This course has been designed to incorporate current events into the curriculum on a weekly basis. Ms. Gerst's class will start this week with the attacks of September 11, 2001 and how they affected EU policy.
President Bush's Speech to the Joint Session of Congress on September 20, 2001. How may Manchester's concepts of context, kaleidoscope, catena/web of action, and periodization help us analyze this speech as a historical document?
"This is not, however, just America's fight. And what is at stake is not just America's freedom. This is the world's fight, this is civilization's fight, this is the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance, and freedom. We ask every nation to join us. We will ask and we will need the help of police forces, intelligence service, and banking systems around the world . . . Perhaps the NATO charter reflects best the attitude of the world: an attack on one is an attack on all. The civilized world is rallying to America's side. They understand that if this terror goes unpunished, their own cities, their own citizens, may be next. Terror unanswered can not only bright down buildings, it can threaten the stability of legitimate governments." (p. 390)
What was Europe's policy in the aftermath?
"The European Councils in Brussels, Ghent and Laeken reaffirmed the EU's solidarity with the United States to build a global coalition against terrorism and fight its root causes. In the six months following September 11th, the EU and the US have worked intensively on joint initiatives designed to counter and defeat international terrorism. The EU confirmed its staunchest support for the military operations, which began on the 7 October 2001 in Afghanistan in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1368 and the right to self-defence as enshrined in the UN Charter. The European Union has consistently underlined the central role of the United Nations in building an effective global framework against terrorism." Europa.eu link here.
As we begin to look at current events -- controversies and policies -- on a weekly basis, students will increasingly lead these discussions, choosing news articles, videos, and primary source material. Notice above that I posted two videos - one short secondary that provides an access point for our class and one video source that matches with a written source. I looked up references to other documents mentioned in the EU text. This is called CORROBORATION. What do the other documents say?
A final note. Michael Rose argued Tony Blair, then Prime Minister of Britain, should be impeached for the war in Iraq and that the U.S. should end the war. It does seem possible that the New York Times could have held the Op-Ed until July 4 because a similar article appeared on the BBC in May 2007.
A final note. Michael Rose argued Tony Blair, then Prime Minister of Britain, should be impeached for the war in Iraq and that the U.S. should end the war. It does seem possible that the New York Times could have held the Op-Ed until July 4 because a similar article appeared on the BBC in May 2007.
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