December 22

Social 30-1

I went through a study guide for the 30-1 course for most of the period. I'll make some minor revisions to this booklet before I send it out to you. You MUST study for your two part Diploma Exam over your Winter Break. The study materials that I will be sending to you today will definitely help! Enjoy your holidays, see you in January. Here's a link to the HBO documentary "Shouting Fires: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech".

Social 20-1

You worked with a partner today in class going through sample multiple choice questions from Unit 4 material. Part B of your Final Exam, which has 100 multiple choice questions on it has 10 questions from Unit 4, so you are responsible for this material. You must review and study over the Winter Break as you have your Final Exam Part A on Tuesday, January 10th (in Room 241) and Part B in the Main Gym on Thursday, January from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Be prepared!! See you in January!!

IB 30

We finished watching "The Grapes of Wrath" today. Make sure that you work on your IA over the Winter Break. You can hand it in on Monday January 9th or Tuesday, January 10th. Please check the wiki for more information on writing the Internal Assessment (there's a whole section devoted to it).

December 20

IB 30

We continued to look at the causes of the Great Depression and FDR and the New Deal today. We finished watching the video "The Great Depression and the New Deal" today as well as a video from the BBC 20th Century History series called "FDR and the New Deal". Please go directly to Room 121 tomorrow so we can start watching "The Grapes of Wrath".

Social 30-1

We watched "Shouting Fire" today in class which looks at controversies in the United States centering around the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right to peaceable assembly, in other words, the First Amendment in the U.S. Bill of Rights. Your Trial Final is tomorrow.

Social 20-1

You wrote your Unit 3 Final Exam today, and you'll get the results back tomorrow. Your chapter 14 and 15 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow.

December 19

IB 30

We did a short discussion of current events today, namely the death of Kim Jong-il and its implications for security and stability in East Asia and the Korean peninsula. I am starting to return some rough drafts of the Internal Assessment this week. Every day there will be about 5-7 IAs returned to their owners. We need to discuss how to cite sources properly! I started talking about the causes of the Great Depression (and I'll start with this tomorrow) and then we'll get into the FDR and the New Deal tomorrow. We'll watch "The Grapes of Wrath" on Wednesday and Thursday in Room 121. Please complete the homework assignment on Hoover and FDR tonight.

Social 20-1

I gave you back your Unit 3 WRA II Essays today. I also gave you some advice as well today: if your final mark in Social 20-1 falls between 50% and 65%, you should take Social 30-2 next year. If you have failed any of the essays or unit finals this semester, you should take 30-2 next year. Social 30-1 is a more demanding course than what this year has been. It moves at a fast pace (for example, you might be writing your first essay in 30-1 within the first week in class) and the it is academically demanding.

I went through a lecture today on Unit 4 material, specifically "A History of French-English Relations". I have sent this PowerPoint to you already as well all of the PowerPoint presentations from Unit 3. Your Unit 3 Final Exam is tomorrow, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it). Your Chapter 13 Key Terms and Questions were due today. Your Chapter 14 and 15 Key Terms and Questions are due on Wednesday, and your Chapter 16 Key Terms and Questions are due on Thursday.

Social 30-1

You wrote your Unit 3 Final Exam today, and you'll get the results of this test back tomorrow. You'll also have to make a decision tomorrow as to which test you want to wipe out with your Trial Final which is happening on Wednesday. Remember, you wipe out your lowest mark from the term with the Trial Final. I gave you back your Unit 3 WRA II Essays today.

December 16

IB 30

You wrote a short matching quiz on Prescribed Subject 1 today for part of the period.We then did a quick review of the boom and bust cycle before applying Keynesian economics to the business cycle. You need to know not only the various parts of the business cycle, but also the "economic snapshots" (what's going on in the economy at that stage) and how monetary and fiscal policy try to address those stages.

Social 20-1

I did a homework check on your Chapter 12 Key Terms and Questions today at the beginning of class. The rest of the class period was given over to you to get some work done on your Unit 4 Worksheet. You have all of your key terms and questions from this unit due next week. Next week we will be looking at a history of French and English relations in Canada and regional disparity in Canada as well, two major themes in Unit 4 that I haven't covered yet. Your Unit 3 Final Exam is on Tuesday, December 20th, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it).

Social 30-1

We looked at the issue of the invasion of privacy today for part of the period particularly emphasizing increased airport security in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and other subsequent attempted attacks and the response being increased pat-downs and full body scanners at airports in addition to the no-fly lists. You should be making connections between these concepts and the ideas of Thomas Hobbes. We also looked at the issue of CCTV cameras in the UK and Austria by watching a couple of short YouTube videos on the subject. Your Chapter 12 Key Terms and Questions are due on Tuesday. Your Unit 3 Final Exam is on Monday, December 19th, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it). Your Social 30-1 Trial Final is on Wednesday, December 21st.

December 15

Social 30-1

You wrote your Unit 3 WRA II Essay today in the Blenheim Room. It will be interesting to see how many of you agreed with Benito Mussolini. You have your Unit 3 Final Exam on Monday December 19th, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it). Your Trial Final is on Wednesday December 21st, and it will cover the entire course.

Social 20-1

You had the entire period to get caught up on some work. Like I said in class, we will be pushing very hard to finish Unit 4 material next week. Your Chapter 12 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow. Your Unit 3 Final Exam is on Tuesday, December 20th, please see the study guide here.

IB 30

We reviewed a lot of the concepts that I taught to you yesterday for the first part of the class. The only new concept today was the business cycle (the boom and bust cycle) which we will be building upon when we look at Keynesian economics tomorrow. We also watched a short video from the BBC 20th Century History series called "Boom and Bust" which should have reviewed some of the concepts that we've already looked at including "buying on margin". Please remember that you have your quiz tomorrow on Prescribed Subject 1, it will be a matching quiz with another surprise or two.

December 14

Social 20-1

You wrote your Unit 3 WRA II Essay today in class, and it took all of the period to write. Your Unit 3 Final Exam is on Tuesday, December 20th, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it). Your Chapter 12 Key Terms and Questions are due on Friday.

Social 30-1

We watched the video "Unconstitutional" today in class, and as you watched this film you were to complete a film study sheet. Tomorrow you are writing your Unit 3 WRA II Essay in the Blenheim Room. Please go there for tutorial tomorrow, I'll let you start the essay early because there is apparently a fire drill during our class. Your Unit 3 Final Exam is on Monday, December 19th, please see the study guide here(scroll down to find it).

IB 30

I took in your 1920s Study Guide at the beginning of class today. We finished off the "Roaring Twenties" video as well. Then I launched into a long-winded lecture on economics. A lot of the material that was covered connects to the Social Studies 30-1 curriculum, but in order to understand the economic crisis that emerges in 1929 you have to have some understanding of basic economics. We looked at the principles of individualism and collectivism (if you want more details on these please visit the Social 30-1 Unit 1 section of the wiki), classical liberalism and its political/democratic and economic foundations, the 20th century political spectrum, basic economic systems, basic economic values, the political-economic grid, basic economic values (GESSEF), the basic problem economic problem facing all societies (scarcity) and the basic economic questions. It was, I'm sure, a lot to take in. Tomorrow we will forge ahead with looking at the market economy in greater detail, including the boom and bust cycle. Please check the Great Depression section of the wiki as well, as we've posted some YouTube videos there.

December 13

IB 30

We started looking at the 1920s today as a precursor to our next unit of study in IB 30, the Great Depression. I went through a lecture on conservatism in the 1920s and talked briefly about the Harding and Coolidge administrations. I have put a 1920s Study Guide on the wiki under the Great Depression unit. The answers may be found in your United States and its People textbook. This homework is due tomorrow. We also started watching a video from the United States History series called "The Roaring Twenties". We'll pick this video up tomorrow where we left off, "The Jazz Age". Please remember that you have a quiz on Prescribed Subject 1 material (Paris Peace Conference to the Abyssinian Crisis) on Friday.

Social 30-1

You wrote your Chapter 10 Test today in class, as per usual you will get the results back tomorrow. You have your Unit 3 Final Exam on Monday, December 19th, please see the study guide below. Your Unit 3 WRA II Essay is on Thursday, you will be writing it in the Blenheim Room.

Social 30-1 Unit 3 Final Exam Study Guide:

This exam will be entirely multiple choice format. It will be on Monday, December 19th. 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

Social 20-1

We watched a video on the genocide in Darfur called "Darfur: On Our Watch" for part of the period. You could use information in this video for your Unit 3 WRA II Essay. Remember, genocide is considered a contemporary global issues. You could argue that internationalism is effective, if not for nation-states pursuing their own national interests. In the case of Darfur, blame could be leveled at Chinese oil interests in Sudan and the Chinese government's usage of their veto power in the UN Security Council to block resolutions on Darfur being passed. You could also use information in the video for the other side of the argument as well.
Here are some other useful links on Darfur:

• sudanrreves.org (website on Darfur maintained by Eric Reeves, mentioned in today's video)
• PBS Frontline/World: Who's Who in Darfur: Geopolitics of a Tragedy
• Amnesty International: Eyes on Darfur

Please remember that you have your Unit 3 WRA II Essay is tomorrow in Room 107. Please go directly to the computer lab tomorrow. Your Unit 3 Final Exam is on December 20th, please see the study guide below.

Social 20-1 Unit 3 Final Exam Study Guide:

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

December 9

IB 30

We watched an A & E Biography of Benito Mussolini today, which took most of the period. this sets the stage for the last topic in our study of Prescribed Subject 1 next week, the Italian invasion of Abyssinia.

Social 20-1

Most of today's class was spent in small groups discussing how international organizations address contemporary global issues and their effectiveness in doing so. Please make sure that you check the upcoming important dates below.

Social 20-1 Important Upcoming Dates:

• Unit 3 WRA II (Essay) is on Wednesday, December 14th (you will get the essay question sheet on Monday)
• Unit 3 Final Exam is on December 20th (the study guide will be posted next week on the blog)
• Social 20-1 Final Exam Part A (In-Class Essay) is on Tuesday, January 10th (you will of course, not receive the essay question sheet in advance)

Social 30-1

For most of today we looked back on the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2011. I typically do this to set the stage for discussing anti-terrorism legislation that is passed post-9/11 in Canada and the United States. This is a topic that we will be exploring next week. Please check out the upcoming important dates below.

Social 30-1 Important Upcoming Dates:

• Chapter 10 Test is on Tuesday, December 13th (please see the study guide here)
• Civil Rights Movement Assignment outline is due on Friday, December 8th
• Chapter 11 Key Terms and Questions are due on Monday, December 12th
• Unit 3 WRA II (Essay) is on Thursday, December 15th (you will not get the essay question sheet in advance)

December 8

Social 30-1

We watched a video from the Turning Points in History series on the FLQ Crisis of 1970. 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.  In today'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.

Upcoming Important Dates for Social 30-1 Students:

• Chapter 10 Test is on Tuesday, December 13th (please see the study guide here)
• Civil Rights Movement Assignment outline is due on Friday, December 8th
• Chapter 11 Key Terms and Questions are due on Monday, December 12th
• Unit 3 WRA II (Essay) is on Thursday, December 15th (you will not get the essay question sheet in advance)

Social 20-1

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. Your Chapter 11 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow.

Upcoming Important Dates for Social 20-1 Students:

• Chapter 11 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow
• Unit 3 WRA II (Essay) is on Wednesday, December 14th (you will get the essay question sheet on Monday)
• Unit 3 Final Exam is on December 20th (the study guide will be posted next week on the blog)
• Social 20-1 Final Exam Part A (In-Class Essay) is on Tuesday, January 10th (you will of course, not receive the essay question sheet in advance)

IB 30

You had the entire period today to write your Emergence of the Americas in Global Affairs Unit Test as well as the Paper 1 on Prescribed Subject 1. Tomorrow we will be looking at the A & E Biography of Benito Mussolini, which will provide you with biographical information on this dictator, his rise to power, his brand of fascism, his invasion of Abyssinia, and his ultimate demise. Next week, we'll look at the Abyssinia crisis.

December 7

Social 20-1

We finished off the "Internationalism and Nationalism" PowerPoint lecture today in class. I will be sending this to you by e-mail soon. I gave you the remainder of class time to work on your Chapter 11 Key Terms and Questions.

Social 30-1

You completed an in class writing assignment on a propaganda poster today in class. I also did a homework check on your Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions. Please remember that your US Civil Rights Movement Assignment is due tomorrow, but the essay outline that goes along with this assignment is due on Friday now. The Chapter 11 Key Terms and Questions are now due on Monday. You have your Chapter 10 Test on Tuesday, December 13th, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it).

IB 30

We finished off our examination of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 today in class. I will be posting some study notes on the wiki covering the Manchurian incident and the Lytton Report as well. Tomorrow you have your Emergence of the Americas in Global Affairs Unit Test, please check on the study guide on the wiki, or here on the blog. You will also be writing a Paper 1 on Prescribed Subject 1 tomorrow as well. Today is the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, so if you are so inclined, have a look at this collection of photos from the Boston Globe feature "The Big Picture".

December 6

IB 30

We looked at international relations in the Inter-War Years today by focusing on a reading that covered the Ruhr Crisis, the Dawes Plan, the Young Plan, and the Kellogg-Briand Pact. We also started looking at the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, which we will continue tomorrow. I also gave you back your Paper 2 essays today on WWI. This Thursday you have a test on the Emergence of the Americas in Global Affairs unit. This test will be multiple-choice format. Also on Thursday, you will be writing a Paper 1 on Prescribed Subject 1 right after the multiple choice test. Please see the study guide below.

The Emergence of the Americas in Global Affairs Unit Test

This is a 38 question multiple choice test. It will be administered in class on Thursday, December 8th. It covers the Emergence of the Americas in Global Affairs unit. Here are some points to review:

• Teddy Roosevelt "big stick diplomacy"
• Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
• Alfred A. Mahan (naval sea power theory)
• What is the "Open Door Policy"?
• What is "dollar diplomacy"?
• Spanish-American War (causes, practices, effects/results)
• Venezuela crisis and jingoism
• Portsmouth Peace Conference (Russo-Japanese War; what role does Teddy Roosevelt play); results?
• President McKinley's accomplishments re: expansion/annexation
• MAIN causes of WWI
• nature of warfare in WWI
• World War I (causes, practices, effects/results: a word of caution here-don't spend any time studying the battles in WWI)
• Canadian participation in WWI (contributions, issues on the home front)
• key players/leaders in WWI (ex. Kaiser Wilhelm II, Nicholas II, etc.)
• Sedition Act and Espionage Act (USA)
• George Creel

After you complete the multiple choice test, you will be writing a Paper 1 on Prescribed Subject 1 (Peacemaking, Peacekeeping and International Relations). Review how to write a Paper 1 by visiting key links on the wiki, especially the OPVL document analysis link. Remember to try and write 4 similarities and 4 differences between the sources (NOT in chart format), and to create an OPVL chart. I have put up an example Paper 1 on the wiki with examiner's comments that covers the Japanese invasion of Manchuria (obviously Thursday's Paper 1 will NOT be on that topic). Other topics in Prescribed Subject 1 that we have covered a fair game, so have a look at this section of the wiki.

Social 30-1

I went through some notes today on rights, responsibilities, human rights, civil rights, the entrenchment of rights, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the notwithstanding clause. I also mentioned the usage of the War Measures Act (we will discuss this in greater detail when we look at the FLQ Crisis of 1970). Check out the following upcoming important dates:

• Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow.
• Civil Rights Movement assignment is due on Thursday, December 8th
• Chapter 11 Key Terms and Questions are due on Friday, December 9th
• Chapter 10 Test is on Tuesday, December 13th (please see study guide below)
• Unit 3 WRA II Essay is on December 15th
• Social 30-1 Trial Final is on December 21st

Chapter 10 Test Study Guide:

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!)

Social 20-1

I started a PowerPoint lecture today on "Internationalism and Nationalism" which I will finish tomorrow in class. For the remainder of the period I gave you time to work on your Chapter 10 Key Terms and Questions, which are due tomorrow. I did a homework check on the Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions today. Check out the following important dates:

• Chapter 10 Key Terms and Questions are due on Wednesday, December 7th
• Unit 3 WRA II Essay is on Wednesday, December 14th
• Unit 3 Final Exam is on Tuesday, December 20th
• Social 20-1 Final Exam Part A is on Tuesday, January 10th

December 5

IB 30

You handed in your IA rough drafts today. I had a cursory look at them at the end of the day, and there are missing elements in many of the IAs, such as title pages, table of contents, word counts, poor wording of IA essay questions, etc. Also, don't pictures on the cover of your IAs. Remember, we are not marking the IAs at this point, we are simply giving you some feedback on what you have so far. Some of you won't have as much to do to revise your IA over the Winter Break. Some of you will have a lot of work to do because you have taken shortcuts in your analysis of the sources. We will be getting these IAs back to you prior to Winter Break (last week of classes is what we are targeting). We continued looking at the League of Nations today, in particular successes and failures. We will look at some other diplomatic developments in the 1920s tomorrow before we look at the Manchurian Crisis. You will be writing a test this Thursday, that covers the unit The Emergence of the Americas in Global Affairs (this is multiple choice). On the same day you will be writing a Paper 1 on Prescribed Subject 1 material.

Social 20-1

You wrote your Unit 2 Final Exam today, and you will get the results back tomorrow. Your Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow.

Social 30-1

We watched a short video from the CBC News in Review series on the election in Afghanistan in 2009. This is important information as it pertains to democratization, spreading democracy. Can liberal democratic values be exported? This ties into the main theme for Unit 3, the viability of liberalism. Please check out the important dates below.

Important Dates for Social 30-1:

• Canada-USA Government Comparison Chart is due on Tuesday, December 6th
• Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions are due on Wednesday, December 7th
• US Civil Rights Movement Assignment (plus essay outline) is due on Thursday. December 8th
• Chapter 11 Key Terms and Questions are due on Friday, December 9th
• Chapter 10 Test is on December 13th (study guide goes up on the blog tomorrow)
• Unit 3 WRA II Essay is on December 15th

December 1

Social 30-1

We look at a case study for authoritarianism today in class by watching a couple of videos from the BBC 20th Century History series called "One Man's Revolution" and "China Since Mao". I also gave you a booklet with lots of information and articles on the modern history of China. Read this material!! You have your USA-Canada Government Comparison Chart Assignment due on Tuesday. Enjoy your long weekend!

Social 20-1

You wrote your Unit 2 WRA II Essay today. You have your Unit 2 Final Exam on Monday, please see the study guide here.

IB 30

We continued working through Prescribed Subject 1 material today by looking at the organization and structure of the League of Nations. Please remember that the rough draft of your IA is due on Monday.

November 30

Social 20-1

I went through a PowerPoint lecture on "Canada's Foreign Policy" today, which I have already sent to you. Your Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions are due on Tuesday, December 6th. You are writing your Unit 2 WRA II Essay tomorrow in class. Please go directly to Room 241 tomorrow. If you are late you may not get a computer! Your Unit 2 Final Exam is on Monday, December 5th, please see the study guide here.

Social 30-1

I went through a PowerPoint presentation today that covered "Political Challenges to Liberalism". This presentation covered democratic systems like the United States and Canada as well as different examples of non-democratic systems. I also gave you a reading called "The End of Democracy?" which is highly recommended reading. Your Canada-USA Government Comparison Chart is due on Tuesday, December 6th.

IB 30

We finished looking at another major topic in Prescribe Subject 1 today, specifically looking at three major disarmament conferences in the Inter-War Years. I will be posting this PowerPoint on the wiki tonight. Here is your homework today:

• please read in your 20th Century World History textbook on the following topics: the Ruhr Crisis, the Dawes Plan and the Spirit of Locarno sections.
• complete the Locarno source analysis on page 65.

November 29

IB 30

We watched a video today called "Make Germany Pay" from the BBC 20th Century History series. As you watched this video you had to complete answers to the questions on a video study sheet. We also started to look at enforcement of the Paris Peace Conference treaties and tomorrow we will look at the three main disarmament conferences that occurred in the Inter-War Years. Your homework assignment tonight centers around the Treaty of Rapallo. Please complete the Source-Based Questions on page 39 in your 20th Century World History textbook.

Social 30-1

We covered the electoral college system and looked at past U.S. elections today. I also gave you your U.S.-Canada Government Comparison Chart assignment. This is due next Tuesday (one week from today). We also had a class discussion centered around questions such as: should voting be mandatory? Should the voting age be lowered? Should everyone over 18 be allowed to vote? Is the first past the post (FPTP) system democratic? I also did a homework check on your Chapter 10 Key Terms and Questions.

Social 20-1

Your Unit 2 Dossier Assignment was due today. You received your Unit 2 Essay Questions Sheet today. You will be writing this essay in class on Thursday. Please see the quote below, and the essay question as well. I also gave you time to work on your Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions. Please see the study guide for your Unit 2 Final Exam here.

November 28

IB 30

We had a fairly lengthy discussion about current events today, in part because there have been some important developments around the world including parliamentary elections in Egypt, NATO strikes in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Arab League and Syria, the eurozone and an article in today's Calgary Herald about standardized tests in Alberta. We also looked at the League of Nations mandate system today, I'll post the lecture on the wiki. You do have homework tonight:

• Please complete the Source Analysis on page 30-31 in 20th Century World History (the source-based questions are on page 31)
• Also, complete the Discussion Point on p. 31, but do not do the OPVL part of the question. Simply find three different historian's perspective on the Treaty of Versailles. I'd recommend you look at A.J.P Taylor, David Thomson, Fritz Fischer, John Terrain, John Scherer, Douglas Newton or Margaret MacMillan for starters. (I just made your lives easier by giving you these names)

Social 20-1

I gave you back your Unit 2 WRA I assignments today. I also gave you the results for your Chapter 7-8 Test. Your Unit 2 Final Exam is next Monday, please see the study guide below. Your Unit 2 Dossiers are due tomorrow. Please start working on your Unit 3 Worksheet, specifically your Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions. You will be writing your Unit 2 WRA II Essay this Thursday, you will receive the essay question sheet tomorrow in class.

Unit 2 Final Exam Study Guide:

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)

Social 30-1

You wrote your Unit 2 WRA II Essay today in the Blenheim Room. Your Chapter 10 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow.

November 25

IB 30

You wrote a Paper 2 on World War I today, which took most of the period. You do have the following homework this weekend:

• The Peace Settlement: Analyzing a Primary Source (handout)
• Prescribed Subject 1 Prep Booklet: p. 27 Review Section 1 and Student Section A and B
• Prescribed Subject 1 Prep Booklet: p. 30 Student Study Section

Please remember that the Prescribed Subject 1 Prep Booklet was photocopied and lent to you last week. It might also be a very good idea to read over this section of the 20th Century History textbook as well.

Social 20-1

You wrote your Unit 2 WRA I today in class. Please remember that your Unit 2 Dossiers are due on Tuesday, November 29th. Please check your e-mail for the detailed marking guide for this project.

Upcoming Important Dates for Social 20-1:

• Unit 2 Dossiers are due on Tuesday, November 29th
• Unit 2 WRA II Essay is on Thursday, December 1st
• Unit 2 Final Exam is on Monday, December 5th (study guide will be posted on the blog on November 28th)

Social 30-1

I gave you your Unit 2 Essay Question Sheets today, and I gave you some time to brainstorm in small groups possible arguments and evidence that might be used on this essay. You are only allowed to bring this essay question sheet into the computer lab on Monday, and you are only allowed to write your notes on the front of the sheet. We are booked into the Blenheim Room for this essay, so please go there directly on Monday. Your Chapter 10 Key Terms and Questions are due on Tuesday, November 29th.

November 24

Social 30-1

We covered different electoral systems from around the world today, and the division between federal and provincial governments in Canada. I gave you the Chapter 10 Worksheet, the Chapter 10 Key Terms and Questions will be due on Tuesday. Tomorrow, we should be able to have some time to work in small groups brainstorming arguments and evidence for the Unit 2 WRA II Essay that you will be writing on Monday.

Social 20-1

You wrote your Chapter 7-8 Test today. You will be writing the Unit 2 WRA I tomorrow, review content from Chapters 7-8 only.

IB 30

We finished looking at the fight to pass the Treaty of Versailles in the United States. Keep in mind there were two main groups of Republicans that  lead the opposition to the passage of the treaty, the "reservationists" led by Henry Cabot Lodge, and the "irreconcilables". I will be posting the PowerPoint presentation on the wiki today along with some very detailed notes on World War I that I highly recommend you have a look at. I will post both of these items in Peacemaking, Peacekeeping, International Relations section of the wiki. Tomorrow, you will be writing a Paper 2 during class time. You will be given three different essay questions to choose from, and you must choose one and answer that essay question. I have posted the Paper 2 Markbands on the wiki and you were given a handout on advice for writing the Paper 2 yesterday. The essay questions will focus on the outbreak of the war, and not on the end of the war or the Paris Peace Conference.

November 23

Social 20-1

We started Unit 3 material today by looking at an Internationalism Opinion Survey, and starting a PowerPoint presentation called "Nations, Nation-States and Internationalism". We will come back to this presentation next week. You have your Chapter 7-8 Test tomorrow, please see the study guide here. You are writing your Unit 2 WRA I on Friday. Please review how to write a three source analysis (WRA I).

Social 30-1

We covered a few different key concepts associated with democratic systems today including: federalism/federal systems of government and unitary systems. We also looked at the structure of the Canadian government and what the Canadian federal election of 2011 would have looked like if Canada had a proportional representation (PR) system. Remember Canada employs a first past the post (FPTP) system in elections, in other words, you don't need 51% of the popular vote to win a constituency, you just need to get more votes than the second place candidate in the election. I also gave you back the results of the Unit 2 Final Exam today. Please remember that your Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow.

IB 30

Most of today's class was spent in the library working on the IA. Your rough draft of the IA is due on December 5th. We'll continue looking at the Treaty of Versailles by examining the fight to pass the treaty in the United States.

November 22

IB 30

We finished watching "Paris 1919" today in class. If you wanted more information on the key players at the Paris Peace Conference, please check the wiki (under Peacemaking, Peacekeeping, International Relations) for the PDF file called "Who's Who at the Paris Peace Conference". When you were watching this film, some questions should have emerged for you, such as:

• Is it possible for all stakeholders to be satisfied?
• Can values be placed on dead soldiers, lost livestock and destroyed countryside?
• Will new national boundaries be fair and just?
• Can new nations be successfully created out of dissolved empires?
• Is there a place for idealism in peacemaking?
• Is it too much to expect international organizations to be able to maintain world peace?
• Can a new world order remedy enduring causes of conflict such as religious and ethnic divides and power hierarchies?

As you should have surmised from the film, none of the major participants in the Paris Peace Conference is completely satisfied with the results. Tomorrow we will be going to the library to work on your Internal Assessments. Please come to Room 111 first and then we will go down to the library together.

Social 30-1

You wrote your Unit 2 Final Exam today. You will get the results of this test back tomorrow. Your Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions are due on Thursday, November 24th. Your Unit 2 WRA II Essay is on Monday, November 28th. Please review the economic concepts that were taught to you in Unit 2. You will be getting the essay question sheet on Friday.

Social 20-1

We continued looking at how to write a WRA II Essay today. You will be writing your Unit 2 WRA II Essay on Thursday, December 2nd. Your Chapter 7-8 Test is on Thursday, November 24th, please see the study guide here. Please remember that you are writing your Unit 2 WRA I (3 Source Analysis) this Friday (November 25th) in class. I collected your Gandhi Film Study today. Don't forget that your Unit 2 Dossier Assignment is due on November 29th.

November 21

Greetings to you in Council Bluffs, Iowa!

IB 30

We continued looking at the Paris Peace Conference and the major issues dealt with by the negotiators, namely, disarmament, a new map for Europe, war debts and reparations. We started watching the film "Paris 1919" today, and we will finish this film tomorrow. This film should have reviewed the major players at the Paris Peace Conference and their motivations and national interests at the conference. The following is for homework tonight and is due tomorrow:

• Source Analysis on page 18 (Questions 1-2) in 20th Century World History (see below)
• TOK Link page 19 (you can find a copy of Wilson's Fourteen Points on the wiki, or linked here on the blog)
• Source Analysis on page 22-23 (all Sources A-D, all questions)

Social 20-1

We looked at the issue of Kosovo's independence by watching a short video from the CBC News in Review series. Please have a look at this link from The Guardian on the break up of the former Yugoslavia. Please remember that your Chapter 7-8 Test is on Thursday, please see the study guide here.

Social 30-1

I collected 10 Questions About Democracy, and we discussed the results of the Political Compass survey. We continued looking at Unit 3 material by looking at the two main types of representative democracy that we will be looking this semester: parliamentary democracy and presidential democracy. Your Unit 2 Final Exam is tomorrow, please see the study guide here.

November 18

IB 30

I continued lecturing today on the Paris Peace Conference and the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. We will continue to look at this topic next week.

Social 20-1

We finished watching "Gandhi", I really hope that you enjoyed this film. I am sending you a PowerPoint presentation this afternoon that covers plagiarism, which will be useful to you when you are putting together your Unit 2 Dossiers (they are due on November 29th). Your Chapter 7-8 Test is on Thursday, November 24th, please see the study guide here. Your Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions are due Monday, November 21st. Your "Gandhi" Film Study is due on Tuesday, November 22nd, you must hand in the colonial background questions, the content questions and the thought questions.

Social 30-1

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 Monday'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). Your Chapter  8 Key Terms and Questions are due on Thursday, November 24th. Please remember that you have your Unit 2 Final Exam on Tuesday, November 22nd, please see the study guide below. Please make sure that you complete the Political Compass survey (go to http://www.politicalcompass.org/, click on "Take the Test", answer the questions honestly, print off your results). I also gave back the results of your Chapter 7 Test as well today.

Unit 2 Final Exam Study Guide:

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

November 17

Social 30-1

You wrote your Chapter 7 Cold War Exam today. You will get the results back tomorrow. Your "Good Night, and Good Luck" film study was due today. Your Unit 2 Final Exam is on Tuesday, November 22nd, please see the study guide here. Your Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions are due on Thursday, November 24th. Your Unit 2 WRA II is on Monday, November 28th.

Social 20-1

We continued watching "Gandhi" today. We will finish it tomorrow. Your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow. Your Chapter 7-8 Test is next Thursday. Please see the study guide below.

Chapter 7-8 Test Study Guide:

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

• "The Holocaust"
• "8 Stages of Genocide" (see the Genocide Watch website: http://www.genocidewatch.org/)
• "Contemporary Examples of Genocide" (I will send this to you on November 17th)

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.

IB 30

You wrote your WWI Matching Quiz today, which took a fair bit of time. We started looking at Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and the key players at the Paris Peace Conference today. I also gave back the Paper 3 that you wrote on the Civil War and Reconstruction period today.

November 16

Social 20-1

We started our film study of 'Gandhi" today. We will continue this film tomorrow in class.

Social 30-1

Today was a work/study period. I gave you the Chapter 8 Worksheet, but I think that most of you opted to study for your Cold War Test which is tomorrow, please see the study guide here. Your Unit 2 Final Exam is on November 22nd, please see the study guide below.

Unit 2 Final Exam Study Guide:

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

IB 30

You wrote a cartoon analysis today for the first 20 minutes, and then I proceeded with the PowerPoint presentation on Canada and Latin America's role in WWI. I have posted this presentation on the wiki because you will need it for your matching quiz tomorrow. There are 39 key concepts in this matching quiz. We'll finish off discussing Latin America's role in WWI tomorrow.

I've mentioned this a few times in class, but I guess it's better late than never! Here is a link to a website that discusses J.R.R. Tolkien's experiences in the Great War, and how that influenced his writing of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, specifically the Journey through the Dead Marshes. The Great War was also a time when some of our most famous landscape artists came to the forefront, I'm referring to the Group of Seven, of course. Can you see some similarities in the pictures that I'm posting below?














I guess my point is that art is based on personal experience, and these artists were heavily influenced by their experiences in the Great War.

November 15

IB 30

We went through the short presentations on the battlefield role of Canada and the United States in the First World War today. That was a lot of material to push through, so if you missed some of the details please check the charts out on the IB 30/35 Wiki (see link on the right hand side of the blog) under "Collaborative Notes". We'll be looking at the Battle of Passchendaele and the 100 Days tomorrow. Either on Wednesday or Thursday, expect to write a matching quiz on World War I. It covers key terms, key events, key people and key organizations in WWI, and it consists of 39 matching items. We should be getting into Latin America's role in the Great War by Thursday, and then proceed on to Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and the Paris Peace Conference by Friday.

Social 30-1

We continued watching "Good Night, and Good Luck" today. The film study for this is due on Thursday. "Good Night, and Good Luck" contains a few powerful scenes that I will post here on the blog.



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 discovered 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. On Murrow's show "See it Now", he begins to publicly go after McCarthy. 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 Chapter 7 Test (The Cold War) is on November 17th, please see the study guide below.

Chapter 7 Test Study Guide:

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
• 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 in 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)
• 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

Social 20-1

Today was a work period in preparation for our film study of "Gandhi". You looked at a history reading of India, including colonial background information, and information on Hinduism and Islam. This information will be key to understanding of the movement to "home rule" for India that we will see in the film. Part 1 of the booklet is due tomorrow, this covers questions 1-4 in that section. Your Chapter 7-8 Test is on Thursday, November 24th, I will post the study guide for this test on November 17th. Your Unit 2 WRA I (3 Source Analysis) is on Friday, November 25th.

November 9

Social 20-1

We started an in-depth study of the Rwandan genocide by starting our film study of "Shake Hands with the Devil". Before we started the film you were to read over the other information in the film study booklet. You should be able to finish this film tomorrow in class.

Social 30-1

We finished some of the topics in the Cold War today, by looking at arms reduction talks and agreements, and by discussing trends that have emerged in the post-Cold War world. I also showed you a short YouTube video of all of the atomic tests/explosions since the Trinity test in 1945 to the late 1990s. Please re-read in the textbook the section on the Second Red scare and McCarthyism. Tomorrow, you'll start a film study on "Good Night, and Good Luck". It might be a good idea to check out this link on Edward R. Murrow as well.

Chapter 7 Test Study Guide:

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
• 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 in 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 next 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

IB 30

We continued our examination of the American role in World War I today, with me finishing off my PowerPoint lecture, and watching a short video on the Great War from an American perspective. Please remember that we are having the presentations on the Canadian and American battles in WWI on Tuesday. Make sure that you add your contributions on the wiki for your assigned battle in WWI by Remembrance Day.

November 8

IB 30

We started looking at the role of the United States in World War I today. You have a two-part homework assignment tonight: the Zimmermann Telegram source analysis questions, and Woodrow Wilson's speech before Congress on April 2, 1917 questions.

Social 30-1

We watched "Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam", which took most of the class. Please remember that your Vietnam War Assignment is due tomorrow.

Social 20-1

We finished watching "Scream Bloody Murder" today. I also gave you a booklet on a few contemporary examples of genocide from the 20th and 21st centuries. Please read it. We set the due date from your Unit 2 research project as Tuesday, November 29th.

November 7

IB 30

We continued looking at the First World War today. We watched a short video from the CBS Series on the Great War called "Clash of Generals". I finished the PowerPoint presentation that I started last week which covers some of the key battles of WWI and the end of the war. Remember, I've been going through the "big picture" of the Great War, and then tomorrow we'll start looking at the role of the United States in the war. I'll post the PowerPoint presentation on the wiki this afternoon.

Social 20-1

Today was a research period for your Unit 2 Research Project. This will be the only class period that you will have to do research. We'll set a due date for this project tomorrow in class.

Social 30-1

I did a homework check on the Southeast Asia package and the Cold War Events Notes booklet today in class. We watched a part of "Born on the Fourth of July" today as well. Please remember that your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow. I gave you a booklet last week on the Vietnam War that contained the Vietnam War Assignment. This assignment is due on Wednesday. You are responsible for the A-C sections on the front page with this assignment (please see below).

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?

As we will see, public support for the Vietnam War changes over time as more and more American soldiers are killed. We see a growth in the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, and the media also played a role in the turn of popular opinion against the war. I REALLY recommend that you have a look at the this series of photographs from the Vietnam War era, pretty powerful imagery (make sure that you read the captions too). Here is a link to the NPR that explains the story behind the photograph below, 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.

I'm posting the study guide for your Chapter 7 Test (Cold War Exam) below. You have a lot of review and studying to do, that's why I'm posting this study guide so far in advance (this test is on November 17th).

Chapter 7 Test Study Guide:

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
• 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 in 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 next 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

November 4

IB 30

We continued our examination of World War I today by watching a short video on the nature of warfare in the Great War from the CBS News Series on WWI called "The Trenches". I also continued with my PowerPoint lecture on the Causes of World War I, which I will post on the wiki this weekend. I also started looking at the concept of total war and specific battles within World War I. Next week, we'll look at Canada's role in the First World War as well as the role of the United States and Latin American countries in the conflict. Make sure that you keep up with the material covered in class, you may be assessed on it at any time.

Social 20-1

We continued watching "Scream Bloody Murder" today, and we will continue with this documentary on Tuesday. We also decided on projects for the Unit 2 Research Project. On Monday, please come to Room 111, then we will proceed down to the library.

Social 30-1

Hopefully you were able to put to good use the time that you were given in class today. Here's a list of when upcoming assignments are due:

• Cold War Events Booklet is due on Monday, November 7th
• Southeast Asia Package is due on Monday, November 7th
• Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due on Tuesday, November 8th
• Vietnam War Assignment is due on Wednesday, November 8th

November 3

Social 30-1

I gave you some more time to complete your Cold War Events booklets, by giving you about 30 minutes to work with the Cold War and After books. I gave you some notes on the Korean War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, and at the end of class you had some time to read them over. I showed you a video from the BBC 20th Century History series on the Cuban Missile Crisis called "Mr. Kennedy and Khrushchev". Please remember that your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due on Tuesday.

Social 20-1

I went through part of a PowerPoint presentation from the Genocide Watch website called "The Eight Stages of Genocide", and as I was going through it you were to take notes on the lecture. You can find a link to the Genocide Watch website under Social 20-1 Links if you are interested in looking at the entire PowerPoint lecture again. We started watching a CNN Special called "Scream Bloody Murder" that covers genocide in the 20th and 21st centuries. As you are watching this video you are strongly encouraged to take notes on these examples of genocide.

IB 30

I did a quick homework check on the material from the History of the 20th Century textbook and the analysis of the editorial cartoon that illustrated the responsibility of WWI. You spent most of the period working on your IA in the library.

November 2

social 20-1

We finished watching "White Light/Black Rain" today in class, and completed the film study sheet that goes along with this video. Tomorrow we will look at contemporary examples of genocide.

Social 30-1

Today was a busy day since we started working on the Cold War Events booklet by using Perspectives on Ideology and the Cold War and After booklets. You will get some class time tomorrow to work on these booklets as well. We watched a video from the History's Turning Points series on the Korean War and another video on the construction of the Berlin Wall. We'll continue our historical progression through the Cold War by examining the Cuban Missile Crisis tomorrow. Please remember that your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due on Tuesday.

IB 30

We had a brief discussion on current events, namely Palestine's inclusion in UNESCO and the Israeli government's reaction to this, the Greek referendum issue, and current developments in the Occupy Calgary situation. We then switched gears and finished watching the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand episode of the BBC series "Days That Shook the World". We then continued looking at the techniques and practices of the First World War, specifically trench warfare. We'll continue this topic on Friday. Please come to Room 111 tomorrow, then we'll go down to the library to work on your IA, so make sure that you have your Internal Assessment materials. Tonight's homework is the following:

• Read pages 204-215 in the 20th Century World History textbook
• Complete the three questions under the chart on page 215
• Complete the cartoon analysis sheet on the WWI cartoon (see below)

(click to enlarge)

November 1

IB 30

Mr. Johnson and I split our large IB group into two groups today, so from now on students assigned to me will meet in Room 111. We started looking at the Causes of World War I today, with a PowerPoint lecture on this topic. We also started watching a video on the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand from the BBC series "Days That Shook the World". We'll finish this video tomorrow, and the proceed to look at techniques and practices in the First World War. For homework tonight, it is recommended that you read pages 204-215 in your 20th Century World History textbook.

Social 30-1

We watched a couple of videos today from the BBC 20th Century History series: "The Road to Berlin" which explored the end of WWII in Europe, and "Cold War Confrontation" which looked at the division of Germany, the Berlin Airlift and the Korean War. I gave you a timeline of key events in the Cold War that you must memorize. I also gave you a Cold War Events package that included a chart of key events in the Cold War and associated key concepts of the Cold War that must be completed using a supplementary book that you will have access to tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be looking at the Korean War in greater detail, and then you will have some more time to work on your Cold War Events notes.

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'll continue our look at the Cold War tomorrow.

Social 20-1

We watched a video today on the development of the atomic bomb from the "History's Turning Points" series. After watching the video you were to copy down the notes that I had written on the board based on the topics covered in the video. If you missed today's class, you'll have to get these notes from a classmate. We then started a film study of the HBO documentary "White Light/Black Rain". We will finish this video off tomorrow.