A Brief History of 13 Colonies.
18th Century Colonial Society & Culture Areas of focus are: Demography, Commerce, Religion, Education, Press, Politics & Philosophy
Settlements Across Seas; The Reasons, The Failures & a Success (1520-1624) (Conlin Ch 2)
From America Past and Present (Divine, et al.)
Americans have lost their commitment to shared sacrifice. This author suggests that Americans should re-read the Gettysburg Address.
A group of young American radicals announced their intention to overthrow the U.S. government. In ‘The Weather Underground’, former Underground members, including Bernardine Dohrn, Bill Ayers, Mark Rudd, David Gilbert and Brian Flanagan, speak publicly about the idealistic passion that drove them to “bring the war home” and the trajectory that placed them on the FBI’s most wanted list. Fueled by outrage over racism and the Vietnam War, the Weather Underground waged a low-level war against the U.S. government through much of the 1970s–bombing targets across the country that they considered emblematic of the real violence that the U.S. was wreaking throughout the world. Ultimately, the group’s carefully organized clandestine network managed to successfully evade one of the largest manhunts in FBI history, yet the group’s members would reemerge to life in a country that was dramatically different than the one they had hoped their efforts would inspire. Extensive archival material, including, photographs, film footage and FBI documents are interwoven with modern-day interviews to trace the group’s path, from its pitched battles with police on Chicago’s streets, to its bombing of the U.S. Capitol, to its successful endeavor breaking acid-guru Timothy Leary out of prison. The film explores the Weathermen in the context of other social movements of the time and features interviews with former members of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Black Panthers. It also examines the U.S. government’s suppression of dissent in the 1960s and 1970s. Looking back at their years underground, the former members paint a compelling portrait of troubled times, revolutionary times, and the forces that drove their resistance.
A well-constructed and reasonably well-rounded documentary about the Underground
Documentary critical of the U.S. Israel Lobby
Video of a heated round table conference
Read these four articles on the Crash of 2008-2009.
All four authors are very highly regarded.
You should also read this “truly terrifying data about the real state of the U.S. economy“. If nothing else, take a few minutes to peruse the data tables (you will find such data useful when constructing your essay).
After you have read all of the articles you are to type a 1500 word (2 page, normal font and margins), single spaced essay which, in no particular order:
We will discuss your essays in class. Oh, and don’t be surprised if there is a multiple choice and matching quiz on all of the readings. Good luck.
The return of big government means that policymakers must grapple again with some basic questions. They are now even harder to answer…
Fifteen years ago it seemed that the great debate about the proper size and role of the state had been resolved. In Britain and America alike, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton pronounced the last rites of “the era of big government”. Privatising state-run companies was all the rage. The Washington consensus reigned supreme: persuade governments to put on “the golden straitjacket”, in Tom Friedman’s phrase, and prosperity would follow.
Today big government is back with a vengeance: not just as a brute fact, but as a vigorous ideology…
Read this comparative perspective arguing for smaller government. And respond to these questions.
In Tocqueville’s Discovery of America, Leo Damrosch, who teaches literature at Harvard, has seized an opportune moment to scratch the polished surface and explore what lay behind the oracular pronouncements. At a time when generalizations about the American soul seem risky at best, it is somehow reassuring to learn that even the great Tocqueville was often winging it—and that some of his direst fears have not come to pass…
Selections from the Economist’s 2010 Survey of Germany
Government spending has spiraled. See how much it has increased
A graphic illustrating who’s who in Cameron’s cabinet and in each government department
In the name of government transparency and accountability The Guardian offers the Aristotle program which allows the user to track the record of any given MP.
A whirlwind tour of the UK election campaign from Slate
Britain’s teeming but invisible average earners will decide the coming election. Neither David Cameron nor Gordon Brown seems to understand them. Read about the impact of class on the 2010 election and beyond.
A dynamic, interactive election results map from the BBC
A graph showing how a proportional representation system would have changed the general election result
A chart showing which political parties national newspapers have supported in every general election since 1945 – and who they are endorsing at the 2010 election
Bagehot offers his take on the effect that this election will have on Britons (“Farewell Free Stuff”)
A look into Labour’s Future
In “Learning How to Share” the Economist offers a comparative perspective on coalition governing.
UK General Election Assignment
Write an 800-1200 word (1.5 – 2 page), single-spaced, thesis driven essay due in response to the following questions:
Use the articles given. You may also do your own research.
Properly cite your essay using parenthetical citation. You do not need a works cited page.
You will present and defend your essay in class. I look forward to it.
Subcomandante Marcos is the spokesperson for the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), a Mexican rebel movement. In January 1994, he led an army of Mayan farmers into the eastern parts of the Mexican state of Chiapas in protest of the Mexican government’s treatment of indigenous peoples.
Marcos is an author, political poet, adroit humorist, and outspoken opponent of capitalism and neo-liberalism. Marcos has advocated having the Mexican constitution amended to recognize the rights of the country’s indigenous inhabitants. The internationally known guerrillero has been described as a “new” and “postmodern” Che Guevara.
Here is a two part interview 60 Minutes interview with Marcos from 1994:
This HBO documentary film was nominated for best documentary film in the 2010 Oscars. It is the story of a tragic (70,000 dead) earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008 and the reactions of the Chinese citizens. The film is, among other things, a statement about Chinese political culture.
Watch a video of Basil Omiyi, Shell’s Country Chair in Nigeria, who was at the United Nations in New York attending a pan-African investment round-table. He spoke to Paolo Black about some of the challenges facing Nigeria and Shell’s operations there.
Courtesy of Shell Worldwide Inc. Thank you Shell. Ugh.
Pessimists about politics might consider the following facts. Thirty one years ago yesterday, St David’s Day 1979, Welsh voters humiliatingly rejected the Callaghan government’s Wales devolution act in a referendum by 79.8% to 20.2%. Nearly two decades on, however, Welsh voters narrowly supported the Blair government’s Wales devolution act in a new referendum by 50.3% to 49.7%. Today, according to a St Davids Day BBC Wales/ICM poll, only 13% of Welsh voters now want to see the Welsh assembly abolished, while only 18% are satisfied with the limited powers conferred on the assembly in 1998. Most Welsh people would like to see not less or no devolution – but more. By 56% to 35% they say they would vote for an assembly with full legislative powers in a referendum now scheduled for next year.
Mr Brown announced that the House of Commons would vote next week on legislation mandating a referendum, to be held by October 2011, on switching from the first-past-the-post system (FPTP) hitherto used in Westminster elections to the “alternative vote” method (AV) used in Australia.
In contrast, the transfer of power in Dagestan, a Muslim republic in the north Caucasus, has been accompanied by murder, explosions and civil strife. The region has seen a surge in home-grown Islamic fundamentalism, increasing lawlessness among the police and security services and feuding between local clans.
Mr Medvedev is expected to appoint a new president for Dagestan in February, but this is unlikely to turn the republic into a peace-loving and lawful place. One explanation for the differences between Tatarstan and Dagestan lies in their contrasting histories.