Friday, December 17, 2010

December 17



  • Chapter 13 Key Terms and Questions are due on Monday, January 3rd
  • Unit 3 Final Exam is on Tuesday, January 4th (please see the study guide here)
  • Part A of the Social 20-1 Final Exam (Essay) is on Wednesday, January 5th



  • Unit 4 Review Booklet is due on Tuesday, January 4th
  • Unit 3 Final Exam is on Tuesday, January 4th (please see the study guide here)
  • Social 30-1 Trial Final is on Monday, January 10th

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

December 15


You wrote your Unit 3 Essay today in class. I sincerely apologize for the technical difficulties in the lab, it's a little embarrassing that 8 computers weren't working very well. Again, I apologize. You'll get the results of these essays back after the Winter Break. Please see the study guide for the Unit 3 Final Exam.


Please review all of the Unit 3 PowerPoint presentations that I have sent to you:

•"Nations, Nation-States and Internationalism"
•"Canada's Foreign Policy"
•"Nationalism and Internationalism"

Please review all of the Unit 3 Key Terms from the Unit 3 Worksheet in addition to the key concepts that were introduced in the PowerPoint presentations. In addition to this, I would like to emphasize the following points with you:

•know the difference between multilateralism, unilateralism and bilateralism and know examples of each
•know the spectrum of foreign policy: internationalism, nationalism, ultranationalism, and supranationalism
•know the different foreign policy options
•know the 6 themes of Canadian foreign policy/Canada's foreign policy goals
•what influences foreign policy decisions?
•methods of foreign policy
•motivations for nations involvement or non-involvement in international affairs
•how can foreign policy promote internationalism?
•tied aid, bilateral aid, multilateral aid
•examples of INGOs and IGOs
•the United Nations (organization/structure, bodies, etc.)
•peacemaking vs. peacekeeping (and examples)
•different understandings of internationalism (types of internationalism)
•why do international organizations exist? purposes and examples


We're getting to the point where we are just wrapping up some issues in Unit 3. Please remember that your Unit 3 Essay is tomorrow in the Blenheim Room. Also, make sure that your Chapter 12 Key Terms and Questions are completed, they are due tomorrow. Please see the study guide for the Unit 3 Final Exam here (scroll down to find it). Here are a couple of videos related to invasions of privacy and CCTV.





Tuesday, December 14, 2010

December 14


You wrote your Chapter 10 Test today and you will get the results back tomorrow. Some of you will need to write this test tomorrow as long as you have an explained absence. Your Chapter 12 Key Terms and Questions are due on Thursday. I will be sending this worksheet to you by e-mail in case you missed class today. Your Unit 3 Final Exam is on Tuesday, January 4th, please see the study guide below.


This exam will be entirely multiple choice format. It will be on Tuesday, January 4th Please study the following material:

  • make sure that you have read Chapters 9-12 in Perspectives on Ideology
  • study all key concepts from the Chapters 9-12 Worksheets (see below)
  • study all questions/answers from the Chapters 9-12 Worksheets
  • "Political Challenges to Liberalism" (PowerPoint presentation)

Review the following notes/packages:

  • Democratic Systems
  • Non-Democratic Systems
  • types of dictatorships
  • techniques of dictatorships
  • Civil Rights Movement
  • authoritarian systems (China notes)
  • review the economic and political spectrum (again!)
  • re-read the notes on rights that I put on the board (Charter of Rights and Freedoms to War Measures Act)
  • FLQ Crisis 1970

Know the following key concepts/key events/key terms/key people:

  • assimilation
  • self-interest
  • humanitarianism
  • Indian Act
  • residential school system
  • enfranchisement
  • the White Paper
  • the Red Paper
  • “war on terror"
  • authoritarianism
  • consensus decision-making
  • direct democracy
  • military dictatorship
  • oligarchy
  • one-party state
  • party solidarity
  • representation by population
  • proportional representation
  • representative democracy
  • responsible government
  • democracy
  • single-member constituency (first past the post)
  • the Senate
  • the House of Commons
  • the House of Representatives
  • the Senate
  • mixed-member proportional system
  • lobby groups
  • American Bill of Rights
  • Anti-Terrorism Act
  • Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
  • emergency and security legislation
  • illiberal
  • language legislation
  • Bill 101
  • Bill 178
  • Bill 86
  • Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms
  • respect for law and order
  • terrorism
  • rendition
  • the War Measures Act
  • enemy aliens
  • internment
  • the Emergencies Act
  • USA PATRIOT Act
  • consumerism
  • environmental change
  • extremism
  • pandemics
  • postmodernism
  • global warming
  • Kyoto Protocol
  • World Health Organization (WHO)
  • drought




I went over some potential arguments for your Unit 3 WRA II at the beginning of class. You still have a lot of work to do, but hopefully I've given you some ideas to explore and develop in greater detail. We also looked at the issue of international inaction in the case of Darfur. I gave you a reading package on violence in Darfur (which is recommended reading tonight) which nicely summarizes the problems in Sudan. Also, we started watching a documentary called "Darfur: On Our Watch" which we will finish on Thursday. You will be writing your Unit 3 WRA II tomorrow during class time in Room 241, be on time!

Here are some other useful links on Darfur:



Please review all of the Unit 3 PowerPoint presentations that I have sent to you:

  • "Nations, Nation-States and Internationalism"
  • "Canada's Foreign Policy"
  • "Nationalism and Internationalism"

Please review all of the Unit 3 Key Terms from the Unit 3 Worksheet in addition to the key concepts that were introduced in the PowerPoint presentations. In addition to this, I would like to emphasize the following points with you:

  • know the difference between multilateralism, unilateralism and bilateralism and know examples of each
  • know the spectrum of foreign policy: internationalism, nationalism, ultranationalism, and supranationalism
  • know the different foreign policy options
  • know the 6 themes of Canadian foreign policy/Canada's foreign policy goals
  • what influences foreign policy decisions?
  • methods of foreign policy
  • motivations for nations involvement or non-involvement in international affairs
  • how can foreign policy promote internationalism?
  • tied aid, bilateral aid, multilateral aid
  • examples of INGOs and IGOs
  • the United Nations (organization/structure, bodies, etc.)
  • peacemaking vs. peacekeeping (and examples)
  • different understandings of internationalism (types of internationalism)
  • why do international organizations exist? purposes and examples

Monday, December 13, 2010

December 13


We watched a video called "Unconstitutional" for part of the period today, which looked at the American response to 9/11 and the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, and the legal, political and moral implications of this act. While you watched this video you were to complete a video study with relevant questions. If you missed today's class, I will be sending you the film study by e-mail. You can find this video on Google Video and I believe YouTube as well. In all likelihood, it's probably split into several parts. We didn't watch the entire video we stopped about 10-15 minutes after they looked at Guantanamo Bay detainees. Please see this link from the Washington Post on the issue of the detainees at Guantanamo. This source is from January 2010 (so it's a little dated), but you can see the scope of the issue, the release of the detainees and the issues that it brings up (what charges should be levelled against them? Where should the trials take place?). Think about the controversy surrounding what to do with Omar Khadr. I also gave you a couple of handouts as well today that looked at the Patriot Act (one from the ACLU, and the other a short debate between former Attorney General John Ashcroft and Senator Russell Feingold from Wisconsin). I also gave you some brief notes on the Anti-Terrorism Act. Please remember that your Chapter 10 Test is tomorrow, please see the study guide here.


We spent a great deal of time today looking at contemporary global issues and whether or not internationalism was the most effective approach to dealing with these issues. We had some full class brainstorming, and small group discussions centered around the following questions:
1. What are some contemporary global issues?
2. How do we currently deal with these global issues? What international organizations deal with these issues?
3. Can the effectiveness of international organizations in dealing with these contemporary global issues be criticized? If so, what are some of these criticisms?
4. What are some of the strengths of these international organizations in dealing with these contemporary global issues?

Hopefully these discussions will help you think about the effectiveness of international organizations and internationalism. I gave you your essay question sheets today as well, and I gave you some time (15-20 minutes) to discuss relevant issues involved, the perspectives of the source, and arguments and potential evidence that could be used in an essay. I will be having tutorial sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. You will be writing your Unit 3 WRA II on Wednesday, be prepared! Start looking at the development of your arguments and evidence tonight!

Friday, December 10, 2010

December 10


We finished watching the Turning Points in History video on the FLQ today. PLEASE make sure that you finish off the FLQ Crisis booklet. There is a useful document based analysis on the FLQ in there, and make sure you read about the Emergencies Act as well. Here is the video that I forgot to post yesterday. It connects nicely to some of the themes that we addressed today in class with regard to anti-terrorism legislation that was passed in Canada and the United States after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. In yesterday's video we looked at the FLQ crisis, this is the interview on the steps of Parliament that features Trudeau's "just watch me" speech. It's an interesting little debate that is waged being Trudeau and the reporters over the issue on giving up or losing civil liberties in order to ensure security.


We watched a CBC News in Review on the September 11th attacks today prior to going into detail about anti-terrorism legislation in Canada, the United States,and Great Britain (which we will be doing next week). In order to fully understand why this legislation was passed, you need to see the context in which it was passed. The value conflict between ensuring security, peace and order in society versus individual freedom and civil liberties could be a potential topic on Part A of your Diploma Exam. Liberal democracies around the world, post-9/11 have had to deal with the issue of the extent to which they must ensure security and the balance between security and civil liberties. It would not be difficult to use a quotation that relates to this issue ("They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."--Benjamin Franklin) and then have the essay question: "To what extent should we embrace the perspective(s) in this source?" Would you be able to write an essay on that topic? Think of the source material that I've given you on the FLQ crisis, the Emergencies Act, the Anti-Terrorism Act, the Patriot Act and the no fly list, and think about other ways you could prepare for this as a potential essay topic. Your Chapter 10 Test is on Tuesday, here's the study guide (there's more democracy-related questions on the test than authoritarianism/dictatorship questions).

  • Chapter 10 Test is on Tuesday, December 14th (please see the study guide here)
  • Civil Rights Movement Assignment is due on Wednesday, December 15th
  • Unit 3 WRA II (Essay) is on Thursday, December 16th (you will not get the essay question sheet in advance)


I gave you class time to work on a booklet that outlined various key concepts associated with internationalism and foreign policy. This booklet required you to define the key terms and also provide real-world examples of these concepts. Concepts covered in this booklet included: foreign aid, supranationalism, multilateralism, peacekeeping, peacemaking, international law, international agreements, unilateralism, bilateralism, NGOs. I gave you back your Chapter 10 Key Terms and Questions homework today as well. I also posted your current mark in Social 20-1 in the classroom. This mark is subject to change as there are lots of opportunities to change this mark still left in the semester.


  • Chapter 11 Key Terms and Questions are due on Monday, December 13th
  • Unit 3 WRA II (Essay) is on Wednesday, December 15th (you will get the essay question sheet on Monday)
  • Unit 3 Final Exam is on Tuesday, January 4th (the study guide will be posted next week on the blog)
  • Social 20-1 Final Exam Part A (In-Class Essay) is on Wednesday, January 5th (you will of course, not receive the essay question sheet in advance)

Thursday, December 09, 2010

December 9


I finished off the "Internationalism and Nationalism" PowerPoint today, and I will be sending this presentation to you this afternoon. I gave you back the results of your Unit 2 WRA II today. If your mark was 80% or higher, please e-mail your essay, I'd like to show others what the expectations are for these essays. I will remove your ID numbers from these essays and send them out to all of you. Your Chapter 10 Key Terms and Questions were due today. Your Chapter 11 Key Terms and Questions are due on Monday.


Your Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions were due today. Your Canadian-American Government Comparison Assignment was due today as well. Your Chapter 11 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow. It looks like most of you completed your blog posting assignment (if not please post on Tuesday's comment section). We looked at the Canadian Bill of Rights, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, civil rights, entrenchment of rights, human rights, illiberalism, and the War Measures Act today. If you missed class today, you'll need to get these notes from a classmate. We also started to look at the FLQ Crisis of 1970 by watching a documentary from the Turning Points of History series and completing a film study. We'll finish this off tomorrow and transition into post-9/11 anti-terrorism legislation. Interesting stuff! Your Chapter 10 Test is on Tuesday, December 14th, please see the study guide here.

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

December 7


Today was a busy class. We went through a CBC News in Review on elections in Afghanistan. You also got the Civil Rights Movement Assignment from me. The Civil Rights Movement assignment is due in one week's time. I have sent the essay outline sheets for this assignment. Your USA-Canada Government Comparison Charts are due on Thursday, as is your Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions. Your chapter 11 Key Terms and Questions will be due on Friday. One week from today you will be writing your Chapter 10 Test, please see the study guide below.

This test is multiple choice format, with 55 questions. Please review the PowerPoint "Political Challenges to Liberalism". You're responsible for all key terms and questions from the Chapter 10 Worksheet. Please review the following as well:

  • Democratic Systems (handout notes)
  • Non-Democratic Systems (handout notes)
  • Structure of Canadian Government
  • Structure of American Government
  • similarities/differences between the parliamentary system and presidential system
  • types of dictatorships
  • techniques of dictatorships
  • authoritarian systems
  • proportional representation concept
  • first past the post system
  • review political and economic spectrum (again!)


I went through a PowerPoint presentation on "Canada's Foreign Policy" which I have already sent to you. Please make sure that you print it off and add it to your notes. I gave you some time to work on your Chapter 10 Key Terms and Questions which are due on Thursday.

Friday, December 03, 2010

December 3


I went over a PowerPoint presentation today called "Political Challenges to Liberalism", which I will be sending to you this afternoon. I also gave you a reading called "The End of Democracy?" which is REQUIRED reading. Please make sure that you read this over this weekend. Also, make sure that you complete the following homework assignment prior to Thursday's class:
You must post an answer to two of the questions AND one of them MUST be an answer to question 4. You post your responses in the comment section on today's post and identify yourself by your initials (K.G. Social 30-1). You must also respond to two classmates' posts. This assignment is for DOUBLE homework check marks. Get it done! Use today's comment section for your responses. Don't forget that your Comparing American and Canadian Political System Charts are due on Thursday.

My apologies to my Social 20-1 students, it's been a bad week for me. My son threw up at his daycare and I had to go pick him up. At any rate, you had some class time to work on the Unit 3 Worksheet. Your Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions are due on Monday. Also on Monday, you have your Unit 2 Final Exam, please see the study guide here. I will also share the results of your Chapter 7-8 Test next week, if you're really curious, you could always send me an e-mail and I'll get back to you. I should be able to have your essay results by Thursday of next week (one week after you wrote them).

Thursday, December 02, 2010

December 2


You wrote your Unit 2 Essay today in the Blenheim Room. If you missed today's class, and it was an explained absence, then you will be able to write this essay tomorrow. Please remember that you have your Unit 2 Final Exam on Monday, December 6th. Please see the study guide below.



1. Study the following PowerPoint presentations from Unit 2:

  • The Causes of World War I
  • Total War-Allied Victory in WWI-Paris Peace Conference
  • Ultranationalism in WWII: Italy, Japan, Germany
  • The Internment of Japanese-Canadians in WWII
  • The Holocaust
  • Eight Stages of Genocide (from the Genocide Watch website)
  • Contemporary Examples of Genocide

2. Know the following key concepts:

  • national interest
  • domestic policy
  • foreign policy
  • Triple Alliance
  • Triple Entente
  • Treaty of Versailles
  • Big Four (Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, Vittorio Orlando)
  • appeasement
  • ultranationalism
  • propaganda
  • conscription crisis
  • Adolf Hitler
  • Nazis
  • Hirohito
  • Tojo
  • Kristallnacht
  • The Way of Subjects
  • League of Nations
  • total war
  • internment
  • War Measures Act
  • Great Depression
  • the Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
  • irredentism
  • genocide
  • crimes against humanity
  • war crimes
  • Holocaust
  • ethnic cleansing
  • lebensraum
  • Weimar Republic
  • Final Solution
  • decolonization
  • successor state
  • self-determination

3. Make sure that you review the following broad topics in your review of Unit 2 (and make sure that you can answer ALL of the questions on the Unit 2 Worksheet):

  • World War I (don't concern yourself with memorizing battles though)
  • Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles
  • The Interwar Years
  • Rise of ultranationalism in Germany, Japan, and Italy
  • Causes of World War II and key events (turning points in the war)
  • The Holocaust
  • Contemporary examples of genocide (review case studies that were emphasized in class and in the textbook, review your notes for "Scream Bloody Murder", "Shake Hands with the Devil")
  • Decolonization and self-determination (quick review of "Gandhi" film study booklet, what are successor states? What is self-determination? Kosovo case study)


I spent a bit of time at the beginning of class trying to figure where we're at in the Unit 3 material given that I've missed the last two classes. We then moved into a discussion activity. I gave you two Post-It notes to write out answers to the following questions:
1. Should the voting age be lowered?
2. Should voting be mandatory?
3. Should everyone over the age of 18 be allowed to vote?
4. Is the first past the post system democratic?

You were to pick two questions and write out your answers to those questions on the Post-It notes and then put your Post-Its up on the board. We then split into three groups to discuss and summarize the arguments given in the answers. We did not discuss all of the questions, in fact almost no one wrote an answer to the fourth question. I have taught you what first past the post (FPTP) is already, check your notes! Here's what your assignment is related to this activity. You must post an answer to two of the questions AND one of them MUST be an answer to question 4. You post your responses in the comment section on today's post and identify yourself by your initials (K.G. Social 30-1). You must also respond to two classmates' posts. This assignment is for DOUBLE homework check marks. You must complete this assignment between today and next Thursday's class. Get it done!

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

December 1


You should have finished looking at the "Nations, Nation-States and Internationalism" PowerPoint presentation today. I will be sending this presentation to you this afternoon. You should have been given the Unit 3 Worksheet as well today. The chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions will be due on Monday. I will send this out by e-mail as well today, just in case. Please go directly to the Blenheim Room tomorrow to write your Unit 2 Essay. Here is the study guide for your Unit 2 Final Exam as well (scroll down to find it).


You should have looked at the electoral college system today in class, and you should have received a copy of the Comparing the American and Canadian Political Systems Assignment. This assignment is due on Wednesday, December 8th.

I'm feeling better. I should be back in class tomorrow.

Monday, November 29, 2010

November 29


You wrote your Unit 2 WRA II today in the Blenheim Room, which took all of today's period.


You handed in your Unit 2 Research Projects today. If you did a Prezi, you must e-mail me the link to your Prezi, please send it to my CBE e-mail account. We split into groups of 3-4 people to do a peer edit of the 1st paragraph assignment that I gave you on Friday. You should have had 2 people read and edit your paragraph and offer you some constructive criticism. I will be reading these paragraphs over tonight and doing the same thing. Hopefully, I'll be able to give them back to you tomorrow. I will be giving you your Unit 2 Essay Question Sheets tomorrow, and I will offer some advice and warnings about both text-based sources that you will be facing (Period 3 and Period 4 students will not be writing on the same source). Your Unit 2 WRA II (Essay) is on Thursday. Your Unit 2 Final Exam is on Monday, December 6th, please see the study guide here. We started looking at Unit 3 material today, with an organizational web of Unit 3 topics, and a opinion survey on internationalism (one the main concepts of Unit 3).

1. Study the following PowerPoint presentations from Unit 2:

  • The Causes of World War I
  • Total War-Allied Victory in WWI-Paris Peace Conference
  • Ultranationalism in WWII: Italy, Japan, Germany
  • The Internment of Japanese-Canadians in WWII
  • The Holocaust
  • Eight Stages of Genocide (from the Genocide Watch website)
  • Contemporary Examples of Genocide

2. Know the following key concepts:

  • national interest
  • domestic policy
  • foreign policy
  • Triple Alliance
  • Triple Entente
  • Treaty of Versailles
  • Big Four (Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, Vittorio Orlando)
  • appeasement
  • ultranationalism
  • propaganda
  • conscription crisis
  • Adolf Hitler
  • Nazis
  • Hirohito
  • Tojo
  • Kristallnacht
  • The Way of Subjects
  • League of Nations
  • total war
  • internment
  • War Measures Act
  • Great Depression
  • the Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
  • irredentism
  • genocide
  • crimes against humanity
  • war crimes
  • Holocaust
  • ethnic cleansing
  • lebensraum
  • Weimar Republic
  • Final Solution
  • decolonization
  • successor state
  • self-determination

3. Make sure that you review the following broad topics in your review of Unit 2 (and make sure that you can answer ALL of the questions on the Unit 2 Worksheet):

  • World War I (don't concern yourself with memorizing battles though)
  • Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles
  • The Interwar Years
  • Rise of ultranationalism in Germany, Japan, and Italy
  • Causes of World War II and key events (turning points in the war)
  • The Holocaust
  • Contemporary examples of genocide (review case studies that were emphasized in class and in the textbook, review your notes for "Scream Bloody Murder", "Shake Hands with the Devil")
  • Decolonization and self-determination (quick review of "Gandhi" film study booklet, what are successor states? What is self-determination? Kosovo case study)

Friday, November 26, 2010

November 26


As a class we brainstormed arguments and evidence related to Monday's Unit 2 WRA II. Please go directly to the Blenheim Room on Monday to write the essay. Click here to see the Oreo Cookies video that I was talking about today in class



You wrote your Chapter 7-8 Test today, which took the entire class period. Please remember that your Unit 2 Research Project is due on Monday. If you are doing a Prezi, please send me the link to your Prezi to my e-mail account, and make sure that your hand in your typed reference list to me. Your Unit 2 Final Exam is on Monday, December 6th, please see the study guide below. Please make sure that you write your 1st paragraph for an essay based on the following source and question:

"No nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over all others. We all share responsibility for each other's security, and only by working to make each other secure can we hope to achieve lasting security for ourselves."

-Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General

To what extent should we embrace the perspective(s) in the source?

In class on Monday, you'll be moved into small groups for peer editing and constructive criticism, and you will also be handing in this 1st paragraph to me for comments. This is NOT for marks! The purpose of this activity is to be able to give you feedback on how you are writing your essays prior to Thursday's class when you write your Unit 2 WRA II. The text-based source quote will be different for Thursday's essay, and you will ge that essay question sheet on Tuesday.




1. Study the following PowerPoint presentations from Unit 2:
  • The Causes of World War I
  • Total War-Allied Victory in WWI-Paris Peace Conference
  • Ultranationalism in WWII: Italy, Japan, Germany
  • The Internment of Japanese-Canadians in WWII
  • The Holocaust
  • Eight Stages of Genocide (from the Genocide Watch website)
  • Contemporary Examples of Genocide

2. Know the following key concepts:
  • national interest
  • domestic policy
  • foreign policy
  • Triple Alliance
  • Triple Entente
  • Treaty of Versailles
  • Big Four (Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, Vittorio Orlando)
  • appeasement
  • ultranationalism
  • propaganda
  • conscription crisis
  • Adolf Hitler
  • Nazis
  • Hirohito
  • Tojo
  • Kristallnacht
  • The Way of Subjects
  • League of Nations
  • total war
  • internment
  • War Measures Act
  • Great Depression
  • the Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
  • irredentism
  • genocide
  • crimes against humanity
  • war crimes
  • Holocaust
  • ethnic cleansing
  • lebensraum
  • Weimar Republic
  • Final Solution
  • decolonization
  • successor state
  • self-determination

3. Make sure that you review the following broad topics in your review of Unit 2 (and make sure that you can answer ALL of the questions on the Unit 2 Worksheet):


  • World War I (don't concern yourself with memorizing battles though)
  • Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles
  • The Interwar Years
  • Rise of ultranationalism in Germany, Japan, and Italy
  • Causes of World War II and key events (turning points in the war)
  • The Holocaust
  • Contemporary examples of genocide (review case studies that were emphasized in class and in the textbook, review your notes for "Scream Bloody Murder", "Shake Hands with the Devil")
  • Decolonization and self-determination (quick review of "Gandhi" film study booklet, what are successor states? What is self-determination? Kosovo case study)

Thursday, November 25, 2010

November 25


We spent almost the entire period discussing the "recipe for success" on writing WRA II essays. I will be sending you the handouts that I gave you in class today. You do have a homework assignment for Monday, please write a 1st paragraph based on the following source and essay question:

"No nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over all others. We all share responsibility for each other's security, and only by working to make each other secure can we hope to achieve lasting security for ourselves."

-Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General

To what extent should we embrace the perspective(s) in the source?
On Monday, we will be doing peer edits of your 1st paragraph for this essay. I will then take it in to add some comments and constructive criticism. This is NOT for marks! I want to go through potential problems prior to you actually writing your Unit 2 WRA II on Thursday of next week. I think it is better to know in advance that you are doing the analysis of the source incorrectly BEFORE you write your essays on Thursday. Incidentally, this is NOT the text-based source that you will facing on Thursday's essay. You will get the essay question sheet on Tuesday. Please remember that you have your Chapter 7-8 Test tomorrow, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it). Your Unit 2 Research Project is due on Monday as well. Your Unit 2 Final Exam is on Monday, December 6th, I'll be posting the study guide soon enough.


You handed in your Chapter 10 Key Terms and Questions today. I went through the structure of the Canadian political system today, and I introduced the concepts of first past the post and proportional representation. I also gave you your essay question sheets for Monday's Unit 2 WRA II. Please check your e-mail!!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

November 24


We looked at the issue of national self-determination by looking at the controversy surrounding the declaration of independence of Kosovo. We watched a video from the CBC News in Review series from April 2008. While you were watching this video you were to answer the video study questions that came from this booklet. I also did a homework check on the "Gandhi" Film Study questions and the Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions today as well. I also announced the date of Part A of your Final Exam, it is on Wednesday, January 5th. During this class period you will write an essay that will count for 10% of your mark in Social 20-1. Please remember that your Chapter 7-8 Test is on Friday, November 26th, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it). Also, have a look at the upcoming important dates.

  • Chapter 7-8 Test is on Friday, November 26th
  • Unit 2 Research Project is due on Monday, November 29th
  • Unit 2 WRA II (Essay) is on Thursday, December 2nd
  • Unit 2 Final Exam is on Monday, December 6th
  • Social 20-1 Final Exam Part A is on Wednesday, January 5th


We finished looking at the Types of Democratic Systems handout that I gave you yesterday. We did some paperwork to request a computer for your Diploma Exam in January. You also got the results back from the Unit 2 Final Exam. Your Chapter 10 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow, please check your e-mail if you weren't in class today because I'll be sending this worksheet out to you.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

November 23


You wrote your Unit 2 Final Exam today, and the results will be revealed tomorrow. Please remember that you have your Unit 2 WRA II (Essay) on Monday, November 29th. You will be getting the essay question sheet later this week.


We finished our film study of "Gandhi" today, and the questions (content questions 1-17) and the thought questions are due tomorrow. Please check your e-mail for the PowerPoint presentation on plagiarism (especially if you are in Social 20-1 Period 3, we didn't finish it). Your Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow as well. Your Chapter 7-8 Test is on Friday, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it). Your Unit 2 Research Projects are due on Monday, November 29th.


This test is on Friday, November 26th. It will consist of 20-24 key terms in a matching section, and 3-4 short answer questions. Please study the following PowerPoint presentations:

Please study the following notes packages/film study packages:

  • 36 Questions About The Holocaust
  • Turning Points in History: The Atomic Bomb (film notes)
  • White Light/Black Rain (film notes)
  • Shake Hands with the Devil (film notes + package)
  • Unit 2 Worksheet (chapter questions for Chapter 7 and 8)
  • make sure that you have read Chapters 7 and 8!


1. Please study the following key concepts/key people/key events:

  • genocide
  • crimes against humanity
  • war crimes
  • the Holocaust
  • ethnic cleansing
  • lebensraum
  • Weimar Republic
  • Final Solution
  • decolonization
  • successor state
  • self-determination
  • Wansee Conference
  • Nuremberg Trials
  • Mahatma Gandhi
  • Jawaharlal Nehru
  • Mohammed Ali Jinnah
  • home rule
  • Hutu
  • Tutsi
  • Romeo Dallaire
  • Manhattan Project
  • Hiroshima
  • Nagasaki
  • Robert Oppenheimer
  • FDR
  • Harry Truman
  • Potsdam Conference
  • Slobodan Milosevic

2. You should be able to answer any of the questions from the Unit 2 worksheet from Chapter 7 and 8.

Monday, November 22, 2010

November 22


I gave you a few handouts today on "The Language of Government" and "Types of Democratic Systems". If you missed class today, you'll have to get the handouts and the notes that I had students add to these handouts. We'll finish looking at the two main types of democratic systems that we'll look at in Unit 3 on Wednesday. Please remember that you have your Unit 2 Final Exam tomorrow, please see the study guide below.


It will be a 75 multiple choice question test. In your textbook, this is material from Chapters 3-8. Please look at the studying hints below:

  • study "The Development of Classical Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "Responding to Classical Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Evolution of Modern Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Techniques of Dictatorship" (ppt)
  • study "20th Century Rejections of Modern Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Origins of the Cold War" (ppt)
  • study the key concepts from the Chapters 3-8 worksheets
  • please see the summary notes from the Ideologies textbook: Chapter 7 (Private Enterprise)
  • supply-side economics
  • boom and bust cycle/business cycle
  • laws of supply and demand, Adam Smith, invisible hand, market forces
    self-interest, consumer sovereignty, competition, private ownership, profit motive
  • basic economic problems/questions
  • advantages/disadvantages of the market economy
  • causes of the Great Depression
  • FDR and the New Deal
  • please see summary notes from the Ideologies textbook on the Mixed Economy Case Studies #14 (Sweden) and #15 (Canada), #16 (Japan), #17 (Fascism and Nazism)
  • also see the Democratic Socialism booklet on Sweden (indicative planning, "cradle to the grave" economics)
  • characteristics of a mixed economy
  • nationalization
  • privatization
  • democratic socialism
  • welfare capitalism
  • Keynesian economics
  • the business cycle and fiscal and monetary policies (study all of the notes I gave you and the booklet that I gave you)
  • demand-side economics
  • neo-conservatives
  • monetarism
  • trickle down economics
  • supply-side economics
  • Thatcherism and Reaganomics
  • Milton Friedman
  • Friedrich Hayek
  • how Keynesian economics deals with a recession (remember "the percolator": increase circulation of money reducing taxes, increase government spending on "make work" projects, and reduce interest rates, which according to Keynesian economics is going increase demand for goods and services and lead to more money circulating in the economy)
  • how supply-side economics deals with a recession (remember "trickle down coffee maker": government should stimulate the goods and services sector of the economy by reducing corporate and personal taxes, eventually benefits will "trickle down" to the middle class and working class, make connections between supply-side economics and laissez faire economics/classical liberalism)
  • advantages and disadvantages of a mixed economy
  • neo-conservative criticism of government intervention
  • characteristics of a centrally planned economy
  • advantages and disadvantages of a centrally planned economy
  • Marx notes (sent by e-mail)
  • Lenin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • establishment of the Soviet Union
  • Soviet economic system (top-down decision-making process)
  • Lenin's War Communism and the New Economic Policy
  • "Stalin and the Modernization of Russia" (see film notes)
  • Stalin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • "Changes to Soviet Society After Stalin" notes (this bridges the gap between Stalin and Gorbachev)
  • Gorbachev to Collapse Notes
  • Economic Planning in the USSR booklet
  • techniques of dictatorships (USSR and Nazi Germany case studies)
  • modern liberalism
  • features of the Nazi state
  • Hitler's rise to power
  • Characteristics of Democracy
  • Characteristics of Dictatorship
  • Democratic Systems notes
  • Non-Democratic Systems notes
  • Types of Dictatorships notes (includes Techniques of Dictatorships as well)
  • A Comparison of Communism and Fascism notes
  • Totalitarianism notes
  • Fascism/Nazism booklet (has techniques of dictatorship in Nazi Germany and USSR)
  • do a brief review of the political spectrum and economic spectrum and the quadrant model


We continued our film study of "Gandhi". We will finish this film tomorrow. The film study will be due on Wednesday. Your Unit 2 Research Projects are due next Monday, hopefully you got a lot finished off on the weekend. I collected your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions today and handed back your background information on India. Your Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions are due on Wednesday. Please remember that your Chapter 7-8 Test is on Friday, November 26th. Please see the study guide below.


This test is on Friday, November 26th. It will consist of 20-24 key terms in a matching section, and 3-4 short answer questions. Please study the following PowerPoint presentations:

Please study the following notes packages/film study packages:


  • 36 Questions About The Holocaust
  • Turning Points in History: The Atomic Bomb (film notes)
  • White Light/Black Rain (film notes)
  • Shake Hands with the Devil (film notes + package)
  • Unit 2 Worksheet (chapter questions for Chapter 7 and 8)
  • make sure that you have read Chapters 7 and 8!


1. Please study the following key concepts/key people/key events:
genocide:


  • crimes against humanity
  • war crimes
  • the Holocaust
  • ethnic cleansing
  • lebensraum
  • Weimar Republic
  • Final Solution
  • decolonization
  • successor state
  • self-determination
  • Wansee Conference
  • Nuremberg Trials
  • Mahatma Gandhi
  • Jawaharlal Nehru
  • Mohammed Ali Jinnah
  • home rule
  • Hutu
  • Tutsi
  • Romeo Dallaire
  • Manhattan Project
  • Hiroshima
  • Nagasaki
  • Robert Oppenheimer
  • FDR
  • Harry Truman
  • Potsdam Conference
  • Slobodan Milosevic

2. You should be able to answer any of the questions from the Unit 2 worksheet from Chapter 7 and 8.

Friday, November 19, 2010

November 19


We started looking at Unit 3 material today. If you missed today's class you will have to get these notes from a classmate. We also watched a video from BBC World called "10 Questions About Democracy" (here is a link to the companion website if you'd like to hear what people had to say again). You are responsible for finishing the entire film study that went along with this video for tomorrow's class (I'll be doing a homework check on it, and in all likelihood, we'll be able to discuss some of the questions in the video). You have another homework assignment tonight: please go to the following website-Political Compass, complete the political survey (from the left-hand navigation menu, click on "Take the test"), print off where you fall in the economic-political grid and bring it to class on Monday. We'll be able to talk about this on Monday. Please remember that you have your Unit 2 Final Exam on Tuesday, please see the study guide below. I also gave back the results of your Chapter 7 Test as well today. Please check your e-mail today because I will be sending you a copy of the "10 Questions About Democracy" video study and I will also be sending you a handout that looks at positive and negative freedoms (I'm trying to clear up some confusion about this concept; this relates to material in Chapter 8).


It will be a 75 multiple choice question test. In your textbook, this is material from Chapters 3-8. Please look at the studying hints below:


  • study "The Development of Classical Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "Responding to Classical Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Evolution of Modern Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Techniques of Dictatorship" (ppt)
  • study "20th Century Rejections of Modern Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Origins of the Cold War" (ppt)
  • study the key concepts from the Chapters 3-8 worksheets
  • please see the summary notes from the Ideologies textbook: Chapter 7 (Private Enterprise)
  • supply-side economics
  • boom and bust cycle/business cycle
  • laws of supply and demand, Adam Smith, invisible hand, market forces
  • self-interest, consumer sovereignty, competition, private ownership, profit motive
  • basic economic problems/questions
  • advantages/disadvantages of the market economy
  • causes of the Great Depression
  • FDR and the New Deal
  • please see summary notes from the Ideologies textbook on the Mixed Economy Case Studies #14 (Sweden) and #15 (Canada), #16 (Japan), #17 (Fascism and Nazism)
    also see the Democratic Socialism booklet on Sweden (indicative planning, "cradle to the grave" economics)
  • characteristics of a mixed economy
  • nationalization
  • privatization
  • democratic socialism
  • welfare capitalism
  • Keynesian economics
  • the business cycle and fiscal and monetary policies (study all of the notes I gave you and the booklet that I gave you)
  • demand-side economics
  • neo-conservatives
  • monetarism
  • trickle down economics
  • supply-side economics
  • Thatcherism and Reaganomics
  • Milton Friedman
  • Friedrich Hayek
  • how Keynesian economics deals with a recession (remember "the percolator": increase circulation of money reducing taxes, increase government spending on "make work" projects, and reduce interest rates, which according to Keynesian economics is going increase demand for goods and services and lead to more money circulating in the economy)
  • how supply-side economics deals with a recession (remember "trickle down coffee maker": government should stimulate the goods and services sector of the economy by reducing corporate and personal taxes, eventually benefits will "trickle down" to the middle class and working class, make connections between supply-side economics and laissez faire economics/classical liberalism)
  • advantages and disadvantages of a mixed economy
  • neo-conservative criticism of government intervention
  • characteristics of a centrally planned economy
  • advantages and disadvantages of a centrally planned economy
  • Marx notes (sent by e-mail)
  • Lenin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • establishment of the Soviet Union
  • Soviet economic system (top-down decision-making process)
  • Lenin's War Communism and the New Economic Policy
  • "Stalin and the Modernization of Russia" (see film notes)
  • Stalin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • "Changes to Soviet Society After Stalin" notes (this bridges the gap between Stalin and Gorbachev)
  • Gorbachev to Collapse Notes
  • Economic Planning in the USSR booklet
  • techniques of dictatorships (USSR and Nazi Germany case studies)
  • modern liberalism
  • features of the Nazi state
  • Hitler's rise to power
  • Democratic Systems notes
  • Non-Democratic Systems notes
  • Types of Dictatorships notes (includes Techniques of Dictatorships as well)
  • A Comparison of Communism and Fascism notes
  • Totalitarianism notes
  • Fascism/Nazism booklet (has techniques of dictatorship in Nazi Germany and USSR)
  • do a brief review of the political spectrum and economic spectrum and the quadrant model


We started our film study of "Gandhi" today. Before I started the film, I took in Part 1 of your case study (the background information) on India. Please remember that your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due on Monday. Your Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions are due on Wednesday. Your Chapter 7-8 Test is next Friday, please see the study guide below.


This test is on Friday, November 26th. It will consist of 20-24 key terms in a matching section, and 3-4 short answer questions. Please study the following PowerPoint presentations:

Please study the following notes packages/film study packages:


  • 36 Questions About The Holocaust
  • Turning Points in History: The Atomic Bomb (film notes)
  • White Light/Black Rain (film notes)
  • Shake Hands with the Devil (film notes + package)
  • Unit 2 Worksheet (chapter questions for Chapter 7 and 8)
  • make sure that you have read Chapters 7 and 8!


1. Please study the following key concepts/key people/key events:
genocide:


  • crimes against humanity
  • war crimes
  • the Holocaust
  • ethnic cleansing
  • lebensraum
  • Weimar Republic
  • Final Solution
  • decolonization
  • successor state
  • self-determination
  • Wansee Conference
  • Nuremberg Trials
  • Mahatma Gandhi
  • Jawaharlal Nehru
  • Mohammed Ali Jinnah
  • home rule
  • Hutu
  • Tutsi
  • Romeo Dallaire
  • Manhattan Project
  • Hiroshima
  • Nagasaki
  • Robert Oppenheimer
  • FDR
  • Harry Truman
  • Potsdam Conference
  • Slobodan Milosevic

2. You should be able to answer any of the questions from the Unit 2 worksheet from Chapter 7 and 8.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

November 18


Today was a work period for you to learn as much as possible about background information on India, in preparation for our film study of "Gandhi". We will start our film study tomorrow. Please remember that the "Part 1: Background and Colonial Period for India" questions (all of questions 1-4) are due tomorrow for homework check marks. Also, your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due on Monday, and your Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions are due on Wednesday.



You wrote your Cold War Exam today, which took most of the period. Your "Good Night, and Good Night" Film Study questions are due tomorrow. Your Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow as well. Please remember that your Unit 2 Final Exam is on Tuesday, November 23rd (please see the study guide here, scroll down to find it). Also, your Unit 2 WRA II (Essay) is on Monday, November 29th.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

November 17

I went through a PowerPoint presentation today called "Contemporary Examples of Genocide" and I also gave you a reading package on many of the same genocides of the 20th century. I will be sending this presentation to you this afternoon. It is still recommended that you print these PowerPoint presentations off (4-6 slides per page) and add them to your notes. I also gave you reading by Samantha Power, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book A Problem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide, the reading that I gave you was called "Never Again: The World's Most Unfulfilled Promise". Tomorrow we'll begin to look at background information on India in preparation for our film study of Gandhi. I gave you some class time to read over this booklet. Please remember the following upcoming important dates:

  • Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due on Monday, November 22nd
  • Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions are due on Wednesday, November 24th
  • Unit 2 Research Project is due on Monday, November 29th



We finished watching "Good Night, and Good Luck" today in class. This film explores a lot of issues that are relevant to today. You also have to understand the political climate at the time in the United States to fully understand the movie. Many Americans were drawn to communism in the 1930s due to the effects of the Great Depression, especially academics and those in the labour fields. In the movie they made reference to friends and spouses that had attended meetings long ago. The "Red Scare" caused a huge backlash against those sympathetic to communism or the USSR. Remember, during WWII the Soviet Union was an ally, and many people may have attended meetings out of curiosity. The junior Senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy in 1950 charged there were communist sympathizers in the U.S. State Department. Hearings were held, charges were found to be unfounded. McCarthy continued accusing communist infiltration in the Democratic Party. McCarthy became the chairman of the House Subcommittee on the investigation of un-American activity (HUAC). On December 2, 1954, McCarthy’s actions were called into question and his accusations were deemed unfounded. Murrow makes a show on McCarthy attacking him. A very public feud develops when McCarthy responds by accusing Murrow of being a communist. Murrow is accused of having been a member of the leftist union Industrial Workers of the World, which Murrow claimed was false.
In this climate of fear and reprisal (which we now refer to as McCarthyism), the CBS crew carries on and their tenacity ultimately strikes a historic blow against McCarthy. Historical footage in the movie also shows the questioning of Annie Lee Moss, a Pentagon communication worker accused of being a communist based on her name appearing on a list seen by an FBI infiltrator of the American Communist Party. In the first half of the film Murrow talks about how McCarthy didn't create the political climate and anti-Communist hysteria sweeping the country, but that he capitalized on it for political gain very effectively. As David Strathairn (playing Murrow in the film says, "We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep in our history and doctrine and remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes which were, for the moment, unpopular. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of the Republic to abdicate responsibility." The film is framed by the performance of the speech given by Murrow to the Radio and Television News Directors Association in 1958, in which Murrow harshly admonishes his audience not to squander the potential of television to inform and educate the public. I found this short video on YouTube that spliced together Edward R. Murrow's speech that appears at the beginning of the film and continues at the end of the film. I find that this speech has relevance even today when you talk about the level of discourse in the media. Your film study for "Good Night and Good Luck" is due on Friday. We also did a quick review of Cold War concepts, if you missed class today, please get these notes from a classmate. Please remember that you have your Chapter 7 Test (Cold War period) tomorrow and your Unit 2 Final Exam on Tuesday. Please see both study guides here.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

November 16


We started looking at the film "Good Night, and Good Luck" today in class. This film explores McCarthyism in the early 1950s. The film study that I provided you with also has a film review (if you are having a hard time understanding the film so far, it might be a good idea to read this over tonight), and some study questions and some discussion questions. This film definitely has relevance in today's world (which we'll be talking about more tomorrow and in Unit 3 of the course). Hopefully, we'll finish off the film tomorrow, and be able to have a short discussion period of some of the issues the film raises. In all likelihood, the study questions from the film study will be due on Monday. Please remember that you have your Chapter 7 Exam (Cold War Exam) on Thursday, November 18th and your Unit 2 Final Exam on Tuesday, November 23rd. You can find both study guides here (scroll down to find them).



We finished watching "Shake Hands with the Devil" today in class. The pre-viewing and post-viewing questions from the "Shake Hands with the Devil" film study are due tomorrow. Here is some additional information on Theoneste Bagosora (especially useful if your Unit 2 Research Project is on the Rwandan genocide). We will look at other contemporary examples of genocide tomorrow, and look at an article written by Samantha Power on the subject. Later this week, we'll start looking at India, the Indian independence movement, and the civil disobedience and non-violence movement advocated by Gandhi.

Monday, November 15, 2010

November 15


We watched a video called "Inside North Korea" to look at one of the legacies of the Cold War. The Korean peninsula is still divided to this day, and it's important to see how Kim Jong-Il maintains power in North Korea. Hopefully you could see the techniques of dictatorship at work in the video. Please make sure that you study for the Cold War Exam (Chapter 7), please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it). You also have your Unit 2 Final Exam coming up as well, here's the study guide here (scroll down to find it). Tomorrow, we'll be starting a film study on "Good Night and Good Luck". We will be looking at McCarthyism in the United States in the 1950s (so we're backtracking a bit). To fully understand what we're doing in class on Tuesday and Wednesday, it will be beneficial to re-read the section in Perspectives on Ideology on McCarthyism and to read up on Edward R. Murrow as well.




We finished watching "Scream Bloody Murder" today, and as you watched this video you were to take notes on the various genocides depicted. We also moved on to our film study of "Shake Hands with the Devil" today. We will finish this movie tomorrow, and then I will talk about when the film study is due. Your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due on Monday, November 22nd. Your Unit 2 Project is due on Tuesday, November 23rd.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

November 10


Today was a shorter period due to the Remembrance Day ceremony, but we started watching CNN Presents "Scream Bloody Murder". We'll finish this video on Monday. Over this weekend, you should be working on your Unit 2 Research Projects. This project is due on Tuesday, November 23rd. Here is a link to CNN Presents: Scream Bloody Murder (this video is on YouTube, but it's split into 14 parts! You can check it out here.) Here is a profile of Romeo Dallaire as well: In-Depth Profile of Romeo Dallaire from CBC News. We'll be looking at the Rwandan Genocide next week, so it might help get an idea of the man at the center of UN mission in Rwanda.

Social 20-1 Students: Check Your E-Mail!




Today was a very short 50 minute period. We looked briefly at disarmament talks during the Cold War. I put notes up on the board on bilateral and multilateral agreements aimed at disarmament. If you missed class today, you need to get these notes from a classmate. We also looked at the end of the Cold War era and global trends since the end of the Cold War. Here is the link to the Chapter 7 Test Study Guide (it's on Thursday, November 18th) and a link to the Unit 2 Final Exam (which is on Tuesday, November 23rd). Also, you have your Unit 2 WRA II (Essay) on Monday, November 29th. I did a homework check on your Vietnam War Assignment today as well. I'm almost forgot to post this video of nuclear bomb testing around the world that I promised in class on Friday, have a look it's only 5 minutes long. It's a bit shocking to see all of these tests! It also only covers 1945 to 1998, and there have been more countries that have joined the "nuclear club" since then.

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

November 9


We watched "Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam" today in class. I also gave you a package on the causes of the Vietnam War and key phases of the war. Make sure that you read it! Your Vietnam War assignment is due tomorrow. Please see yesterday's post for the study guides for the Chapter 7 Test (Cold War) and the Unit 2 Final Exam. Tomorrow, your Vietnam War Assignment is due (sections A-C). If you missed the handout, here are the topics that need to be covered in the Vietnam War Assignment:


A. PEOPLE
Identify and explain the role each played in the Vietnam War
1. Ho Chi Minh
2. Ngo Dinh Diem
3. Lyndon B. Johnson
4. Richard M. Nixon
5. Viet Minh
6. Viet Cong
7. Le Duc Tho
8. Henry Kissinger
9. William Westmoreland
10. "Draft Dodger"

B. CONCEPTS/TERMS
Explain the significance of the following with regards to the Vietnam War (identify participants or individuals if appropriate)
1. Ho Chi Minh Trail
2. defoliation
3. "search and destroy" mission
4. "Vietnamization of the war"
5. Gulf of Tonkin Incident
6. My Lai Massacre
7. domino theory
8. Kent State University protest (May 4, 1970)
9. Tet Offensive (January 1968)
10. Geneva Agreement (1954)

C. ISSUES
Provide the information requested
1. The predominant religion of Vietnam
2. The battle which marked the end of French colonial rule in Indo-China
3. The scandal which led to the only resignation of an American President
4. The Vice President who replaced the President after his resignation
5. Why was November 1963 a "bad month" for the governments of South Vietnam and the United States?



You had today to work on your Unit 2 Research Projects. This will be the only library class time that you will get. This project is due on Tuesday, November 23rd. This gives you two weeks and, more importantly, two weekends to put the project together.

Monday, November 08, 2010

November 8


We continued our look at the Vietnam War today by watching an excerpt from "Born of the Fourth of July". Please Here is a link to the NPR that explains the story behind this photograph, definitely worth the time to read or listen to the podcast, and make sure that you look at the photo gallery of Eddie Adams' photographs of the Vietnam War.



There are certain iconic images associated with the Vietnam War. Here is another:

The above photograph is of Phan Thị Kim Phúc, O.Ont (born in 1963), she is a Vietnamese-Canadian best known as the child subject of a Pulitzer Prize winning photograph taken during the Vietnam War on June 8, 1972. The iconic photo taken in Trang Bang by AP photographer Nick Ut shows her at about age nine running naked on the street after being severely burned on her back by a South Vietnamese napalm attack. Contrary to popular myth, the US Air Force were not involved in the attack, and only two US troops were within 60 miles (97 km) of the scene, neither of whom had any say in the bombings. Still, it is a powerful image associated with the war.

Your Vietnam War Assignment is due on Wednesday.

I'm posting study guides for your Chapter 7 Test (Cold War Exam) and your Unit 2 Final Exam below. You have a lot of review and studying to do, that's why I'm posting these study guides so far in advance.




It is a multiple choice test with 70-75 multiple choice questions. Please make sure that you have read Chapter 7. Here are some other study tips:

  • study "The Origins of the Cold War (ppt)"
  • study all notes on the Origins and Causes of the Cold War
  • study notes on the Korean War
  • study notes on the Cuban Missile Crisis
  • study notes on the Vietnam War (see notes package and Vietnam War booklet, and the notes that I sent to you on the Vietnam War)
  • make sure that you know all the Cold War Concepts (please see the Cold War Concepts Quiz Study Guide)
  • know the chronology of events of the Cold War (study the Cold War timeline and the Vietnam War timeline, and the end of the Cold War timeline that I will be giving you on subsequent class)
  • know key events that we've emphasized in class (for example: Berlin Airlift,Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War) plus other key events from the timeline
  • know major arms reduction agreements (bilateral agreements and multilateral agreements), please study the notes that I will give you on this week on this topic.
  • know about the formation of alliances (NATO, Warsaw Pact) and the formation of "spheres of influence"
  • anything that I gave you as a handout is testable material and should be reviewed!!
  • know how the Cold War ends and its results/consequences


It will be a 75 multiple choice question test. In your textbook, this is material from Chapters 3-8. Please look at the studying hints below:

  • study "The Development of Classical Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "Responding to Classical Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Evolution of Modern Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Techniques of Dictatorship" (ppt)
  • study "20th Century Rejections of Modern Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Origins of the Cold War" (ppt)
  • study the key concepts from the Chapters 3-8 worksheets
  • please see the summary notes from the Ideologies textbook: Chapter 7 (Private Enterprise)
  • supply-side economics
  • boom and bust cycle/business cycle
  • laws of supply and demand, Adam Smith, invisible hand, market forces
    self-interest, consumer sovereignty, competition, private ownership, profit motive
  • basic economic problems/questions
  • advantages/disadvantages of the market economy
  • causes of the Great Depression
  • FDR and the New Deal
  • please see summary notes from the Ideologies textbook on the Mixed Economy Case Studies #14 (Sweden) and #15 (Canada), #16 (Japan), #17 (Fascism and Nazism)
  • also see the Democratic Socialism booklet on Sweden (indicative planning, "cradle to the grave" economics)
  • characteristics of a mixed economy
  • nationalization
  • privatization
  • democratic socialism
  • welfare capitalism
  • Keynesian economics
  • the business cycle and fiscal and monetary policies (study all of the notes I gave you and the booklet that I gave you)
  • demand-side economics
  • neo-conservatives
  • monetarism
  • trickle down economics
  • supply-side economics
  • Thatcherism and Reaganomics
  • Milton Friedman
  • Friedrich Hayek
  • how Keynesian economics deals with a recession (remember "the percolator": increase circulation of money reducing taxes, increase government spending on "make work" projects, and reduce interest rates, which according to Keynesian economics is going increase demand for goods and services and lead to more money circulating in the economy)
  • how supply-side economics deals with a recession (remember "trickle down coffee maker": government should stimulate the goods and services sector of the economy by reducing corporate and personal taxes, eventually benefits will "trickle down" to the middle class and working class, make connections between supply-side economics and laissez faire economics/classical liberalism)
  • advantages and disadvantages of a mixed economy
  • neo-conservative criticism of government intervention
  • characteristics of a centrally planned economy
  • advantages and disadvantages of a centrally planned economy
  • Marx notes (sent by e-mail)
  • Lenin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • establishment of the Soviet Union
  • Soviet economic system (top-down decision-making process)
  • Lenin's War Communism and the New Economic Policy
  • "Stalin and the Modernization of Russia" (see film notes)
  • Stalin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • "Changes to Soviet Society After Stalin" notes (this bridges the gap between Stalin and Gorbachev)
  • Gorbachev to Collapse Notes
  • Economic Planning in the USSR booklet
  • techniques of dictatorships (USSR and Nazi Germany case studies)
  • modern liberalism
  • features of the Nazi state
  • Hitler's rise to power
  • Characteristics of Democracy
  • Characteristics of Dictatorship
  • Democratic Systems notes
  • Non-Democratic Systems notes
  • Types of Dictatorships notes (includes Techniques of Dictatorships as well)
  • A Comparison of Communism and Fascism notes
  • Totalitarianism notes
  • Fascism/Nazism booklet (has techniques of dictatorship in Nazi Germany and USSR)
  • do a brief review of the political spectrum and economic spectrum and the quadrant model


I showed you some video I shot when I visited Hiroshima, in particular the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park. We looked at the eight stages of genocide and how governments and individuals deny genocide. Please check out this link to Genocide Watch to download today's PowerPoint presentation or to view other documents on their website. We're starting our Unit 2 Research Project tomorrow, so please come to the classroom first, then we'll head down to the library together. We drew lots to determine the draft order for the projects. I'll set a due date for this project in the days to come. If you're interested in checking out Prezi, please follow this link. Make sure you check out the beginner instructional videos on the site, and have a look at the manual as well. It is really easy to learn how to use Prezi. Check out what is possible by looking at the 15 minute Prezi at this link.

Friday, November 05, 2010

November 5


I gave you some handouts on the Cold War today. I gave you some handouts on the Korean War and the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as an activity booklet on Southeast Asia. We watched a short video from the BBC 20th Century History series called "Mr. Khrushchev and Mr. Kennedy", looking at the Cuban Missile Crisis. I then gave you time to work on your Cold War Events Notes, these booklets are due on Monday, as is the Southeast Asia booklet. Your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due on Tuesday.


We finished our film study of "White Light/Black Rain" today. If I can remember I'll try to bring in my home videos of Hiroshima on Monday to show you. We'll also move on to stages of genocide on Monday. Also on Monday, we'll be drawing lots to pick Unit 2 Research Project topics.

Thursday, November 04, 2010

November 4


We watched a video today from the "History's Turning Points" series on the atomic bomb building project in WWII. We then started a film study of the HBO documentary "White Light/Black Rain" which we will finish tomorrow. There are some pages in your textbook related to the use of the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Please see pages 158-161 and 168-169 in Chapter 7 in Exploring Nationalism.

I gave you about 35 minutes to work with a great little resource called "The Cold War and After". With these books you were to take notes on key events in the Cold War in your Cold War Events Booklets. These booklets will be due on Monday, November 8th. You will get some class time tomorrow to work on this booklet as well. Please remember that your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due on Tuesday, November 9th.

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

November 3


We watched some excerpts today from "Schindler's List" to help illustrate life in the ghetto and the concentration camps. We also started talking about the aftermath of WWII in Europe and the trial of Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg. We watched a short video on the war crimes trials at Nuremberg and I also gave you a handout with all the defendants and the results of the Nuremberg trial. Tomorrow, we'll be moving on to look at the end of WWII in the Pacific.

I finished delivering a PowerPoint presentation today called "The Origins of the Cold War", which I have already sent to you. Make sure that you read the other handouts that I gave you on the Cold War today. I know that I gave them out at the end of the period, but they are important. The handout that covers the WWII conferences and agreements is especially valuable in my opinion. I would like you to go to the World War II Behind Closed Doors website tonight, and read the sections on the Yalta Conference and the Potsdam Conference. This is an excellent site, with tons of information, maps, video clips, timelines and archival footage and re-enactments as well. You do need to really make sure that you understand the Yalta Agreements and the Potsdam Declaration (among other things) and this is a great site to do this. Episode 3 is the one that contains most of the information that you would need to read and watch. There's a great little video clip on this website called "Stalin's Distrust of the West" that might help you see WWII from the Soviet perspective and why the Soviets might wish to extend control over Eastern Europe and be so distrustful of their wartime allies. You can find this video clip in Episode 3 (Dividing the World), scroll down and click on the video clip on the right called "Stalin's Distrust of the West". It's a short little clip, but you'll get the idea. We also watched a couple of videos from the BBC 20th Century History series called "The Road to Berlin" (last few years of WWII) and "Cold War Confrontation". We'll continue our look at the Cold War tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

November 2


You wrote your Nazi Germany Quiz today. Then we started our examination of the origins of the Cold War. I gave you a handout entitled "Origins of the Cold War" and gave you some supplementary information to go along with it. I then started a PowerPoint on "The Origins of the Cold War" which I will finish tomorrow. I also gave you a booklet on the timeline of the Cold War events (this will be very useful for studying for your Diploma Exam). I also gave you the Chapter 7 Worksheet. Your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due in one week's time (November 9th). It's probably a good idea to read Chapter 7 and start chipping away at this assignment because it will take some time and effort to complete it.


We watched a 50 minute video called "Genocide" today. Given the graphic nature of this video, I figured that you had seen enough for today, and gave you the remainder of class time to read "36 Questions About the Holocaust". Tomorrow we'll be looking at excerpts from the Academy Award-winning film "Schindler's List" and then examining what became of the remaining Nazi Party leadership at the Nuremberg trials.

Monday, November 01, 2010

November 1


You wrote your Chapter 5 Test today, and you'll get results back tomorrow. This test will go into Term 2 results though and will not affect your Midterm Report Card mark. Please make sure that you read Chapter 7 prior to tomorrow's class. Also, you have a Nazi Germany Quiz tomorrow, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it).


We started our examination of the Holocaust today with a presentation/lecture on the topic and a reading called "36 Questions About the Holocaust". It will be helpful to read this over prior to tomorrow's class.

Friday, October 29, 2010

October 29


I went through a PowerPoint presentation today on "The Techniques of Dictatorship" which I will be sending to you this afternoon. Please print it off and add it your notes. I will also be sending you a reading on the White Rose student group, so please make sure that you read it. We also watched a 10 minute excerpt from the Nazi propaganda film "Triumph of the Will". Here is a link to Leni Riefenstahl's (the director of "Triumph of the Will") obituary from the Guardian. Please remember that your Chapter 5 Test is on Monday, please see the study guide here. Also, on Tuesday (November 2nd) you will have a matching quiz on Nazi Germany, please see the study guide here.

I talked a little bit about the end of WWII in Europe, and how after the failure of Operation Barbarossa (the Nazi invasion of the USSR), the success of the Allied invasion of Italy and the D-Day invasion that it was clear that the end of the war was near for the Nazis in WWII. We watched an excerpt from the film "Saving Private Ryan" as well today. Next week we will be looking at the Holocaust and other genocides in the 20th century and 21st century. It might be a good idea to read appropriate pages in your textbook in Chapter 7.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

October 28


We watched "Blitzkrieg to the Bomb" today. Please make sure that you read over the notes that I gave you to go along with this video. Tomorrow we'll be looking at the D-Day invasion of France.


You got the results back for your Economic Systems Exam today. I also did a homework check on your Fascism/Nazism booklet. You wrote your Unit 2 WRA I today, which took the rest of the period. Your Chapter 5 Test is on Monday, please see the study guide here. You also have a Nazi Germany Quiz on Tuesday of next week (November 2nd), please see the study guide below.


This quiz is a short matching quiz, with a word bank. What you'll have is a list of key people, key terms and key events associated with Nazi Germany (this is your word bank) and then you'll have a description that you'll have to match it up with. Here's a list of possible key terms that you might see on this quiz

  • anti-Semitism
  • Aryan
  • concentration camp
  • corporate state
  • Dachau
  • decree
  • deportation
  • dissent
  • elite
  • Enabling Act
  • ethnic
  • Fuehrer
  • Gestapo
  • Hitler
  • Holocaust
  • indoctrination
  • inequality
  • inflation
  • judicial
  • jugend
  • Mein Kampf
  • Kristallnacht
  • nationalism
  • Nazi
  • Niemoller
  • Nuremberg
  • passive
  • plebiscites
  • pogrom
  • prinzip
  • Reichstag
  • Ruhr
  • SA
  • SS
  • state
  • swastika
  • War Guilt Clause
  • White Rose

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

October 27


You wrote your Chapter 5-6 Test today, which took most of the period. Please make sure that you have read the notes booklets on WWII that I gave you yesterday prior to tomorrow's class.


You wrote your Economic Systems Exam today, you'll get the results back tomorrow. You also have your Unit 2 WRA I tomorrow. Please don't forget that you have your Chapter 5 Test on Monday, please see the study guide here.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

October 26


We finished watching the last chapter in "The Fatal Attraction of Adolf Hitler" today at the beginning of class. I then gave you a couple more handouts, one booklet called "Fascism/Nazism" is due on Thursday. I also gave you a handout on the "Nazi Youth Policy". I gave you the remainder of class time to read over today's handouts as well as yesterday's handouts on the comparison between fascism and communism, non-democratic systems and totalitarianism. Please remember that you have your Economic Systems Exam tomorrow, please see the study guide here. You also have your Unit 2 WRA I on Thursday, and your Chapter 5 Test on Monday (please see the study guide here).



In small groups you brainstormed the causes of World War II, and then as a whole class we put together a concept map. I gave you some note booklets on the beginnings of WWII in Europe (topics covered include blitzkrieg, the Phoney War, the Battle of Britain) and in the Pacific. Please make sure that you read these notes prior to Thursday's class. Tomorrow, you have your Chapter 5-6 Test, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it).

Monday, October 25, 2010

October 25


We finished off looking at the Democratic Systems notes that I gave you on Friday, and looked quickly at the Non-Democratic Systems notes as well today. I gave you some notes today that compared communism and fascism to each other and a handout on totalitarianism. Make sure that you read these notes! We also watched "The Fatal Attraction of Adolf Hitler". You handed in your Economic Planning in the USSR booklets today. Please remember that you have your Economic Systems Exam on Wednesday, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it). Also, you have your Unit 2 WRA I on Thursday. I have sent you the PowerPoint that I went through on Friday and a handout on how to write a WRA I. Please look them over. Please see the study guide for the Chapter 5 Test below.

The Chapter 5 Test will be on Monday, November 1st. It is a 70 multiple choice question test.
Please review the following:

  • "20th Century Rejections of Liberalism" (ppt)
  • Marx notes
  • Lenin notes
  • Stalin notes
  • Soviet Economy notes
  • Soviet Economic System notes
  • Changes to Soviet Society After Stalin notes
  • Gorbachev to Collapse notes
  • Economic Planning in the USSR booklet
  • Democratic Systems notes
  • Non-Democratic Systems notes
  • Types of Dictatorships notes (includes Techniques of Dictatorships as well)
  • A Comparison of Communism and Fascism notes
  • Totalitarianism notes Fascism/Nazism booklet (has techniques of dictatorship in Nazi Germany and USSR; I will give this booklet to you this week)
  • do a brief review of the political and economic spectrums

The following key concepts/key events/key people are mentioned in this test, if you (re-)familiarize yourself with them it will help you out immensely!

  • centrally planned economies initiative
  • FDR and the New Deal
  • Reaganomics
  • consumer sovereignty
  • invisible hand
  • Keynesian economics
  • laissez faire economics
  • War Communism
  • Five Year Plans
  • mixed economies
  • indicative planning
  • proportional representation
  • democracy
  • dictatorship
  • political spectrum (characteristics associated with the various ideologies)
  • status quo
  • egalitarianism
  • conservative
  • reactionary
  • liberal
  • radical
  • SA
  • Hitler
  • Bolshevik
  • fascism
  • communism
  • indoctrination
  • controlled participation
  • terror and force
  • direction of popular discontent
  • democratic socialists
  • supply-side economics
  • authoritarian
  • tyrant
  • totalitarian
  • totalitarianism
  • ultranationalism
  • nationalization
  • privatization
  • propaganda
  • progressive taxation
  • Marx
  • Lenin
  • utopian socialism
  • Gorbachev
  • martial law
  • Reichstag (Reichstag Fire, Reichstag election results)
  • referendum
  • collectivization
  • modernization
  • classical liberal
  • laissez faire
  • free market economy
  • mixed economy
  • planned economy (review your economic political quadrant model)
  • Das Kapital
  • Mein Kampf
  • The Wealth of Nations



We continued looking at the consequences of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Ultimately, this attack will be used as pretext for the removal of Japanese-Americans from the west coast of the United States as well as the removal of Japanese-Canadians from British Columbia. We looked at the case study of the internment of Japanese-Canadians and rise of nationalism in Canada in WWII that led to the suspension of civil rights of this visible minority group. We watched a video called "Tides of War" and completed a worksheet to go along with it. I have also sent you a PowerPoint presentation that provides additional information on the internment of Japanese-Canadians, so please check your e-mail inbox when you have a chance. It is highly recommended that you print this presentation off and add it to your notes. You should also check out the following link on the interment as well: CBC Archives: From Relocation to Redress. Please remember that you have your Chapter 5-6 Test on Wednesday, please see the study guide here.

Friday, October 22, 2010

October 22


I went through a PowerPoint presentation called "Preparing for the Written Response Assignment I" today in class. I will be sending this presentation to you along with a handout that goes over a mental checklist of elements that should appear in these writing assignments. You will be doing your Unit 2 WRA I on Thursday, October 28th. I also gave you three handouts today and I started to walk you through one of them. I gave you a handout on "Democratic Systems" (this will be important for Unit 3 as well) and "Non-Democratic Systems" and "Types of Dictatorships". We'll continue looking at these on Monday. Please remember that your Economic Planning in the USSR booklet is due on Monday as well. You have your Economic Systems Exam on Wednesday, please see the study guide below.

  • Economic Planning in the USSR booklet is due on Monday, October 25th
  • Economic Systems Exam is on Wednesday, October 27th
  • Unit 2 WRA I is on Thursday, October 28th

This is a comprehensive exam that covers all of the major economic systems: market economy, mixed economy, and command economy. It is 70 multiple choice questions. This exam will be administered on Wednesday, October 27th.

  • Chapters 3-6 in Perspectives on Ideology
  • study the applicable PowerPoint presentations that I have sent you for Unit 2
  • In Chapter 5, just focus on the Soviet Union, and left-wing of economic spectrum (command economy), we haven't covered aspects of dictatorships or Nazism yet (the techniques of dictatorship and fascism will be on a Chapter 5 Test)
  • please see the summary notes from the Ideologies textbook: Chapter 7 Private Enterprise
  • supply-side economics
  • boom and bust cycle/business cycle
  • laws of supply and demand, Adam Smith, invisible hand, market forces
    self-interest, consumer sovereignty, competition, private ownership, profit motive
  • basic economic problems/questions
  • advantages/disadvantages of the market economy
  • causes of the Great Depression
  • FDR and the New Deal
  • please see summary notes from the Ideologies textbook on the Mixed Economy Case Studies #14 (Sweden) and #15 (Canada), #16 (Japan), #17 (Fascism and Nazism)
  • also see the Democratic Socialism booklet on Sweden (indicative planning, "cradle to the grave" economics or "womb to tomb" economics)
  • characteristics of a mixed economy
  • nationalization
  • privatization
  • democratic socialism
  • welfare capitalism
  • Keynesian economics
  • the business cycle and fiscal and monetary policies (study all of the notes I gave you and the booklet that I gave you)
  • demand-side economics
  • neo-conservatives
  • monetarism
  • trickle down economics
  • supply-side economics
  • Thatcherism and Reaganomics
  • Milton Friedman
  • Friedrich Hayek
  • how Keynesian economics deals with a recession (remember "the percolator": increase circulation of money reducing taxes, increase government spending on "make work" projects, and reduce interest rates, which according to Keynesian economics is going increase demand for goods and services and lead to more money circulating in the economy)
  • how supply-side economics deals with a recession (remember "trickle down coffee maker": government should stimulate the goods and services sector of the economy by reducing corporate and personal taxes, eventually benefits will "trickle down" to the middle class and working class, make connections between supply-side economics and laissez faire economics/classical liberalism)
  • advantages and disadvantages of a mixed economy
  • neo-conservative criticism of government intervention
  • characteristics of a centrally planned economy
  • advantages and disadvantages of a centrally planned economy
  • Marx notes
  • Lenin notes
  • establishment of the Soviet Union
  • Soviet economic system (top-down decision-making process)
  • Lenin's War Communism and the New Economic Policy
  • "Stalin and the Modernization of Russia" (see film notes)
  • Stalin notes
  • "Changes to Soviet Society After Stalin" notes (this bridges the gap between Stalin and Gorbachev)
  • Gorbachev to Collapse Notes (you got these notes on Wednesday, October 20th)
  • Economic Planning in the USSR (again, you got these notes on Wednesday, October 20th)


You wrote your Unit 2 WRA I today, and it took the entire 65 minutes to write it. I also did a homework check on your Chapter 6 Key Terms and Questions today. Please remember that your Chapter 5-6 Test is on Wednesday, October 27th. Please see the study guide here for this test (scroll down to find it).