as you want.  In order to get the homework grade, your post must include a factually correct and relevant historical reference from one of our time periods! Feel free to add visuals to support your points!

I'll go over all this in class, so don't jump the gun! and don't panic.  We'll be working on this over several days...

Foundational Era 8000-600 BCE

This one is simple to sum up.  For a long, long, long time, humanity took many forms.  Then, we weeded out traits we don't like, kept traits we do like, and viola! Homo Sapiens Sapiens (HSS).

HSS was pretty bright, but spent his early days running after his protein (animals--slower moving ones at that...) and scratching the ground to get his carbs and veggies.  This kept the number of HSS's in one group at one place in one time low. (Competition for scarce resources, dontcha know)

Then, one HSS, let's call him Herman, noticed that food bearing plants grew over and over again in the same place. (like I said, HSS...not so bright...but a quick learner!) Herman talked his wife and family into settling down to wait for the plants to grow.  They learned about cultivating, weeding, irrigating, fertilizing (all things that can be done using the human body...think about it...there it is!) and then about storing, preserving, and ultimately, trading.

Herman and the fam needed protein and protection.  Cows/goats/sheep not too fast, can't get out of a fenced area provided protein.  Dogs fed on scraps of the protein provided the protection, and animals get domesticated.  Suddenly more HSS's are making like Herman, and bingo! a village forms.  Other HSS's pass through on their hunting and gathering, take note of what's happening, tell other HSS's and soon enough, we have many villages forming.  Different crops are grown.  Different animals are domesticated, different things are made (clothing, weapons, carts, plows...think necessities to survive...).

Waiting for crops to grow is as boring as...well, waiting for crops to grow. Food is plentiful, time is free, and people are pretty healthy and relaxed.  So babies are made.  Lots of babies....

Somone (probably not Herman) started to keep track of how much she grew, and the concept of writing comes about.

Someone else decides that work is hard, and perhaps there is a god who could be convinced to help out, and so he sacrifices and prays, and religion is born.

Someone decides to steal from his neighbor rather than grow his own stuff, and when he doesn't get caught does it more and more until he is caught.  Thus laws are created.

Once enough people are living and farming in one area, they all need access to water, and so they team up to dig a big ditch to bring the water to the fields.  Someone refines the design, organizes the workers, oversees the process and regulates both the work and the water, and government is enacted.

The agricultural revolution transforms the way HSS live, work. connect, relate and communicate. It is a complete revolution in all parts of human beings lives.

This all happens first in Mesopotamia (Tigris and Euphrates Rivers), and then in river valley areas of China (Yangzi and Yellow Rivers), India (Indus River) and Egypt (Nile River). There are plenty of HSS's around the world though, so these aren't the only place people get organized, but they are the biggest and do it the best.

And thus we have civilizations.  And we're off...

DBQ and Review

ah, rhymes.

the score guide for a DBQ is linked up here. 

Don't forget to read pages 1142-1164 at the end of Chapter 40. And congratulate yourself for finishing your first textbook.

We will be reviewing all week right up until the AP Exam happens on Thursday, May 17th. So bring your questions.  Remember that I don't need to review, so the quality of our time spent on this matters very little to me, but should matter quite a bit for you, so focus, and come prepared with questions!

and breathe. In the end, all will be well...

Homework for May 1

16 days to the AP!

Homework tonight is to read pages 1038-1047, that will take you through the battles of WWII.  You want to concentrate on Japan and the Soviet Union as you read.

I'll can't post either video from class here (too big) but Youtube has Stalin: Man of Steel.  There are multiple parts to the video,  so you have to scroll a bit to get the later sections (I've got them in order).  But he's such a psycho it is worth it...

Homework for April 26

Tonight you should prepare for the COT essay you will write in class tomorrow.  The score guide for it is linked up here.  It will be drawn from the most recent time period back to the age of exploration (so 15th century through 20th century, a mere 500 years...)

Over the weekend, you should read pages 1005-1014 and 1020-1027, which will cover nationalist movements in Asia, India and Latin America.

Homework for April 25--post test recovery reading

For homework tonight, you are to read pages 985-989, which will cover the Global Depression and attempts to fix the problem (interesting to compare it to recent economic events...) Then read pages 1014-1020, which will look at Africa after WWI and the growth of African Nationalism.  We will spend a few minutes tomorrow discussing the age of anxiety before working with African nationalism.

Period Two, just a head's up, we will have 2-3 visitors in class tomorrow from a group called Primary Source.  Nothing for you to do, just wanted to let you know!

You will have an in class essay on Friday.  It will be Change Over Time, and it will be derived from the recent contents of the class.  You should review the components of the COT score guide!

Test tomorrow, April 25th

Your test tomorrow will be on Chapters 29-34, I would strongly encourage you to pay attention to the chapters we didn't discuss in class!

Homework for April 23

You have a test on chapters 29-34 on Wednesday.  It will be 70 multiple choice questions.  Tonight you should be studying for the test!

Spring Break Homework

Have a great vacation. Now let me spoil it a bit...

Over vacation you are to read chapters 33 and 34. Linked to each chapter is a reading guide to help you pull out some important information.

You should also look over the presentations and fill out the scoring guide below for your period. It has been emailed to you via school email account.

When we return, on Wednesday the 25th there will be a test on chapters 29-34. We will not have lots of time to review! You will need to do that on your own.

You will have an in class essay to write on the Friday we return (the 27th). It will be a Change Over Time essay from this time period.

We will write one more DBQ as well the following week (first week of May) date is TBD.

Homework for April 11

For tonight work on your Empires projects. Your political cartoon and two paragraphs are due tomorrow at the start of class.

Take a look at the google document about how to grade these projects and contribute your thoughts to the discussion.

Homework for April 9

Work on your political cartoon.

Read the section in the textbook (chapter 32) that pertains to your empire in distress.

Your in class essay tomorrow will be compare and contrast, and it will be drawn from information from the Enlightenment forward.

Long one will work on the Empires project after the essay is done.

In class April 9

EMPIRES IN DISTRESS

There will be four groups around the room. (period 4 groups are linked here) Each group is responsible for creating something (paper or digital) that tells the story about the Empire in distress to share with the rest of the class. There are categories below, but in general, you are to address the following questions:

1. What the problems are, when they arise and why they arise;
2. What the proposed reforms are when they arise;
3. Who the players are on both sides--for and against reform;
4. What the outcome is both short term and long term: If the reforms fail, why do they fail? If they succeed, why do they succeed?

As an individual, you are responsible for composing a political cartoon that represents either the issues/problems or the reforms for your empire. This cartoon must be done on paper, to be handed in on Thursday. The cartoon must be accompanied by two typed paragraphs; the first should explain the historical context of the cartoon, and the second should be an explanation of the cartoon (Imagine telling a person who can't see it what it contains.) This is to be printed out and ready to hand in on Thursday as well. The cartoon will not be graded on the basis of your artistic merits!

Some prompts to guide your thinking:

What are the problem(s) the empire faces?

Who in the empire is affected by these problems?

Who are these troublemaker(s)

Ottoman: Muhammad Ali (1805-1848), Young Turks

Russian: the Intelligentsia, The People’s Will,

Chinese: Hong Xiuquan, British Opium Traders, The Boxers

Japanese: Commodore Matthew C. Perry,

Who are these reformer(s)

Ottoman: Sultan Mahmud II, Tanzimat

Russian: Tsar Alexander II, Sergei Witte

Chinese: Self-Strengthening Movement, Emperor Guangxu, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao

Japanese: Emperor Mutsuhito/Meiji,

Who are these resistor(s)

Ottoman: Religious conservatives, Abdul Hamid II

Russian: Tsar Nicholas II

Chinese: Empress Dowager CiXi

Japanese: none in Japan! (why is that???)

Homework over the long weekend

Your assignment is to read Chapter 31. We aren't going to discuss the contents. Ever. SO be sure you take notes to help you remember it! You can feel free to skim over or skip the contents that have to do with the development of America (Civil War, Westward expansion, etc.) if you feel comfortable with remembering them.

Impacts of Industrialization

Slideshow from class on Friday

Impacts of industrialization

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