Monday, April 29, 2013

In class/homework: Microteach the Arab Spring

Date assigned
Monday, April 29


Assignment
Each person in your group will teach the rest of the group about one country in the Arab Spring (December 2010 to present):

#1 - Tunisia
#2 - Egypt
#3 - Yemen
#4 - Bahrain
#5 - Libya
#6 - Syria (If your group only has 5 members, don't do Syria)

While researching your conflict, answer the following questions:

- Why did people begin to protest in your country?  What were the root causes of their discontent?

- How did the government respond to the protests?

- What happened during the course of the protests?

- Have the protests ended?  If not, why not?  If so, how did the protests end?  

- Was the government overthrown?  If so, who took power?  Was dictatorship replaced with democracy?

- What factors helped and/or hurt the effectiveness of the protests?  Did the people have help from other countries?  Did the government have help from other countries?

- What did the protests in your country ultimately accomplish?

- What else still needs to be accomplished in your country?


Prepare a 1-page handout to give each of your group members for them to follow along with while you teach (you will also turn in a copy of this handout). 


Due date
Be prepared to teach your group about your conflict on Thursday, May 2.

Arab Spring resources

Overview
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring

Timelines
http://www.npr.org/2012/01/02/144489844/timeline-the-major-events-of-the-arab-spring

Explanations
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/02/06/weekinreview/06marsh.html
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/world/arab-unrest/index.html
http://www.thenation.com/article/158991/arab-spring#
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=45439&cid=31&fromval=1

Tunisia
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-tunisia-act-of-one-fruit-vendor-sparks-wave-of-revolution-through-arab-world/2011/03/16/AFjfsueB_story.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/tunisia-arab-spring
http://www.juancole.com/2013/02/tunisias-spring-turmoil.html
http://www.freedomhouse.org/article/tunisia-arab-springs-pivotal-democratic-example
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/03/20/arab-spring-hits-snags-in-tunisia-where-it-all-began/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/17/tunisia-protests-events-idAFLDE70F08020110117

Egypt
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/egypt/index.html
http://www.ibtimes.com/two-years-after-egypts-arab-spring-revolution-seem-long-time-ago-1070676#
http://guides.library.cornell.edu/content.php?pid=259276&sid=2159613
http://www.economist.com/node/21557339
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/03/egypt.protests.timeline/index.html

Libya
http://guides.library.cornell.edu/content.php?pid=259276&sid=2163152
http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR34MI2#a=1
http://blog.heritage.org/2012/03/10/the-bitter-fruit-of-libyas-arab-spring/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/22/1009459/-Causes-of-the-Libyan-Revolution-and-the-Arab-Spring
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903461304576524701611118090.html
http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/libya-arab-spring-timeline

Bahrain
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2011/08/20118301473301296.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/19/bahrain-special-case-arab-spring
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/on-the-middle-east/2013/feb/13/middleeast-bahrain-saudi-gulf
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/bahrain-arab-spring
http://guides.library.cornell.edu/content.php?pid=259276&sid=2163172

Syria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_civil_war
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19331551
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13855203
http://guides.library.cornell.edu/content.php?pid=259276&sid=2163169
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/opinion/global/the-dangerous-price-of-ignoring-syria.html?_r=0
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/syria/index.html

Yemen
http://guides.library.cornell.edu/content.php?pid=259276&sid=2163159
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/002021e6-97d4-11e2-97e0-00144feabdc0.html#slide0
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/12/09/after-the-arab-spring-yemen-s-women-are-left-behind.html
http://rt.com/op-edge/saleh-arab-spring-al-qaeda-yemen-886/

Films
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/empire/2011/04/2011421104111964650.html
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/general/2011/04/20114483425914466.html

Arab Spring slide presentation

The Arab Spring slide presentation from Monday, April 29 is located here.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Homework: Iraq War articles

Date assigned
Thursday, April 25


Assignment
Read three articles about the Iraq War:

1) If America Were Iraq - http://www.juancole.com/2004/09/if-america-were-iraq-what-would-it-be.html

2) What we Did to Iraq - http://www.juancole.com/2013/03/what-we-did-to-iraq.html

3) The Last Letter - http://www.truthdig.com/dig/item/the_last_letter_20130318/

Then write a response (2 pages typed and double-spaced OR 3 pages handwritten and single-spaced).  You can answer the following questions directly, or you can use them as a way to guide your thoughts:

  1. Has the United States committed war crimes in Iraq?  Explain your answer.
  2. Should anyone from the United States government be charged with a crime for the Iraq War?  Explain your answer.
  3. Does the United States owe anything to Iraq, considering the state of the country today of 10 years of violence?  If so, what?  If not, why not?
  4. Does the US government owe anything to wounded veterans returning from the Iraq War?  Explain your answer.
  5. How do we prevent wars like this from happening in the future?


Due date
Monday, April 29

In class: Cost of the Iraq War, "Alive Day Memories"

The Cost of the Iraq War slide presentation from Thursday, April 25 is located here.

The deficit graph is located here.

Alive Day Memories 
Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j08fvUk67U
Part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uCvxCZttUY
Part 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCZ4XJx-lJs
Part 4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4Nsh7gbRuM
Part 5 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgmzatiz6Wc
Part 6 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIYUs7LKWCE