4/7 IB HL 2 Update

I know that many of you are still swamped with IAs.

Here is your OPTIONAL supplemental exploration for our final week before Spring Break.

Choose a Cold War film to watch. You should watch it through two lenses: critical for historical accuracy, as well as through a Lang lens for film techniques and director/screenwriter choices.

Film Suggestions (Not an exhaustive list)
Bridge of Spies
Thirteen Days
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Charlie Wilson's War
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
The Manchurian Candidate
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Good Night, and Good Luck

*Please note that some are rated R. Do not choose unless parents approve.

4/7 IB 11th Block Update

For our final week of optional study, we will continue with extra time to explore what was posted last week, which is what we will be moving into the week after Spring Break. (see below)

I will also be hosting two Zoom Q&As. The invitations are in this week's email. These are completely optional.

Wednesday 1:00pm- IA Q&A to field questions on structure/process/new timeline
Thursday 1:00pm- Cuba Q&A to field clarifying questions on content and activities on Cuba



Cuba Content

 Please read through this entire ppt for details.

Cuba Resources (I recognize not everyone has Netflix; not all 10 resources are required.)

1) The Cuba Libre Story: Episode 4: The Ragtag Revolution  (Netflix)
2) Cuba: Guerrillas Take Power 
3) Oxford History of the Americas pg. 244-256
4) A Decade of Revolution in Cuba
5) Oxford Authoritarian States: Consolidation of Power and Domestic Policy of Castro 
6)The Cuba Libre Story: Episode 6: Of Soviets and Saviors (Netflix)
7) CNN: Cold War Cuba 1959-1962
8) Castro: Women and LGBTQ+ ppt 
9) How Should History Remember Fidel Castro? 
10) Castro's Legacy: How the Revolution Inspired and Appalled the World


Internal Assessment 
For those of you who have submitted 3-level outlines and are prepared to move to drafting the Investigation section, here is some guidance.

Turnitin.com is open for investigation rough drafts. Please do not submit a draft unless you have submitted a 3-level outline and received feedback from me.

4/7 Classics Update

In our final week of optional study, we will continue to look at work that we will be digging into the first week back from Spring Break, as we move into required study.

As explained last week, these will be required works that we will look at, but because they are very complex you have the option to look at them earlier and with more time to explore them.

If you have not looked at last week's, here it is again.  I would look at that before moving to this week's.

For this week, we be moving on to Virgil's Book of the Dead (Bk VI of The Aeneid). If you chose to not read the first 5 books of The Aeneid, you can still look at this with the focus on how Virgil depicts the nature of death and afterlife.

All of the Books of the Dead (Homer, Plato, and Virgil) also make up Chapter 15 in our Classical Mythology book. So if you have that book with you and you would rather just look at the chapter that works as well.

4/1 IB HL 2 Update

I know you are all swamped with IAs right now.

Here is your OPTIONAL supplemental exploration for the week.

Choose a Vietnam film to watch. You should watch it through two lenses: critical for historical accuracy,  as well as through a Lang lens for film techniques and director/screenwriter choices.

Film Suggestions (Not an exhaustive list)
Full Metal Jacket
Apocalypse Now 
Platoon
Forrest Gump 
The Deer Hunter
Good Morning, Vietnam
We Were Soldiers
Born on the Fourth of July 
The Post

*Please note that many are rated R. Do not choose unless parents approve.

4/1 IB Block Update

History Content

We will be shifting to Cuba this week. Please read through this entire ppt for details.

Cuba Resources (I recognize not everyone has Netflix; not all 10 resources are required.)

1) The Cuba Libre Story: Episode 4: The Ragtag Revolution  (Netflix)
2) Cuba: Guerrillas Take Power 
3) Oxford History of the Americas pg. 244-256
4) A Decade of Revolution in Cuba
5) Oxford Authoritarian States: Consolidation of Power and Domestic Policy of Castro 
6)The Cuba Libre Story: Episode 6: Of Soviets and Saviors (Netflix)
7) CNN: Cold War Cuba 1959-1962
8) Castro: Women and LGBTQ+ ppt 
9) How Should History Remember Fidel Castro? 
10) Castro's Legacy: How the Revolution Inspired and Appalled the World


Internal Assessment 
For those of you who have submitted 3-level outlines and are prepared to move to drafting the Investigation section, here is some guidance.

I will open up a turnitin.com assignment for the drafts. Please do not submit a draft unless you have submitted a 3-level outline and received feedback from me.

3/31 Classics Update

For this weeks OPTIONAL study, we will be looking at Plato's Myth of Er.  While this is optional to look at now, it will be a piece of our required look at the Afterlife that we will use when we return.

This is Book X of Plato's Republic written in the 4th century BCE (about 300ish years after The Odyssey) It is NOT a real myth, Plato wrote his own "myth" to capture his ideas about the afterlife.

We have to look at this before we can continue with The Aeneid, as Aeneas's next stop on his journey will be his visit to the Underworld (But it is not written until 3 centuries AFTER Plato and is Roman).

Just like you did with Homer's Book of the Dead (BK. XI of The Odyssey) you should read this noting details on the nature of the dead and death. As well, as look for similarities and differences in the ideas of Plato  vs. the earlier Homer. (We will then compare them both to Virgil).

I will open a discussion board on turnitin for questions and ideas. This is a VERY complicated text, so it is perfect for clarifying questions and discussion.

3/23 IB HL 2 Update

With the announcement of IB exams being cancelled (see the SHS IB page), I am at a bit of a loss as to how to move forward. We should have information by the end of the week with more details on how scores will be awarded and how we should wrap up the courses.

Until then, if you are interested in moving forward with Vietnam, here is a chapter on Search and Destroy Missions  from an US Army published book on Vietnam Strategy by Lieutenant General John H. Hay, Jr.

3/23 IB 11th Block Update

For our OPTIONAL resources this week we are going to continue exploring 1950s culture.

Here is the Nonconformity ppt that we didn't finish in class, and a direct excerpt from Michael  Harrington's 1960 book The Other America Explore if you choose to.

The ppt. leaves off with a discussion question on The Other America and nonconformists by circumstance. I have opened a class discussion on turnitin.com for you guys to explore your thoughts on The Other America (text book reading from last week or excerpt) or the Levittown Myers reading from last week, or any other ideas on nonconformity by circumstance.

For those wanting to work on the IA, I strongly suggest working on the 3-level Outline and getting feedback before moving on to drafting. Turnitin is still open for 3-level submissions.

3/23 Classics Update

This week, for our OPTIONAL  study we are going to start The Aeneid in World Mythology.

Here is a powerpoint that introduces Virgil the author and give the context to the work that was actually written as a piece of state propaganda for Caesar Augustus.

For this week, we will do Chapters 1-5 (pg. 119), with an OPTIONAL turnitin discussion where I will post some questions that you can respond to or you can pose questions as well.