Grades and dates

I know I made it sound like a headache to give you a progress report on your grade (it is), but that should not discourage you from asking for your grade if you want to know it.  FYI, as a class, you've fallen into a normal statistical curve (meaning there are a couple of people doing badly, a couple of people doing very well, and everyone else is distributed through the middle), and that freaks me out a little. 

If you're doing very badly, you've been informed.  If you haven't received a progress report, you have at least a middling C - in the 75% range.

Also - I've gotten lax on due dates.  Here is what can be made up: any homework assignment that does not have a specific time/date due time; journal entries; responses to media and your fellow students.  Here is what cannot be made up: check-ins, attendance, time-sensitive homework (your DEBATE PREPARATION is an excellent example), and other in-class participation points.

Reminders:

• You will be graded Thursday (3/1) on: your participation in the debate, your annotated article, your ability to work well within the group (your groupmates will grade you), and your aptitude in the debate itself (graded by the other group).  If there is a clear winner, I will give that group extra credit on the quiz.  Which segues to: 
• You have a quiz on Tuesday, 3/6, regarding nuclear weapons, the vocabulary surrounding Islam and terrorism, and your classmates' presentations.  It will be multiple choice, matching, and maybe a little short answer. 

Homework for 3-1, including in-class work

Prepare for a debate on Thursday.  You will be debating two things: whether the 2003 Iraq war was justified when it began, and whether it has since been justified.  By “justified,” here, I mean: was there, in 2003, sufficient evidence of WMD or lack of cooperation that might indicate Hussein was hiding something?  To address events since 2003: have events showed that Iraq specifically or the Middle East generally is better off (in terms of democracy, government accountability, social or economic stability) because of some aspect of the Iraq War? 

For those of you preparing for the run-up to the 2003 war, consider:

·         9/11 and how it changed the American outlook

·         The information source, codename: curveball

·         The first Gulf War – what kind of international support there was, what the extend of the invasion was, and why

·         Saddam’s actions during the 1990s regarding Bush Sr., weapons inspections, and anything else

·         Our actions during the 1990s, including inspections and sanctions

·         Saddam’s actions, particularly with weapons inspections, between 9/11/2001 and the invasion

·         Anti-war demonstrations and civic action

For those of you preparing for the aftermath of the war, consider:

·         Insurgency groups and their motivations (this will be complicated; I’m just looking for foreign or domestic, sectarian or nationalist)

·         Resultant global terrorism

·         Looting of museums and other cultural landmarks

·         US casualties

·         Allied casualties

·         Global perceptions of the US

·         The Arab Spring?

Here are some extremely useful links:

·         Timeline of events, with references to useful articles from many sources; you’ll want to use the article names they quote to search.

·         BBC’s summary of armed groups in Iraq.

·         NYT’s timeline of events, with pictures and links to relevant stories.

For class Thursday, 3/1, bring at least two annotated sources to class with you to share with your group.  Annotated means you’ve got quotable statistics and quotes highlighted or underlined and bulleted points that support your side.

Don't forget your journal or your homework. 

Homework for 2-28

Read this article, then watch this clip from the speech mentioned [it should be Archive: Colin Powell's UN Presentation on Iraq WMD pt 8, and you should watch it from time signature 3:57].  Feel free to watch the entire speech, or skim through it, or read the transcript alongside the clip.  Then, find one article (you can find more!) expressing an opinion about the run-up to the Iraq War of 2003 and read it – consider its arguments.  Try going to any newspaper’s archive of the Op/Ed pages from January-March 2003. 

YOUR TASK (part 1): take yourself back 9 years and imagine you were hearing this speech only a year and a half after 9/11.  Would you be convinced by it?  For the duration of your assignment, try to forget what you’ve learned about Iraq in the last 9 years.  Write a paragraph expressing whether you would favor going to war in Iraq at that time, given the information you’ve just gotten. 

Email or post that paragraph and the link(s) to the article(s) you read. 

Then watch this clip from three years later.  We'll discuss in class.

DO NOT FORGET to email me both your powerpoint presentation and your sources WITH bias analyses.   

Homework for 2-23

Work really hard on your presentations. 

Also, I will accept your Islam vocabulary organizers and answers for the movie Persepolis on Thursday (2/24) if you bring them or email them.  Try to show me that you actually watched the movie and paid attention to the discussion on the latter. 

AND!  Remember to do your analysis of each source's bias!

Nuclear Weapon Proliferation

Nuclear Weapons

[A brief history]

First nuclear weapons

·         Developed by the US during WWII

·         Germany was also working on them

·         Codenamed the Manhattan Project

·         Led by Robert Oppenheimer

·         Dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

·         Video!

Specs and figures

·         Each bomb weighed about 5 tons

·         Explosion equivalent to 50-75 million sticks of dynamite

·         Deaths: 90,000-166,000 in Hiroshima

·         60,000-80,000 in Nagasaki

·         Sigh.

Cold War

·         Ideological battle between Communism (sort of) and Capitalism (kind of)

·         Diplomatic tension between USSR and US

·         Leads to innumerable proxy wars, military interventions, and covert operations

·         Also leads to arms race

The Arms Race

·         Race to develop both bigger, scarier bombs and the systems to deliver them or prevent them from launching

·         Dear lord.

Figures

1. Fat man: 22,500 tons
2. Castle Bravo 15,000,000 tons
3. Tsar Bomba 50,000,000 tons

Terms

·         Deterrence

·         Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

·         Containment

·         Detente

Other countries with nukes

Homework for 2-21

Homework for 2-21 (Presentations postponed til 2-23)

CLARIFICATION: I understand that the consensus is, I've been vague about the directions for the project.  Here's some better direction:

SAUDI ARABIA: What has the country done to encourage terrorism?  Address population, particularly the number and satisfaction of young men (do they have education?  opportunities to utilize it?), and their feelings toward the US given the US relationship with other parts of the Middle East.  Also consider Wahhabism, funding, and whether they have in any way discouraged terrorism.

ISRAEL: What has the rest of the Middle East thought about Israel since it became a country in 1948?  What have they done about it?  Said about it?  How has Israeli treatment of Palestinians changed those feelings (or not)?  To address that question, discuss the separation wall, water rights, and settlements.  At the same time, how have Israelis experienced terrorism?  How have terrorists used Israel to justify their actions? 

AFGHANISTAN: What was the US's involvement in the Soviet conflict in the 1980s?  Why was the Taliban able to take control of Afghanistan?  What have they done there while they were in control?  Why do you think Bin Laden chose the country as his hideout?  Why has rebuilding the country since our invasion been so difficult?  Why am I asking about opium? 

IRAQ: What has our relationship been to Iraq since WWII?  What was it during the Iraq-Iran war?  What did Saddam Hussein do to Iran and his own people in that time, and the 90s?  What was the justification for the 2003 war?  Why has rebuilding the country since our invasion been so difficult?  Has our invasion caused terrorism? 

IRAN: What has our relationship been to Iran since WWII?  Why did the Revolution of 1979 happen, and who won it?  [Persepolis will help you understand!] What was the US relationship to Iran during the Iraq-Iran war?  What has Iran's stance been toward the US and Israel since Ahmedinajad took power? 

OTHER: Pick some organizations: Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda, for example.  Discuss who perpetrated the London bombings, the Madrdid bombings, and any other acts of terrorism (perhaps even within any of the other countries in this list), and why they said they did so.  Is the organization Shi'ite or Sunni?  Who supports the organization?  Where are they based?  Why do they say they exist and do what they do?  Do they accomplish anything that's not terrorism - do they, for example, act as a legitimate political party, or provider of social services?

1. Get some popcorn, and watch this movie.  Just in case there’s any confusion (there’s a historical city called Persepolis, and it’s possible to find documentaries on it instead), it’s the 2007 movie based on Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel.  You don’t have to watch it on youtube; it’s definitely available through Netflix and most movie rental places.  Here are the questions you need to answer (read them all BEFORE you watch the movie, and bring the answers to class with you):

1.       According to the characters, why does the 1979 revolution happen? 

a.       What competing parties or ideologies are involved?

b.      How do the Islamists take control?

                                                               i.      What does the Satrapi family think of them?

                                                             ii.      Why do the Satrapis stay in Iran?

c.       What strikes you most about the portrayal of the Islamist regime?  Or, what other regimes (fictional or not) does it remind you of? 

2.       What elements of globalization did you notice? 

a.       In particular, both our exploration of immigration and the article on the causes of 9/11 discussed alienation, particularly alienation among young Muslims.  How does the main character deal with that alienation?  How does that differ from the way the 9/11 attackers or other terrorists coming from Europe must have? 

3.       What elements of imperialism did you notice? 

a.       What role does it play in Marjane’s family’s life? 

4.       Did anything else strike you about the movie?  If so, note when in the movie it occurred so we can bring it up on screen in class if we want. 

2. Your organizer for the Islam lecture is due. 

If you missed class 2-9 or 2-14, you should know that we watched a documentary.  I’ve made your response to that documentary (simply whether you responded) a graded notebook assignment. 

If you missed today, you need to email me so that I can reply with the presentation and assignment. 

Below is the overall (group) grade rubric.  You will also receive a group evaluation to grade one another. 

Research Presentation Rubric

Name: __________________________________

Topic: ________________________________________________________________

	Needs Work	Meh	Meets Standards	Awesome
Main idea [5]	-Does not present a position -Lacks focus and direction	-Implies or understates a main point	-Main point or generalization present -Located in the introduction	-Contains a nuanced main idea about subject’s involvement with terrorism -Located in the introduction
Score
Organization [5]	-Lacks a beginning or an ending -Lacks transitions	-Often off-topic -Establishes brief introduction and conclusion	-Has introduction and conclusion -Attempts transitions -Most slides relate to thesis	-Has introduction and conclusion -Each slide connects to the main idea -Makes transitions between and within ideas
Score
Evidence [20]	-Has no specific facts (statistics, dates, or otherwise pertinent information) from any text	-Has two or less inappropriate and improperly cited facts per slide -Significance of facts poorly explained	-Has at least two well-chosen facts per slide -Significance of facts adequately explained	-Has at least two well-chosen facts from the text per slide (verbal or written) -Significance of facts insightfully explained
Score
Context/ Relevance [20]	-Does not attempt to describe the context or relevance of the topic	-Inadequately describes the context or relevance of the  topic	-Mostly describes the context or relevance of the topic	-Describes the context or relevance of the topic
Score
Sentence Structure And Word Choice [10]	-Sentences to not vary in length -Sentences are incomplete -Sentences are not parallel -Words are general and repetitive	-Few sentences vary in length -Sentences are complete -Some strong words are used, but the majority are general and repetitive	-Sentence lengths are varied -Sentences are complete -Uses precise and varied word choice -Some weak words are commonly used	-Sentence lengths are varied -Sentences are clear and complete -Presenter uses precise and varied word choice -Very few, if any, weak words are used.
Score
Sources [10]	-Wikipedia only source	-Inappropriate sources used	-3-4 good sources used	-5 appropriate, timely sources used
Score
			TOTAL:

Group Project - Terrorism and the Middle East; HW for 2/16 and 2/21

DUE THURSDAY: Each group member must email me a source and either a summary of the information you will be using from it or its bias analysis by Thursday.  A REMINDER: in the “Resources” section, there’s a libguide devoted to you, and a whole section on the topic of terrorism.  GO USE YOUR AWESEOME LIBRARY.  All of the documentaries you’ve enjoyed so far came from the sites in that libguide; video is more than acceptable in your presentation (as long as you watch the time limit). 

Each group will create a 10 minute presentation on their subject and its relationship to global terrorism.  The presentation should have at least 12 slides or equivalent (you may certainly use some other presentation format besides Power Point) information – the time limit is more important.  At least half the slides must contain relevant visuals or other media.  As for subject matter, each group should cover:

1.      A brief history of the country or organization in question since World War II (more or less – the groups who start earlier or later know who they are).

a.       Regime(s): who was in charge, and what kind of government did they run? 

b.      Was/is it a theocracy? 

2.      A brief discussion of the country or organization’s relationship to the US. 

a.       Did/are we supporting it diplomatically?

b.      Financially?

c.       Militarily?

3.      Wars (this may be integrated into the brief history if you wish).

a.       What was the outcome?  Did the regime in charge strengthen, weaken, get overthrown…? 

b.      What other conflicts was the country or organization involved in, even if their military wasn’t directly involved?

4.      The current state of affairs. 

a.       What has happened in this country since 9/11?

b.      Has its relationship to the US changed with Obama’s presidency?  Any other events? 

IN ADDITION – each group will turn in a bibliography of its sources.  For each entry in the bibliography, the group must briefly evaluate the credibility and bias of the source.  Some extremely relevant questions: is the source particularly sympathetic to either Israel or Palestine?  Is the source a left- or right-leaning periodical? 

Rubric to follow.

This presentation will be given 2/21