This is it. It's your last "regular" lesson in World History 9/10. First, we'll make a quick stop in central and eastern Europe as both the Berlin Wall and communism fall. Then, we
will take a look at the events in China in the midst of 1989, the same
year the Berlin Wall fell in Germany and European communism was on the
retreat. In China, the outcome will be different.
"
One
Year After Protests, An Enforced Silence on Tibet" - This Time
magazine story from last year looks at the 50th anniversary of the failed Tibetan
uprising which led the Dalai Lama to flee Tibet for refuge in India.
March 10th marked the 51st anniversary of that uprising.
A quick look... - Changes
in Central and Eastern Europe:
This is the material you read for yesterday's quiz. Since many of you are
probably planning some travel these next couple weeks, we'll use that
theme to approach the stories of these nations.
You
are
several others will be assigned a country. Your job is to prepare
us a "travel guide" of sorts for that country. However, we won't be
asking questions like, "Where should we stay?" and "What should we
eat?" Instead, focus on the following:
- If at all, how did
the fading of communism affect your country?
- How did the
country reassert its independence after the decline of the Soviet Union?
- What
have been some of the key challenges facing your country?
- Who
are the people, groups and/or events we absolutely should know?
These
are the countries which we will be "touring" together today:
- Poland
- Hungary
- Germany
- Czechoslovakia
(now Czech Republic and Slovakia)
- Romania
- Yugoslavia
(see below)
By
the
way, in an attempt to minimize confusion, here's the current status
of the former Yugoslavia. These countries have been created: Bosnia and
Herzogovina, Croatia, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and
Slovenia. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but its status is still
in dispute. (The United States does recognize its independence.)
China:
Tiananmen Square and AfterLet's take a quick look at
some of the events leading up to Tiananmen Square.
"It doesn't
matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice." - Deng
Xiaoping
"Poverty is not socialism. To be rich is glorious." - Deng
Xiaoping
"Reform is China's second revolution." - Deng Xiaoping
To
try and make sense of the events surrounding Tiananmen Square, let's
try and answer these questions.
- What led the students to
gather in Tiananmen Square?
- What options did the government have
in dealing with the protesters?
- What happened in Tiananmen
Square on June 4, 1989?
- What was the reaction of the world to
these events?
- Why did events unfold in this manner in China?
"
Massacre
in Tiananmen Square" - BBC on This Day (June 4, 1989) This is the
actual story that appeared on BBC News.
Here is a set of
documents
about Tiananmen Square released from the National Security Archives of
the United States. They make for interesting browsing.
Here
is the website for the documentary film, "
Tiananmen:
The Gate of Heavenly Peace."
China After
Tiananmen: More than twenty years have passed since the events of 1989,
and China has certainly undergone rapid change since then. We can
briefly discuss the general direction of those changes, and there are
some links below in which you may be interested.
"
Chinese
learned to live with reform" - This BBC story looks at the legacy of
Deng's reforms thirty years after they were put in place.
"
Taiwan
Flashpoint" - Check this out if you're interested in learning more
about China's position on Taiwan and the potential threat posed in the
region.
"
Where next
for post-Games China?" - This takes a look at China's options
following the end of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
Any remaining
time is yours to work on whatever needs working on...
HOMEWORK
for tomorrow - Wednesday, March 17th
Current Events are due today.
Your
packet of Chapter 36 quizzes should be turned in Wednesday. Yes, you are free to use your book as you complete them.
Remember
that
you write the Unit #8 Essay out of class, and they are due no
later than upon your arrival to the Final Exam on Friday, March 19th.
The
Extra
Credit - World History Film option, should you choose to do it, is
due no later than the end of Sunday, April 4th.
