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A Stab at [Western] Developmental Theory

This 5 minute interview illustrates one of many radical reactions to the Western model of development:

“We are trying to show the people that Islam is the solution to their problems, said Mohammed Zahawi, the head of Ansar al-Sharia. “As for those bankrupt calls for Western democracy, liberalism and secularism, what did democracy give to the West? Social collapse, moral collapse, economic collapse?”

The West, he said, has nothing to offer Libya. As other Libyans celebrated the country’s first free elections, this group rejected the democratic process entirely. In their interpretation, only God’s law applies.

Ansar al-Sharia follows the most literal interpretation of Islam — a narrow view that would ban mingling of the sexes and what they consider Western vices. Their rejection of any U.S. hand in reshaping Libya is so vehement that they’re willing to relinquish Libya’s lifeblood: its vast oil reserves — the reason they believe the Obama administration helped them in the first place.

“They can have the petrol if they want, so long as they just leave us alone,” Zahawi said. “We waive our rights to petrol, let them take it, just don’t intervene in implementing our religion and Islamic law.”

“The liberals and secularists were all raised in the West. They were raised in openness, nakedness and decay. They know that in an Islamic state, they can’t get to their vices. That’s why they are waging a war against Islam,” Zahawi said.

STW: WWII & the Public Imagination

On Start the Week Andrew Marr discusses how World War II still grips the public imagination. Max Hastings and Antony Beevor discuss the power politics at play, ideological hypocrisy, egomania, betrayal and self-sacrifice. Juliet Gardiner discusses how military history has been largely replaced by social history, as the lives of those who lived through war and its aftermath take centre stage. And for this year’s Reith Lectures, Niall Ferguson questions whether the Western world, in the aftermath of WW2 and the Cold War, has become so in thrall to its institutions of democracy and the rule of law that it can no longer find solutions to today’s crises.

STW Discussion: The State of China

Andrew Marr discusses the state of China with the authors Jonathan Fenby and Martin Jacques. Fenby attempts to draw together the whole of the China story to explore its global significance, but also its inner complexity and complexes. Martin Jacques has updated his bestseller, When China Rules the World, to argue that the country’s impact will be as much political and cultural, as economic. But while China’s finances make all the headlines, what of its literature? Ou Ning edits China’s version of Granta magazine, showcasing the work of contemporary Chinese authors, but must tread a careful path to keep the right side of the censors. And the academic and translator Julia Lovell argues that to understand the new spirit of China, it’s vital to read its often contrarian short fiction.

Interview: 'The Twilight War' Between The U.S. And Iran

In The Twilight War, government historian David Crist outlines the secret history of America’s 30-year conflict with Iran. The book, based on interviews with hundreds of officials as well as classified military archives, details how the covert war has spanned five American presidential terms and repeatedly threatened to bring the two nations into open warfare.

Crist tells Fresh Air‘s Terry Gross that there have been several incidents that have almost resulted in battle over the past 30 years.

Crist himself observed a close call between American and Iranian vessels in 2003, when he was a member of the special operations forces.

Assignment: Revolutions of 1848

Your assignment is to study the Revolutions of 1848 and to conduct a student-led discussion that reflects your studies.
 

 
Main questions:

  1. Why and how did a wave of revolution sweep Europe in 1848? What were the grievances and demands of the protestors?
  2. What methods did the revolutionaries employ to reach their objectives?
  3. Assess the impact of the following on 1848: industrialism, liberalism, nationalism, class consciousness, socialism, utopianism, urbanization, democratization, and positivism.
  4. How, why, and to where to the Revolution spread?
  5. Compare and contrast the Revolutions in Italy, France, Hungary, and German states. Why was there no significant Revolutionary movements in Britain and Russia? Note: for purposes of this assignment, disregard other revolutionary states.
  6. Who were the key people and events? Make an identification list.
  7. What were the results of the Revolutions of 1848?  Historian A.J.P. Taylor once called 1848 a moment when “history reached a turning point and failed to turn.” Were the Revolutions of 1848 an utter failure? What is the legacy of this movement?
  8. How did 1848 effect the Rise of the Modern State?

Mandatory Resources:

  1. Start with Wikipedia. After reading the broad view of 1848, visit the “main articles” for the Revolutions in Italy, France, Hungary, and German states.
  2. Charles Fourier: Theory of Social Organization, 1820
  3. Four short primary source documents on Revolutionary France
  4. The Carlsbad Decrees, 1819
  5. Secondary Source: Revolution and the National Assembly in Frankfurt am Main
  6. Photo: 1848 in Germany

—>You will submit notes on 1-6 above. Consider the questions while reading and taking notes.

 
Very, Very Strongly Recommended Resource:

  • BBC4 Discussion: Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss 1848 (45 minutes). This is an ideal model for the class discussion. Bragg and three history lecturers. I hope you all listen to as much of this as you can make time for.

Suggested Resources:

Optional Resources – The Modern Connection: 1848 vs. 1989 vs. 2011:

Evaluative Rubric:
____/15 Quality and Quantity of Notes from Resources (due on day one of discussion)
____/10 Individual Participation in Discussion (sliding scale)
____/5 Class grade: quality of discussion (to what extent does the class offer valid and nuanced responses to the given questions?)
____/30 Total
 

Howard Zinn at 90: Lessons From the People's Historian

August 24 — would have been the 90th birthday of the great historian and activist Howard Zinn, who died in 2010. Zinn did not merely record history, he made it: as a professor at Spelman College in the 1950s and early 1960s, where he was ultimately fired for his outspoken support of students in the Civil Rights Movement, and specifically the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); as a critic of the U.S. war in Vietnam, and author of the first book calling for an immediate U.S. withdrawal; and as author of arguably the most influential U.S. history textbook in print, A People’s History of the United States.
It’s always worth dipping into the vast archive of Zinn scholarship, but at the beginning of a school year

The Lincoln Laws

Foreign diplomats enjoyed the sight of our moralistic young nation undergoing linguistic gymnastics in order to claim that right always supported its national interest. But larger issues were at stake, and they are the subject of a new book, John Witt’s Lincoln’s Code. It’s worth revisiting these legal conundrums not only because they’re interesting, but also because they take us back to the origins of a codified law of war, and raise still-pertinent questions about the usefulness of having such laws. The law of war has played a central role in debates about American policies toward al-Qaida under Presidents Bush and Obama, with critics frequently arguing that the U.S. government has violated the law of war or improperly cited it as support for its policies. Witt’s historical account helps explain why both administrations felt it necessary to deviate from a strict interpretation of international law.

Duc de Saint-Simon: The Court of Louis XIV

The Duc de Saint-Simon resided for many years at Versailles. He left an account of Life there

His natural talents were below mediocrity; but he had a mind capable of improvement, of receiving polish, of assimilating what was best in the minds of others without slavish imitation; and he profited greatly throughout his life from having associated with the ablest and wittiest persons, of both sexes, and of various stations. He entered the world … at a fortunate moment, for men of distinction abounded.

… Glory was his passion, but he also liked order and regularity in all things; he was naturally prudent, moderate, and reserved; always master of his tongue and his emotions. Will it be believed? he was also naturally kind-hearted and just.