In case you need them, here are my lecture notes on the PRC
New Posts
Economist Survey 2000
You have been assigned to read the Economist’s Survey of China from 2006.
Economist Survey 2006 Questions
Here is the 2000 version of the same survey
Read it, compare it with the 2006 version and create a post.
Other Resources for China
Here are some more pertinent English language resources from China
People's Daily Online
Read The People’s Daily Here Newspaper articles in the People’s Daily are often not read for content so much as placement. A large number of articles devoted to a political figure or idea is often taken as a sign that that official is rising.
The People’s Daily is the party’s leading official newspaper. Therefore editorials in the People’s Daily are also still regarded as fairly authoritative statements of government policy. It is important here to make the distinction between editorials, commentaries, and opinions.
The Tank Man
After all others had been silenced, his lonely act of defiance against the Chinese regime amazed the world. What became of him? And 17 years later, has China succeeded in erasing this event from its history?
Watch this PBS Frontline Episode free and explore the site for further insight. Feel free to join the discussion on the weblog section.
In China, Blogs Are Revolutionary Tool of Opinion
China has more than 30 million bloggers, by some estimates. A few are political. Some are unusual, such as Mumu, a Communist Party member who has clips of herself doing dances. But the typical Chinese blogger is more like Jasmine Gu (“It’s all about me, myself and my life.”).
CHINA: ERRATIC STATE, FRUSTRATED SOCIETY
Lucian Pye is the Ford Professor of Political Science at MIT. Read the article here
Daniel Lazar's Professional Portfolio
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
The letters of recommendation below have been scanned and imported for the convenience of prospective employers. Original versions are available upon request. The authors of these letters invite you to contact them for further perspective
Dr. Thomas Reale, Principal of the John F. Kennedy School
Dr. Walter Peterson, Social Studies Department Chair at the John F. Kennedy School
Shirley Davis, Director of the Benjamin Franklin International School
Daniel McKee, Principal of the Benjamin Franklin International School
Rita Fischer, Social Studies Department Chair at Grayslake Community High School
Dr. Laurie Kimbrel, Director of Programs at Grayslake Community High School
Dr. Douglas Domeracki, Principal of Grayslake Community High School
Dr. Michael Riggle, Principal of Glenbrook North High School
Dr. Richard Rosholt, Social Studies Supervisor at Glenbrook North High School
Scott Williams, my cooperating teacher and later my esteemed colleague at Glenbrook North High School
William Siavelis, my university liaison while student teaching at Glenbrook North High School
Dr. Bruce Field, Associate Professor of History and Secondary Teacher Certification Coordinator at Northern Illinois University
HONORS AND AWARDS
The Patrick J. White Memorial Scholarship, voted upon by fellow students, and approved by a panel of professors, is an honor bestowed upon one college senior who exhibits outstanding potential as history teacher.
One of my Golden Apple Award nomination certificates.
OTHER MATERIALS
My teaching certificate with endorsements in World History, United States History, Sociology, and Psychology for Grades 6 – 12 (valid until 30 June 2015)
MAIS Powerpoint and Pragmatic Applications 4 November 2006
Here are links to the Power Point presentation and the Pragmatic Applications list that Kili Lay and I created for our “Integrating Interdisciplinary Inquiries in International Institutions” seminar at the Mediterranean Association of International Schools (MAIS).
Right On PSU!
No longer do Portland State University freshmen take the typical basic composition and 101 classes you find at most universities.Instead, students sign up for courses that blend as many as five basic subjects in any number of combinations. Among their options this year is the ongoing freshman course, “Life’s labors: work and play,” a mix of psychology, theatre, literature and composition.
the inherently interdisciplinary nature of mathematics
Click Here for a litany of provocative quotations on the inherently interdisciplinary nature of mathematics.
Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs
This link provides access to the Educational Broadcasting Corporation’s work with interdisciplinary learning expert Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs. Dr. Jacobs is an education consultant who works internationally with schools, districts, companies, and not-for profit groups, K-12, on curriculum reform, instructional strategies to encourage critical thinking, and strategic planning. She has written two books: Interdisciplinary Design and Implementation and Mapping the Big Picture: Integrating Curriculum and Assessment K-12
Can You Tell a Sunni From a Shiite?
Jeff Stein, the national security editor at Congressional Quarterly, argues that too many [U.S.] officials in charge of the war on terrorism just don’t care to learn much, if anything, about the enemy we’re fighting. And that’s enough to keep anybody up at night. Read more here
A symphony of civilizations
Used to innumerable discourses on the differences between the West and the East, one is not prepared to recognize two facts.
First, although Europe and China have been slowly elaborating two distinct civilizations, they cannot be absolutely separated. Having in common long maturations over millennia, the two old worlds have developed affinities and, despite all the exotic representations, the two edges of Eurasia are closer than they seem.
Second, one should not reduce the West to the US: that country, which from a colony has been rising to the rank of global hyperpower in only 230 years…
It is precisely based on their affinities that Europe and China have to build a partnership that goes beyond ever-varying trade, scientific or even political interests. In other words, by placing culture as the keystone of their relationship, the two Eurasian civilizations would enter a really stable and meaningful cooperation having over time global constructive impact.
Chomsky on Lebanon Crisis
Noam Chomsky: U.S.-Backed Israeli Policies Pursuing “End of Palestine”; Hezbollah Capture of Israeli Soldiers “Very Irresponsible Act” That Could Lead To “Extreme Disaster”
The Beginning of the Death of America?
quite dramatic.
Freedom House
Eugene V. Debs stated that, “years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on the earth. I said then…while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”
H.L. Mencken asserted that, “the average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.”
Freedom House has set forth to gauge the state of freedom around the world.
Your assignment is to assess the state of freedom in the one AP country study assigned to you using the data provided in the Freedom House index. You do not have to write an essay (you’re welcome). Rather, come to class with notes (which I will collect) and be prepared to present and discuss the state of freedom in the country assigned to you.
Then read the most recent FH report of the country to which you were assigned. Take notes and be prepared to present what you learned when we meet in class. Notes will be collected for homework.
Does the Future Belong to China?
Fareed Zakaria reminds us (warns us?) that China, “is a country whose scale dwarfs the United States. 1.3 billion people, four times America’s population. For more than a hundred years it was dreams of this magnitude that fascinated small groups of American missionaries and businessmen. 1 billion souls to save; 2 billion armpits to deodorize, but it never amounted to anything. China was very big, but very poor. All that is changing. But now the very size and scale that seemed so alluring is beginning to look ominous.”
Read it here
The New American Cold War
Stephen F. Cohen of Colombia University posits that the Cold War is far from over and that “[c]ontrary to established opinion, the gravest threats to America’s national security are still in Russia. They derive from an unprecedented development that most US policy-makers have recklessly disregarded, as evidenced by the undeclared cold war Washington has waged, under both parties, against post-Communist Russia during the past fifteen years.”
About
This is a forum to post articles and to share ideas about my historical and political interests. I hope to provide a valuable resource for my students and to contribute to the marketplace of ideas.