Sunday, May 12, 2013

May 13-17




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History 12 

Topic #5 & 6 (Cold War) Plan and Questions.

Pick up:  Topic #5 & 6 (Cold War) Plan and Questions.

Essay #3 is now available.  It is due the second from last week before the end of classes.

Your Topic #4 unit test is this Monday.  Expect this test to have, roughly, the following breakdown: 75 multiple choice items (1 mark each; 5 map items (1 mark each); 2 out of 3 long answer options (12 marks each). The total is, therefore, out of 104 marks).

Be sure to watch as many of the CNN/BBC Cold War series as possible.  This is absolutely the best account of the Cold War on film. We saw the first episode and will see some in class, but cannot take the time to look at all of them.  Here are the links:

Episode 1 - Comrades; 1917-1945.
Episode 4 - Berlin; 1948-1949.
Episode 5 - Korea; 1950-1953.
Episode 6 - Reds; 1947-1953.
Episode 8 - Sputnik; 1949-1961.
Episode 9 - The Wall; 1958-1963.
Episode 10 Cuba; 1959-1962.
Episode 11 Vietnam; 1954-1968.
Episode 14 Red Spring; 1960s
Episode 15 China; 1949-1972.
Episode 16 Detente; 1969-1975.
Episode 18 Backyard; 1954-1990.
Episode 19 Freeze; 1977-1981.
Episode 21 Spies; 1944-1994.
Episode 22 Star Wars; 1981-1988.

  • Monday, May 13 - Complete the Soviet Union & Eastern Europe to 1956 (base notes). We will fill in the last part of the course with a video -- probably John Green's if there is only a short time.  If we have long enough, I will show The Cold War; After Stalin; 1953-1956.  An interesting overview of the whole of the Cold War, showing the Soviet perspective well, is Britain's Channel 4 programme:The Cold War Game; The US.  Look at John Green'sCrash Course video: USA and USSR Fight; The Cold War
  • Tuesday, May 14 - Video - India; The Brightest Jewel - from the 20th Century History series (Part 1part 2). Decolonization India (base notes).  If you have an hour and a half, be sure to watch Partition; The Day India Burned.  Another very good docu-documentary series on the partition of India is The Last Days of the Raj (part 1part 2part 3part 4part 5part 6part 7,part 8part 9). 
  • Wednesday, May 15 -  The Middle East to 1956 (PowerPointbase notes). Video clip from the 20th Century History series - if available. Watch the BBC documentary The Birth of IsraelFor those really interested in the Middle East - try The 50 Years War; Israel and the Arabs (chunked into 29 parts, I just link to the Youtube directory for its parts). There is a nice BBC documentary on the 1956 war - The Other Side Of Suez 1956.
  • Thursday, May 16 - Complete the Middle East to 1956. If time, begin video Mr. Kennedy & Mr. Khrushchev (sorry, not available online). If time, Begin the Cuban Missile Crisis (base notes). Be sure to watch CNN's Cold War; Episode 10; Cuba 1959-1962. Thirteen Days is a decent Hollywood treatment of the crisis, though it is a little loose in dealing with people and events -- not enough to worry about messing up your knowledge for the final exam though. 
  • Friday, May 17 -  The Cuban Missile Crisis (base notes). If we complete this in class, we will watch as much as possible of the Cold War series segment: Episode 12 Mutually Assured Destruction; MAD 1960-1972. If you have almost two hours available, get in the mood for Monday's lecture on nuclear war by viewing Threads, a British docudrama from the 1980s about a nuclear war -- banned from British TV at the time, it is a highly praised production that gives a frightening, but important view of what such a war might be like. Another outstanding film, also banned from television broadcast is The War Game, from the UK in 1965. For a straight-forward documentary 0n what would happen to a city hit by a nuclear bomb, watch Nuclear War; A Guide to Armageddon - this links to the first episode, go to the sidebar to link to the other segments. . You might also look at Defcon 2 - Cuban Missile Crisis (Part 1part 2part 3, part 4part 5, part 6).
Social Studies 8

We are now in a rather long unit -- the Middle Ages -- and we will not test again for a few weeks. I will post information about the next test when we are a week or two away from it.To help students who struggle with reading, I have adapted readings and questions from a simpler text for them. Only do this material if you have been asked by Mr. Benoy to do so. These students will not do the regular homework when this alternative is given. If you find reading the text impossibly difficult, see Mr. Benoy to discuss the issue. The alternative is not as detailed and content will be missed by those using it. However, it is better than not understanding a thing!

We will watch two episodes of Terry Jones' Medieval Lives in class. If you want to see about the lives of other medieval people, here are links to other episodes: The MonkThe DamselThe MinstrelThe PhilosopherThe OutlawThe King. A terrific documentary about medieval life is Michael Woods' Christina; A Medieval Life. Be sure to watch this if you get the chance. It gives real insight into 14th Century peasant life. Mr. Benoy is particularly fond of this film as it describes medieval live in the English County in which he was born. We may or may not get a chance to work this into a class.

Interested in Medieval weapons? Watch Weapons that Made Britain; The Long SwordWeapons that Made Britain; the ShieldWeapons that Made Britain; Armour and The Weapons that Made Britain; The Longbow.Watch Battlefield Britain; Hastings about the Norman conquest of Britain.

Interested in medieval lifestyles? Try Clarissa and the King's Cookbook to see how medieval royals ate. Also in the Inside the Medieval Mind series is Belief -- find out about their religious and supernatural beliefs -- with heavy stress being on the supernatural part. Try also Inside the Medieval Church; Power -- about how people were controlled. Try also Inside the Medieval World; Knowledge - what medieval people knew. Investigate life in England's greatest medieval city -- London -- in Filthy Cities; Medieval Londonnot a pretty place, but like the expanding great cities of the developing world today, a place of horror and opportunity.

We are beginning a Medieval Research Assignment. (Medieval Research Project. Part 1Part 2). I have booked three library blocks (computer lab & print sources) on Wednesday, April 24, Tuesday, May 7 and Wednesday, May 8. The assignment will be due on Monday, May 13.

In addition to sources noted above, here are some additional links to sites useful for the various Medieval Research Assignments:

General:  Netserf has an excellent links page to all things medieval; If you are interested in medieval primary documents, you cannot do better than the Internet Medieval Sourcebook;  Another links page to all things medieval can be found at The Labyrinth, from Georgetown University;  Find Medieval literature at The Online Medieval and Classical Library;  If you are really interested in learning all about art and architecture from this time there is a terrific set of flashcards online at Gardner's Art Through the Ages online resource for chapter 18 - "The Age of Great Cathedrals; Gothic Art." 

Castles: An interesting treatment of Welsh castles can be found at Castle - a 47 minute video;  Lise Hull's Castles of Britain website is a good starting point for resources.  You might also link out from herCastelology links page;  Jeffrey L. Thomas' Castles of Wales site is awesome;  Battle Castle  is a docudrama series about Medieval Castle warfare.  Go to the series' website for heaps of background information; Ordinarily I do not recommend commercial sites geared to making money from their efforts, however Medieval-Castle.comhttp://www.medieval-castle.com/ has a wealth of good information geared to about the right reading and content level for this course and another site, Castles and Manor Houses has some pretty wonderful pictures, along with attempts to sell you castle stays.  Their links page is pretty good if you are thinking about staying in a special medieval location (talk it up with your parents!);  and now that you're really interested in castles, why not think about visiting some of the best?  See Travel guru Rick Steve's page - "Medieval Castle Experiences."
The Manor:  Medieval Manor - British Social History - Changing Lives - 1066-1984 (7 minute video);  Wharram Percy; Deserted Medieval Village (website); Rural Life - sources from the British Library that includes a slideshow; The Monk's Manor is a 45 minute video about archeologists digging up a Monastic manor;  History Learning Site's Medieval Manor Houseswebpage is an excellent resource;
The Church: Church, from the British Library,;Church & Crown(video) - a short treatment of the division of power between Kings and the Church;  Medieval Minds - another short video which discusses what Medieval peasants believed; from the same series, watchMonastic Life to see what it was like to live in such institutions;
Cathedrals: Building the Great Cathedrals is a one hour documentary; Try The Medieval Mind; How to Build a Cathedral for a one hour video on cathedral construction; The Gothic Cathedral; a Landmark in Engineering is a 26 minute video -- pretty advanced stuff though; Modern Marvels; Gothic Cathedrals is a 45 minute American made video;  Watch NOVA's Building the Great Cathedrals(5 minutes);  A wonderful summary of Romanesque and Gothic architecture can be found at A White Garment of Churches, from the "Art of the Western World" series;Find great images of Cathedrals at A Digital Archive of Architecture --Romanesque and Gothic pages.  Alison Stone's Medieval Architecture site will get you to drawings and photos of an incredible selection of churches in England and France and there is also a very helpful glossary.
The Crusades: Terry Jones' The Crusades; Pilgrims in Arms.  is the first film in his series of three documentaries, the others are JerusalemJihad, and Destruction.   A great documentary on the Crusades is The Crescent and the Cross, Part 1Part 2  (1 hour 30 minuteseach). Christianity; A History; The Crusades (Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4).  

  • Monday, May 13 - Hand in Medieval Research Assignments.  Complete Jerusalem video, if not completed in class and take up the questions (See Wednesday). Note: This is some of the most important material we will look at in History this year. It ties in the distant past with the world today. Video: Christianity; A History; The Crusades(Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4).Why does the word "crusade" upset Muslims in the Middle East? Do western leaders today seem to understand this view? Go online and read the Hosford AtlasCrusades material, pp. 27-28. Crusades Map Assignment, due next class; 10 marks.   
  • Tuesday, May 14 - Take up homework. Finish the video from last class if we did not do so. Introduction to the "Growth of Royal Power in England and France." Video: The Anglo-Saxon Report.Video clip; William the Conqueror (Part 1Part 2Part 3) 1) Why did William of Normandy invade England? 2) How were 7,000 Normans able to control 2 million Anglo-Saxons? 3) How did this change life for England's inhabitants? Mr. Zoller's Video Podcasts; the Magna Carta. Questions: 1) How did English Kings after the Norman conquest centralize power in the King's hands. 2) How did Magna Carta change this?  Sidebar on Magna Carta inPatterns of Civilization, p. 80 & handout questions for homework - pick up a paper copy after school if you cannot access online.
  • Wednesday, May 15 -  Take up Magna Carta homework. Video: Battle of Agincourt and questions - a) What weapon helped the English win here? b) What does this tell us about how warfare is changing toward the end of the end of the Middle Ages? Introduce unification of France. Look at map on p. 81 of Patterns of Civilization. Land was added to the Royal domain because nobles were decimated by the Hundred Years War (which we will study more later) - and having their land revert to the King, and the development of a distinctly French & English nationalism (See this summary of the end of the Hundred Years War) and French Kings gained much control over the Church in France. Read p. 77-81. Do #1-6, p. 81.
  • Thursday, May 16 - Take up p. 81 homework.  Watch the last half or so of The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain. Questions: 1) What was life like in Moslem Spain? 2) What happens to the reconquered people of Granada after the Christian reconquest? Read pp. 85-87. Do #1-6, p. 87. Interested in the Inquisition? Try these two documentaries: Secret Files of the Inquisition; Part 1, and Part 2Part 3, and Part 4. And now for something completely different -- Monty Python's "Spanish Inquisition." 
  • Friday, May 17 - Take up #1-6, p. 87. Introduction to the Plague. Page 42 of Hosford AtlasPint Size History; the Black Death. Watch History's Turning Points; 1347 AD; The Black Death.1. Where did the Plague originate? 3) What did Medieval Europeans think caused the disease? What really caused it? 4) How did the Plague spread throughout Europe? 5) How did Medieval people deal with the disease? 6. What were the lasting effects of the Plague? Interested in the Black Death -- watch the History of Britain; King Death (1 hour). We will watch just a 10 minute excerpt from the videoRead pp. 82-84. Do #1-6, p. 84.