Seniors: final exam review guide
April 28, 2008
Seniors, your final exam is on Wednesday. Here’s the review guide. Study hard.
Assignments to this point
April 14, 2008
The ubiquity of students with missing work in this class is astounding. Here are the assignments you owe me up to this point quarter. Do them.
- Women & Development outline (293-313)
- Education outline (of online overview)
- Women’s paper topic
- Women paper draft/outline
- Environmental Problems outline (235-260)
- Environmental issues article
- Women’s issues paper
Revolution-era art study guide
April 14, 2008
Jacques-Louis David (pronounced dah-veed) was Napoleon’s favorite painter and himself a prominent revolutionary. His neoclassical style was markedly different from the contemporary frivolous rococo style. Here are Wikipedia links for David, Goya, and Delaroche.
Be sure you can explain the events depicted in these paintings - the historical significance makes them important. Also be sure to note that there are two paintings named “Napoleon Crossing the Alps.” David’s version glorifies Napoleon and is more famous; Delaroche’s version was painted in 1850 and … does not glorify Napoleon.
In some sections, we did not look at “The Death of Marat” (also translated as “Marat at His Last Breath”). It’s a reverent, sympathetic, man-of-the-people portrait of the assassinated leader of the sans-culottes.
Here are the works that you’re required to know. Click on any thumbnail to see a larger version and click again on that version to see the full size:
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- David: The Consecration of Napoleon (detail)
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- David: The Consecration of Napoleon
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- David: The Death of Marat
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- David: Napoleon Crossing the Alps
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- David: The Tennis Court Oath
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- Francisco Goya: Third of May, 1808
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- Paul Delaroche: Napoleon Crossing the Alps
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- David: Sketch of Marie Antoinette on the Way to the Guillotine
Video: “The New Apartheid”
April 11, 2008
Here is a YouTube version, in three parts, of the documentary that we watched today about illegal immigration in South Africa, primarily from Zimbabwe. The goal of discussing this video was to:
- continue our close attention to the election crisis in Zimbabwe
- link to our focus on South Africa earlier in the course, and
- draw connections between Africa and America
As we discussed in class, the piece raises several issues:
- The further impact of Robert Mugabe’s rule and the shattered economy in Zimbabwe
- The emergence of post-apartheid intra-racial racism/xenophobia in South Africa
- The almost one-to-one parallels between illegal immigration in South Africa and in America
The series is Channel 4’s The Unreported World; the episode is called “The New Apartheid.” You can also find a Channel 4 summary online here and an article on the issue and this episode from The Independent here.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Video: highland gorillas
April 10, 2008
Here’s the video we watched about the plight of the highland gorillas in the Virunga Mountains. The first half (the report) is excellent, but the satellite-delayed interview that comes second is a bit slow.
Animated Congress of Vienna map
April 10, 2008
Here’s the animated map we watched in class (the one narrated by the slow-speaking, British-accented man). It explains and shows the outcome of the Congress of Vienna and is worth watching to understand how a group of diplomats met for a year, hit the “rewind” button on Napoleon, and totally redrew the European map.
Video: Mount Kilimanjaro
April 9, 2008
Click here to see the National Geographic piece we watched today about the effects of global warming and deforestation on “the roof of Africa.” Since 1912, the mountain’s ice cap has lost 80 percent of its mass, and scientists predict that those glaciers will be gone entirely by 2020.
First round of Q4 grades
April 8, 2008
Children, I have posted the first round of 4th quarter grades, which include the test, quiz, and various homework assignments so far. Yellow means I’m missing the work, blue means you turned it in late, and orange indicates some kind of special circumstance. I’m currently awarding half credit only for late work, so turn in what you owe me ASAP and don’t be late with your work in the future.
Remember that we will have a test on the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Age, and the Congress of Vienna at the beginning of next week. That result could seriously help or seriously hurt your grade, so get to the a’studyin’ and come to me for help if you need it.
The BBC on religion in Africa
April 3, 2008
In our overview of religion in Africa, I mentioned BBC Radio broadcasts on the subject from the BBC’s The Story of Africa. Here are the streams; you may need to download the RealPlayer software. Each program is 28 minutes long, so follow your interest – I recommend at least listening to the first program, which gives an overview of the entire topic.
- Religion in Africa: The role of traditional religion in Africa’s past and how the continent responded to the spread of Islam and Christianity.
- Traditional Religions: The evolution of traditional sacred beliefs and the form of their worship.
- The Coming of Islam: How Islam in Africa spread and why.
- The Coming of Christianity: How and why Christianity twice came to Africa.
Women’s issues paper assignment
April 1, 2008
Research and make an argument about an issue of relevance to African women:
Your paper should be analytical in nature. Take a stand and make a clear argument about your topic. Take advantage of my offer to discuss theses/arguments early in the process – better to hear, “This argument is no good,” when you’re just getting started than to read it on your paper next to a grade.
You may wish to focus on a prominent African woman. Here are some suggestions:
- Helen Suzman
- Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
- Wangari Maathai
- Winnie Mandela
- Nadine Gordimer
- Ayaan Hirsi Ali
You may wish to focus instead or as well on a major issue. Here are some suggestions:
- The education gender gap
- Family structure and roles – e.g. polygamy
- Women’s role in the HIV/AIDS epidemic
- Sexual rights and freedom
- Female genital mutilation
- Body image as it relates to a broader issue
- Female political leadership
I MUST approve your topic, even if you select one of these.
Due dates:
- Your proposed topic and tentative argument are due on Thursday, April 2.
- A draft or significant outline is due on Tuesday, April 8 - write over the weekend.
- The paper is due on Friday, April 11.
- Late papers lose a letter grade a day. Turn in your paper on time. Never turn in nothing.
- Write on a topic that I approve.
- Make a formal, structured, and concise argument.
- Write at least 5 pages.
- You may double-space.
- Include citations and a bibliography in MLA style.
- Use 12-pt Times New Roman as your font.
- Use the standard Word margins (left & right: 1-inch, top & bottom: 1.25-inch).
- Proofread your paper for errors.
- Don’t cheat, plagiarize, or commit multiple submission.
