Month: November 2007
The GCHS Guide to Writing Research Essays
The English Department at a high school at which I once worked created this research manual for high school students. Many questions that you might have can be answered here.
Please peruse this This well-prepared document
Making "Peace"
Read the documents carefully and respond to the prompts given:
Versailles, 14 Points and Paris Peace Conference
Chapter One of the Report of the Commission to Determine War Guilt, 6 May 1919
The German Menace?
Part One: Develop an Argument
For those of you assigned to do so, post an argumentative essay which addresses a central question of the origins of World War One:
To what extent was Germany to blame for the outbreak of World War One?
Follow the following directions:
- make sure that your name is in the post
- make sure that you have a title that clearly indicates your position on the issue (e.g. “Shame on Germany” or “Germany: Not Innocent but Not the Primary Cause”)
- one-page, single-spaced
- Demonstrate a clear stance using a thesis statement that is specific, complex and refutable.
- use and cite 2-3 scholarly sources to support your argument (I just installed a proxy detector on my website to catch plagiarism. Be honest–if you use a source, cite it
- Post your essay in the “comments” link below
Part Two: Defend Your Argument
- When the essays are posted, you will have a couple of days to write a refutation of your classmates’ arguments.
- Demonstrate that you have read 3-5 student essays that take a stance in opposition to yours
- Address the authors with whom you do not agree by name (refer to specific authors)
- You must disagree with them in a scholarly manner. Be diplomatic Do not get personal.
The Inevitable Great War?
Part One: Develop an Argument
For those of you assigned to do so, post an argumentative essay which addresses a central question of the origins of World War One:
Given the potentially lethal combination of long-term historical forces, was World War One inevitable?
Follow the following directions:
- make sure that your name is in the post
- make sure that you have a title that clearly indicates your position on the issue (e.g. “The Inevitable War” or “A War of Choice”)
- one-page, single-spaced
- Demonstrate a clear stance using a thesis statement that is specific, complex and refutable.
- use and cite 2-3 scholarly sources to support your argument. Be honest–if you use a source, cite it
- Post your essay in the “comments” link below
Part Two: Defend Your Argument
- When the essays are posted, you will have a couple of days to write a refutation of your classmates’ arguments.
- Demonstrate that you have read 3-5 student essays that take a stance in opposition to yours
- Address the authors with whom you do not agree by name (refer to specific authors)
- You must disagree with them in a scholarly manner. Be diplomatic Do not get personal.
Local Village Elections in the PRC
How and why did this transformation [of village elections] come about? And how do grassroots elections work in the context of continuing Chinese Communist Party rule? Whose interests do they serve? Answer these questions and more by reading: Village Elections: Democracy from the Bottom Up?
If you are interested, learn more by reading these 1 page articles:
Structural-Functional Anlaysis of the PRC
Use your textbook, the structural-functional flow chart I provided you with, the lecture notes I’ve provided, and the BBC site Inside China’s Ruling Party to learn the structures and functions of the institutional framework of the PRC.
This report for Congress could prove useful as well.
Be prepared for a quiz on this material. If you know how the PRC government works, the quiz will be easy. It is multiple choice and fill in the blank.
China by region
China is just one country, but it stretches further than the distance of London to Cairo or Washington to Caracas. Although its 1.3bn people share a nationality, there are many issues specific to individual regions.
Use the BBCs interactive map to read more about what matters most in different places.
Documents for the Oral History Project
Documents for the Assignment:
Uncut Interviews
The full text of the interviews conducted for this project are available on the “comments” link below.
The Interview Questions
Outline of Wilson and Dilulio
Clinton and the Veto
George C. Edwards, a professor of political science at Texas A&M University, calls Bill Clinton‘s use of the veto “nearly unprecedented.” Presidents typically veto bills to prevent something they dislike from happening — the creation of new domestic programs or entitlements, for example.
Clinton’s most successful use of his veto power was not to block Republicans — although he did halt most of their efforts to cuts taxes and shrink domestic programs — but to get increased spending for his domestic priorities.
Bush as the "Accidental Radical"
George W. Bush has been compared to a number of other presidents, such as Ronald Reagan, Harry Truman, and even William McKinley. It may say something, however, that at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner earlier this year, when National Journal’s Carl Cannon brought up the topic of former presidents, Bush expressed singular admiration for FDR. “He was a strong wartime leader, and a very strong commander-in-chief,” Bush remarked.
Had he pursued the subject, Bush might have found further parallels. Not the least is that Bush, like Roosevelt, is an accidental radical. He is an amiable establishmentarian who finds himself with the opportunity to effect transformational change, and who is seizing that opportunity and pushing the system to its limits. Or beyond.
Read the Jonathan Rauch piece “Accidental Radical” from the 2003 National Journal
Reagan and The Shrub Compared
Like a lot of Republicans who have watched both Reagan and Bush at close hand, Michael Deaver [the shrewd public relations man who played Karl Rove to an earlier president, Ronald Reagan] sees uncanny similarities between them. The presidents are alike in their outlooks and career paths, in their agendas of tax-cutting and confrontational deployment of American power, in the ideological mix of their advisers. (Whatever you read about the president’s inheritance from his father and Gerald Ford, the Reagan DNA is dominant in the staffing, training and planning of the Bush administration.) More than that, there are important similarities of character and temperament. And both are simple men who have made a political virtue of being in Bush’s word: misunderestimated by the political elite.
Oral History Project
Wall in the Minds: An Oral History of the Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall
Oral history is the dynamic process of gathering and preserving historical perspectives through recorded interviews. This method of historical inquiry gives a voice to people who have been hidden from history and provides researchers with a forum to speak with history face to face.
The John F. Kennedy School Berlin Wall Oral History Project is the culmination of the efforts of fifty students. Each of the students in my two tenth grade history classes played a role in the creation of this book. Thirty students conducted, recorded and transcribed extensive interviews with Germans who lived in a divided country. They interviewed individuals from various backgrounds and encountered a diversity of experiences and perspectives. In all, their interviews amount to over 250 pages of raw qualitative data (the full text of the interviews is available at this page). Adding to this data bank, four students took on the responsibility of gathering quantitative information. These quantitative researchers, armed with the knowledge that numbers can speak volumes, provided the charts, graphs and maps used in the book. Another four students compiled archival photographs of divided Berlin. One student created a video documentary which, through interviews with student participants, offers valuable insights into the process undertaken for this project. Finally, eight students wrote this book. These students synthesized the data gathered by their classmates with published works in order to create a scholarly oral history text. Their collaboration was nothing short of beautiful, their sacrifices are the lifeblood of this endeavor and I admire their devotion.
It has been my responsibility, as the editor of the John F. Kennedy School Berlin Wall Oral History Project, to facilitate a student-directed effort by encouraging and coordinating their efforts. This book is for and by my students and my objective was to support them in bringing forth the voices of those who stood in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. What stands before the reader is the culmination of the efforts of conscientious, compassionate and curious tenth grade students.
It is a pleasure to present Wall in the Minds: An Oral History of the Rise and the Fall of the Berlin Wall
You are encouraged to offer feedback in the “comments” link situated on the bottom of this page.
Alaina Mack documented the processes that we engaged in as we wrote this book. In this video documentary, she captures the challenges that we faced and some of the lessons that we learned:
In addition to documenting the making of our book, Alaina quoted our transcribed interviews as the basis for an historical documentary, titled “Just a Day”, which offers valuable insights into life in a divided city and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
On 30 April 2008, we held a book release seminar for all those involved in this process. This gathering served the dual functions of celebrating the release of our book and commemorating the experiences of those who lived in a divided Berlin. We had a panel of interviewees who joined us to elaborate on their experiences.
The project made a splash at JFKS. Read an interview with Anna Zychlinsky and I from the JFKS student-run newspaper, The Muckraker.
Students utilized various online resources for the this project. Feel free to explore the resources here
The assignment sheets and accompanying rubrics for the various contributors to the project are available at this page
Primary Source Readings on Imperialism
Your assignment:
1. Print the one document assigned to you.
2. Read that document demandingly, i.e. annotate: underline, highlight, take notes in the margins. Bring the demandingly read document to class.
3. Answer the questions provided below.
- Jules Ferry on Colonial Expansion
- Dadabhai Naoroji: The Benefits of British Rule
- Macaulay on Empire and English Education
- Qian Long: Letter to George III, 1793