Monday, January 23, 2017
-Ism Posters
You may access the photographs of the -ism posters from the Gerst classes here. These are good notes on the ideologies for this Unit 7: Ideology and Revolution.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Monday, January 16, 2017
Thursday, January 12, 2017
Gerst Advice for French Revolution Test Preparation
The prompt will be: How should we understand the significance of the French Revolution? Or, as Mr. Janus put it, what is the significance of the French Revolution?
This question is open-ended, the possibilities are numerous, but they begin with your own interpretation of the readings. What impressions have you had in the past ten weeks days regarding the French Revolution? What textual passages have "rung" or "surprised" or "discomforted" you? How can you use those to build an essay? Your answer to this question will determine whether you view Napoleon as part of the Revolution or the end to it or something else, I suppose.)
During this unit, we have examined four sources with dramatically opposing viewpoints on the Revolution. These were Perry (secondary), Schama (secondary), Burke (primary, British conservative), and Robespierre (primary, French revolutionary responsible for Reign of Terror). It's not that you have to disagree with the readings, but realize that each carries a certain perspective or bias about the Revolution. Perry has one, Schama has one, Burke has one, and Robespierre has one. It's not that different from the way different people believe different things about politics, political priorities, and the like today.
You need a starting place. If you were to chat about this unit with a friend, what would you tell them?
To prove your own interpretation, you will choose those particular passages that highlight what you believe to provide the significance/meaning of the Revolution (lessons).
We have encouraged you to think critically about these readings using the ideas of Amos Teversky (Gerst mini-lecture on judgment and decision-making and slip of paper). We gave you examples of how Perry used labels to influence your thinking (old regime, class differences, moderate stage, radical stage), how Schama highlighted the dueling "schools of thought" by different generations of historians and how insiders/outsiders viewed the revolution at the time versus how historians tend to view it in hindsight.
What do you think the significance of the revolution is? Think strategically, think creatively. Mount an argument. Prove it with evidence from the above four readings. STAY OFF the internet. I've read the top responses to the Google question, what was the significance of the French Revolution, and will know if students merely mimic those.
Finally, I encouraged you if you are having difficulty answering the question to study the final section of Perry on the "Meaning of the French Revolution." It contains dueling perspectives on the revolution's significance. Make sure you critique it (compare it to your notes from our class discussions) and determine how much you agree or disagree with its arguments and why. We are not interested in reading merely what Perry believes the significance to be. We already know that. Come up with your own interpretation! Be fearless! You can do it!
Because Ms. Gerst's classes have 30 less minutes to test, they will not have a catena section. The laptop cart has been ordered.
Teversky
People predict by making up stories
People predict very little and explain everything
People live under uncertainty whether they like it or not
People believe they can tell the future if they work hard enough
People accept any explanation as long it fits the facts
The handwriting was on the wall, it was just the ink that was invisible
People often work hard to obtain information they already have and avoid new knowledge
Man is a deterministic device thrown into a probabilistic universe
In this march, surprises are expected
Everything that has already happened must have been inevitable
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
French Revolution Reading link
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BznLwNoYB267WXNwU3lsTE1MOUk
For CLASS TWO, read Perry link, pages 455-467: What were the essential elements of the Old Regime? What were the key ideas of the Enlightenment? Were the essential ideas of both compatible?
For CLASS TWO, read Perry link, pages 455-467: What were the essential elements of the Old Regime? What were the key ideas of the Enlightenment? Were the essential ideas of both compatible?
Monday, January 2, 2017
Chicago Teens Now Have Free Access to the Art Institute
https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/chicago-teens-will-now-have-free-access-to-the-art-institute-of-chicago/e6f5797f-28dc-441b-b826-71ed7d525742
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