In order to really understand any people and time period, it's important to look, not just at secondary sources, but at primary sources as well. Rather than having you purchase an expensive supplemental reader for this class, I will post here links to some important primary sources online. For most class sessions, I will ask you to comment here on a selection particularly relevant to what we will be discussing in class.To get started, here's a test of the History 152 blog system. If you don't already have one, please create for yourself a Google account by following the instructions at https://accounts.google.com. Blogger is linked to Google, and you *should* be able to use the Google account attached to your NSU e-mail address. That doesn't always work, and you may have to set up an independent account.
When you can log-in to blogger, click the "comments" link below, and answer each of the following questions:
- What figure from American history do you find the most interesting? Why?
- What is the most important thing you learned in your high school American history classes?
- What historical time period most interests you? Why?
1. The figure from American history I find most interesting is Frederick Douglass. During my sophomore year of college I read a letter/paper of his work. For an enslaved man who taught himself how to read and write I thought his ideas were powerful. I was not the only who thought so because he inspired others to seek freedom through the underground railroad.
ReplyDelete2. My U.S. History class was awhile ago. Although, the most important thing I learned would have to be the importance of the industrial revolution. That period of time in U.S. History helped shape our modern world. I also find it interesting how many people sacrificed their health and time just to put food on the table for their families during that period.
3. The historical period that most interests me is during the Cold War and Vietnam War (1950's-1990's). My grandparents were alive and even drafted into these conflicts. I would like to better understand what life was like for them during those times of intense turmoil with other countries.
1. Someone I find interesting in American history has to be Marsha P. Johnson. It is a rather overshadowed piece of history (in comparison to more notable events), but rights being acquired by the queer community due to her work as a transgender activist ultimately affect me as a trans adult. My interest stems directly from that; if it were not for her and other activists at Stonewall, I would have to hide my identity.
ReplyDelete2. U.S. History in high school did not get too into any implications that happened as a result of events. It more so was just a form of "here's what happened, let's move on to the next thing." I suppose in hindsight, this in turn taught me that everything in history has implications. Why did something happen, what can occur as a result from this, and how did it affect our trajectory as a society? My teacher was good at her job, but I ended up researching history on my own. I arguably preferred that, because nuance is always there in these historical events. If I'm taught a certain story, there's a worryingly large change of information being left out, either on purpose or intentionally.
3. I find both the early 2000's and the Cold War era as interesting historical periods. The early 2000's is not talked about too much, and one major reason is the fact that many textbooks were made a while back. Because of that, most events that happened at this time are only documented through more modern forms of media (which can include up-to-date textbooks, which is rare for high schools to have unfortunately). It also marks the change we had to face as a society with technology advancing rapidly and the internet becoming mainstream. The Cold War is interesting, too, for a similar reason with technology. This time marks a warning for us later in the future (should we toy with nuclear power, and potentially hold on to a weapon of mass destruction? Or maybe this power could be used for the better, as nuclear fusion is an incredibly clean energy source?). I like these historical eras equally, and that's ultimately why I can't say one is more interesting than the other.