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Ed Webb

How we remember them: the 1914-18 war today | openDemocracy - 6 views

  • After the war, however, the problem of reintegrating into society both those who had served and those who had lost, and finding a narrative that could contain both, found one answer by an emphasis on the universality of heroism. A British society that has since the 1960s grown increasingly distant from the realities of military service - whilst remaining dedicated to it as a location for fantasy - has been unable to move on from this rhetorical standpoint
  • The war's portrayal has always been shaped by contemporary cultural mores, and commemorative documentaries demonstrate just how much the relationship between the creators and consumers of popular culture has changed over the last fifty years. For the fiftieth anniversary of 1914, the BBC commissioned the twenty-six part series The Great War, based around archive footage and featuring interviews with veterans. There was an authoritative narrative voice, but no presenters. For the eightieth anniversary, it collaborated with an American television company on a six-part series littered with academic talking-heads. For the ninetieth anniversary, it has had a range of TV presenter-celebrities - among them Michael Palin, Dan Snow, Natalie Cassidy and Eamonn Holmes - on a journey of discovery of their families' military connections. These invariably culminate next to graves and memorials in a display of the right kind of televisual emotion at the moment the formula demands and the audience has come to expect.   The focus of these programmes - family history as a means of understanding the past - is worthy of note in itself. It is indicative of the dramatic growth of family history as a leisure interest, perhaps in response to the sense of dislocation inherent in modernity
  • The search for family history is usually shaped by modern preconceptions, and as such it seldom results by itself in a deeper understanding of the past. The modern experience of finding someone who shares your surname on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, taking a day trip to France and finding his grave (perhaps with a cathartic tear or few) might increase a person's or family's sense of emotional connection to the war, and may bring other satisfactions. Insofar as it is led not by a direct connection with a loved one, however, but by what television has "taught" as right conduct, it can seldom encourage a more profound appreciation of what the war meant for those who fought it, why they kept fighting, or why they died.
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  • Projects such as The Great War Archive, which combine popular interest in the war with specialist expertise, and which recognise that an archive is different from a tribute or a memorial, suggest that it is possible to create high-quality content based on user submissions.
  • the exploitation of popular enthusiasm to encourage thought, rather than to enforce the "correct" opinion
  • It is certainly true that the 1914-18 war is popularly seen as the "bad war" and 1939-45 as the "good war." I think the one view is sustained in order to support the other. Although no expert, it seems to me that in reality the two world wars were marked more by their similarities than their differences (Europe-wide military/imperial rivalry causes collapse of inadequate alliance system > Germany invades everywhere > everywhere invades Germany). However, there is an extreme reluctance in Britain to admit that WW2 was anything other than a Manichean struggle between the elves and the orcs, so WW1 becomes a kind of dumping-ground for a lot of suppressed anxiety and guilt which might otherwise accrue to our role in WW2 - just as it might in any war. So we make a donkey out of Haig in order to sustain hagiographic views of Churchill. "Remembrance" of both wars continues to be a central feature of British public consciousness to an extraordinary, almost religious degree, and I think this has a nostalgic angle as well: if "we" squint a bit "we" can still tell ourselves that it was "our" last gasp as a global power. Personally I think it's all incredibly dodgy. "Remembrance," it seems to me, is always carried out in a spirit of tacit acceptance that the "remembered" war was a good thing. Like practically all of the media representation of the current war, Remembrance Day is a show of "sympathy" for the troops which is actually about preventing objective views of particular wars (and war in general) from finding purchase in the public consciousness. It works because it's a highly politicised ritual which is presented as being above politics and therefore above criticism. All these things are ways of manipulating the suffering of service personnel past and present as a means of emotionally blackmailing critics of government into silence. I reckon anyway.
David Hilton

World War I Resources (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress) - 2 views

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    "The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material related to World War I, including photographs, documents, newspapers, films, sheet music, and sound recordings. This guide compiles links to World War I resources throughout the Library of Congress Web site. In addition, this guide provides links to external Web sites focusing on World War I and a bibliography containing selections for both general and younger readers."
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    The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material related to World War I, including photographs, documents, newspapers, films, sheet music, and sound recordings. This guide compiles links to World War I resources throughout the Library of Congress Web site. In addition, this guide provides links to external Web sites focusing on World War I and a bibliography containing selections for both general and younger readers
Michael Sheehan

Learning Never Stops: First World War - A Multimedia History of World War I - 10 views

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    A must see site for learning about World War I.
Nate Merrill

A Fire Waiting to be Lit: The Origins of World War I - 11 views

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    "A Fire Waiting to be Lit: The Origins of World War I" Constitutional Rights Foundation
Nate Merrill

World War I Document Archive - 4 views

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    An extensive collection on the topic. It's a wiki format so should grow with time.
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    A in title
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    "This archive of primary documents from World War One has been assembled by volunteers of the World War I Military History List (WWI-L). International in focus, the archive intends to present in one location primary documents concerning the Great War."
puzznbuzzus

Is English Language So Popular because of the USA? - 0 views

Americans might tend to inflate the influence of the United States in the history of the spread of English. Before the World Wars, particularly WWII, the US was a bit player on the world stage. The...

english quiz online

started by puzznbuzzus on 17 Feb 17 no follow-up yet
HistoryGrl14 .

Internet History Sourcebooks - 8 views

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    "A Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico In 1519 Hernan Cortés sailed from Cuba, landed in Mexico and made his way to the Aztec capital. Miguel Leon­Portilla, a Mexican anthropologist, gathered accounts by the Aztecs, some of which were written shortly after the conquest. Speeches of Motecuhzoma and Cortés When Motecuhzoma [Montezuma] had given necklaces to each one, Cortés asked him: "Are you Motecuhzoma? Are you the king? Is it true that you are the king Motecuhzoma?" And the king said: "Yes, I am Motecuhzoma." Then he stood up to welcome Cortés; he came forward, bowed his head low and addressed him in these words: "Our lord, you are weary. The journey has tired you, but now you have arrived on the earth. You have come to your city, Mexico. You have come here to sit on your throne, to sit under its canopy. "The kings who have gone before, your representatives, guarded it and preserved it for your coming. The kings Itzcoatl, Motecuhzoma the Elder, Axayacatl, Tizoc and Ahuitzol ruled for you in the City of Mexico. The people were protected by their swords and sheltered by their shields. "Do the kings know the destiny of those they left behind, their posterity? If only they are watching! If only they can see what I see! "No, it is not a dream. I am not walking in my sleep. I am not seeing you in my dreams.... I have seen you at last! I have met you face to face! I was in agony for five days, for ten days, with my eyes fixed on the Region of the Mystery. And now you have come out of the clouds and mists to sit on your throne again. "This was foretold by the kings who governed your city, and now it has taken place. You have come back to us; you have come down from the sky. Rest now, and take possession of your royal houses. Welcome to your land, my lords! " When Motecuhzoma had finished, La Malinche translated his address into Spanish so that the Captain could understand it. Cortés replied in his str
Bob Maloy

Who Were the Harlem Hellfighters? - 6 views

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    This material from Henry Louis Gates series, The African Americans: Many Rivers To Cross, describes the efforts of a famous all Black regiment during World War I. These black soldiers returning from World War I received a hero's welcome, by blacks and whites alike, in New York City.
Mr Maher

The Robert Prager Lynching - 1 views

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    Excerpts of newspaper articles describing the April 1918 lynching of a 45 year old Illinois coal miner. These articles can be used in a DBQ or as a launching point for student research into the incident itself. What can we find out about Robert Prager? How can we be certain? What does his death tell us about American public opinion in World War I - and how do we know that?
Simon Miles

Propaganda Postcards of the Great War (World War 1) - 22 views

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    This site contains a large number of propaganda posters from World War I.
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    A lot more websites on war propaganda you can find on: http://www.digischool.nl/gs/community/histoforum/propaganda2/bronnen.htm
Nate Merrill

World War I - 4 views

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    The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Christina Briola

Famous People Painting "Discussing the Divine Comedy with Dante" - 9 views

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    Discussing the Divine Comedy with Dante. Wow!!
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    I have created a very successful lesson/activity around this painting. The details are as follows. This window has this year's assignment. The next reply has the previous years. Advice: WHAP Review Activity: The Twittering Masses Review activity (mostly 1914- and East Asia) Description - I previously set up 103 discussions on turnitin.com for this lesson so they post into that person's discussion board and all replies are kept under the initial post. This year they posted on our classes Ning.com in the discussion forum. Grading is also difficult - Since not every one will have the same amount of replies - people are more likely to write to Hitler than Cui Jian for instance. So, I am grading the posts holistically out of 10 (I often only have 100-200 points in a quarter, so for instance a test might only be worth 40 points). I have students use a heading that states who [character] is tweeting what topic they are focusing on and who they are writing to. I would be interested in feedback or improvements people think they can make on this lesson - should I use Moodle, [Again, I have switched to Ning.com] etc.? Many thanks. And you can add or subtract people as you wish, so we have actually added Marcus Garvey, Jomo Kenyatta, Stephen Biko, and Emiliano Zapata to our role play and taken the painters (of this painting) out of the role play - Write up for students: Go to http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1162771/The-Internet-sensation-dinner-party-painting-103-historical-guests--spot.html#comments to see who all these individuals are, in color. The rules: You will imagine that each of the historical actors above has access to twitter, the expanded edition, 140 words as compared to 140 characters, to communicate to the other guests present. You will choose six of them (from my list below - my list is the final list - some people pictured have been replaced) to role-play in the "Twittering Masses." As your historical
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    See previous post for advice. This is how I set it up the first two years without specific WHAP content or themes: The rules: You will imagine that each of the historical actors above has access to twitter, the expanded edition, to communicate to the other guests present. You will choose up to four (at least three) of them to role play in the "Twittering Masses" role play. As your historical person, during the Twittering Masses role play you will write, "tweet," at least four other persons. Two of the people should be in close proximity to you based on the painting above. Another tweet should go to the person you feel closest to (not by proximity) at the party - this could be based on ideology (MLK Jr. and Gandhi), background (Tagore and Gandhi), lifestyle (Gandhi and Mother Theresa), etc. Explain in your tweet why you are writing them. The other tweet should go to the person you see as most opposed, or farthest from you - Gandhi and Hitler or Gandhi and Gates or Gandhi and Churchill - in this tweet you should either try to bridge the gap between your differences or explain why the person is wrong in their beliefs. If you have only three guests - you will need to make 5 initial tweets. You will respond to each initial tweet. Then who knows . . . All tweets should have some connection to WHAP content or themes. You may want to comment on the surroundings or other guests . . .
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    I would love comments as to the posts above. Something similar I do is written up here: http://worldhistoryconnected.press.illinois.edu/7.3/gregg.html
Matt Esterman

Archdukes, Cynicism, and World War I: Crash Course World History #36 - YouTube - 9 views

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    "Archdukes, Cynicism, and World War I: Crash Course World History #36" #sschat http://t.co/X0hoGy2g
HistoryGrl14 .

Food Will Win the War: On the Homefront in World War I - 16 views

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    Great documents...even includes recipes from the war!!! Could be fun to make some with the substitutes suggested during war to save Sugar and discuss rationing!
Ed Webb

Modern art was CIA 'weapon' - World, News - The Independent - 6 views

  • The Central Intelligence Agency used American modern art - including the works of such artists as Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko - as a weapon in the Cold War. In the manner of a Renaissance prince - except that it acted secretly - the CIA fostered and promoted American Abstract Expressionist painting around the world for more than 20 years.
  • in the propaganda war with the Soviet Union, this new artistic movement could be held up as proof of the creativity, the intellectual freedom, and the cultural power of the US. Russian art, strapped into the communist ideological straitjacket, could not compete.
  • The decision to include culture and art in the US Cold War arsenal was taken as soon as the CIA was founded in 1947. Dismayed at the appeal communism still had for many intellectuals and artists in the West, the new agency set up a division, the Propaganda Assets Inventory, which at its peak could influence more than 800 newspapers, magazines and public information organisations. They joked that it was like a Wurlitzer jukebox: when the CIA pushed a button it could hear whatever tune it wanted playing across the world.
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  • Initially, more open attempts were made to support the new American art. In 1947 the State Department organised and paid for a touring international exhibition entitled "Advancing American Art", with the aim of rebutting Soviet suggestions that America was a cultural desert. But the show caused outrage at home, prompting Truman to make his Hottentot remark and one bitter congressman to declare: "I am just a dumb American who pays taxes for this kind of trash." The tour had to be cancelled.
  • This philistinism, combined with Joseph McCarthy's hysterical denunciations of all that was avant-garde or unorthodox, was deeply embarrassing. It discredited the idea that America was a sophisticated, culturally rich democracy. It also prevented the US government from consolidating the shift in cultural supremacy from Paris to New York since the 1930s.
  • If any official institution was in a position to celebrate the collection of Leninists, Trotskyites and heavy drinkers that made up the New York School, it was the CIA.
  • Moscow in those days was very vicious in its denunciation of any kind of non-conformity to its own very rigid patterns. And so one could quite adequately and accurately reason that anything they criticised that much and that heavy- handedly was worth support one way or another
  • As president of what he called "Mummy's museum", Rockefeller was one of the biggest backers of Abstract Expressionism (which he called "free enterprise painting"). His museum was contracted to the Congress for Cultural Freedom to organise and curate most of its important art shows. The museum was also linked to the CIA by several other bridges. William Paley, the president of CBS broadcasting and a founding father of the CIA, sat on the members' board of the museum's International Programme. John Hay Whitney, who had served in the agency's wartime predecessor, the OSS, was its chairman. And Tom Braden, first chief of the CIA's International Organisations Division, was executive secretary of the museum in 1949.
  • "It was very difficult to get Congress to go along with some of the things we wanted to do - send art abroad, send symphonies abroad, publish magazines abroad. That's one of the reasons it had to be done covertly. It had to be a secret. In order to encourage openness we had to be secret."
  • Would Abstract Expressionism have been the dominant art movement of the post-war years without this patronage? The answer is probably yes. Equally, it would be wrong to suggest that when you look at an Abstract Expressionist painting you are being duped by the CIA. But look where this art ended up: in the marble halls of banks, in airports, in city halls, boardrooms and great galleries. For the Cold Warriors who promoted them, these paintings were a logo, a signature for their culture and system which they wanted to display everywhere that counted. They succeeded.
Javier E

A Teacher Made a Hitler Joke in the Classroom. It Tore the School Apart. - The New York... - 4 views

  • The concepts of “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings,” hotly debated on college campuses for years, are now reaching high schools too
  • the question of what high school students should be exposed to, and protected from, feels murkier in 2018. Today’s high school students are more precocious, more politically engaged, more tuned in to their gender identities and nascent sexuality. They are already flooded with uncensored, unedited information, 24 hours a day: What would a safe space even look like for a 16-year-old with an iPhone?
  • At exclusive private schools like Friends, the question is further complicated by the involvement of wealthy parents. As these schools have grown more expensive — Friends costs nearly $50,000 a year — administrators have found themselves trying to balance their own institutional values with the demands of parents who are in a sense high-paying customers. Teachers are increasingly caught between the two.
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  • The job of high school teachers is to impart knowledge and deliver measurable results, which requires finding a way to reach, and ideally even inspire, their students.
  • “How would you keep the attention of 15 teenagers and bond with them?” one Friends teacher texted me, insisting on anonymity because of a school policy that discourages teachers from speaking to the media without permission. “You MUST joke and be yourself and connect with them on their terms. It’s the only way to be good at this.”
  • Any teacher who spends three decades in the classroom, speaking extemporaneously for hours on end to a roomful of teenagers, is going to have awkward moments. Frisch might have had more of them, and they may have been a bit more awkward. But that was how he connected, and it was perhaps a way of connecting that is no longer possible. “Everybody knew this guy was off — weird behavior, quirky,” said one parent who, fearing retribution against her child, insisted on anonymity. “Maybe in the ’70s that would have been O.K., but not when you’re paying $45,000 a year in tuition.”
  • There aren’t enough seats in the historically more desirable uptown institutions — Spence, Dalton, Trinity — to meet demand; and for families who live in neighborhoods like the Village, TriBeCa or Battery Park, Friends is a much more convenient option. Friends now sees itself as a competitor to these schools, and in some respects, it has become indistinguishable from them.
  • Even before Frisch’s termination, there was a feeling among some in the Friends community — parents, teachers and especially alumni — that in its race to keep pace with a changing city, the school was losing touch with the Quaker ethos that had long distinguished it.
  • The school’s Quaker identity calls for it to be faithful to its progressive tradition, but in the new age of identity politics, it is not always easy to know what the right stance on a particular issue should be. Just a few months before the Frisch incident, some 20 parents had raised questions about the scheduled speaking engagement of a visiting scholar, Dave Zirin, a sportswriter for the Nation magazine and a Friends alumnus who had been critical of Israel in his writings. In 2012, there were heated objections to a musical performance in the meetinghouse by Gilad Atzmon, an Israel-born saxophonist and self-described “proud, self-hating Jew” who has written that Palestinians were “brutally ethnically cleansed” and suggested that if Israel starts a nuclear war with Iran, “some may be bold enough to argue that Hitler might have been right after all.” The Harvard Law School professor emeritus and noted gadfly Alan Dershowitz publicly criticized Friends — and Lauder personally — for refusing to cancel the appearance.
  • Lauder did not consider the “Heil Hitler” episode a close call. “Personally, I was appalled,” he told me. “I couldn’t imagine, even as a joke — and I grew up watching ‘Hogan’s Heroes’ — that in a class that had nothing to do with history or World War II or Nazism or teaching German language that an incident like that could happen.” I asked Lauder why he felt he needed to go so far as to fire Frisch. “One of our pledges is to make all of our students feel safe,” he replied. “And that is something that I take very, very seriously.”
  • That no one has accused Frisch of being an anti-Semite was beside the point: His invocation of the Nazi salute in a classroom full of high school students, regardless of his intentions, was enough to end his career. On today’s campus, words and symbols can be seen as a form of violence; to many people, engaging in a public debate about the nuances of their power is to tolerate their use.
  • Frisch, who first learned about the claims after his termination, denied ever having told a student to kill himself and said that he had no memory of the inappropriate touching that had been described.
  • we spoke at length about the “Heil Hitler.” Frisch said he was embarrassed, both by the fact that he had made the gesture in the first place and by his subsequent failure to recognize the seriousness of such a lapse in judgment. But he was also surprised by the school’s reaction to it. “I trusted while I was at Friends that because of my long-term commitment to the school, that as I need to change to meet the changing dynamics of the classroom, the school would help me learn and provide the support I needed to make those changes,” he told me.
  • The dynamics of the classroom are changing. These changes are partly specific to the hothouse environment of the campus in 2018. But they also connect to something much bigger. High schools have become genuinely unsafe: The “Heil Hitler” salute happened on the very same day as the Parkland massacre. And beyond the confines of the campus, a crude, violent bigotry that had long seemed part of the distant past has suddenly resurfaced, with neo-Nazis literally marching in the streets. The question now is what do we want our response to this new world to be
  • During the 12 days that he spent in limbo between his suspension and termination, Frisch, in the spirit of the Quaker commitment to reconciliation, drafted a letter of apology to his students that he was never allowed to send. Among other things, he planned to say that he was worried about the rise of anti-Semitism and that he was still learning lessons from his mistake. “You think about things like Charlottesville,” he told me. “Now, we don’t make jokes like this.”
David Korfhage

World War I in Photos: The Western Front, Part I - 9 views

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    Photos from the trenches of World War I, via The Atlantic
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