This week, we are going to be starting our first full unit, which will be based on different economic systems and particularly what it means to have a "liberal" economy. There are a couple things to remember:
The term LIBERAL does not always mean "change." The term liberalism came about during the Enlightenment to support a change to the society at the time. Since we have adopted those liberal/changing values of the Enlightenment, we have become a society based on those principles - which is why we call current society a liberal society. You can "be a conservative" in a liberal society, you can "be a liberal" in a liberal society.
When we talk about liberal societies, we are referring to ones that support human rights, democracy and capitalism.
After Tuesday's class, this should be a little more clear as to what the ideology of liberalism actually means. This will lead us to specifically look at what it means to have economic liberalism - an economy that is based on predominantly around capitalism. This theory, which is the predominant economic theory around the world, is not the only economic theory and we will look at different systems to analyze the pros and cons of different systems. The goal will be to finish this unit before Spring Break.
This week will look like....
Tuesday:
What is Liberalism? Notes and Videos
Notes will be in Google Classroom on Tuesday morning
The important revolutions:
AMERICAN
FRENCH
INDUSTRIAL
Self-Assessment and Exemplars from last week's writing
Wednesday:
Activity - only need your pencil cases :)
Thursday:
Rants by Destiny and Brody
Next Writing Practice
30-1 - second part of Assignment 1 = Relationship between sources
30-2 - first part of Assignment 2 = interpreting sources for a specific question
This week, we will be looking at the last few general ideas and then starting on to economics. We don't have much to finish in regards to general information and we will not be having a test on this section - it will be worked into your other exams 💀. This week, we will be looking at how the values of individualism are seen in Classical Liberalism and how individualism and collectivism are seen in Modern Liberalism.
As we study our first unit in economics, we will see that the ideology that works with economic liberalism is CAPITALISM - remember Adam Smith from last week? Yeah, his ideas. He's pretty important to this section.
We are playing a game. The ONLY thing needed is your pencil case. If you want. You don't even need a pen.
Thursday
Rants by Hannah and Destiny
Interpretation Paragraph #2 - if we don't have time in class, it will be in Google Classroom and will be due on Saturday at midnight (or paper copy at the end of the day Thursday since there is no school on Friday)
Social 30...that wonderful course that you have anticipating for for the last 12 years is finally here, AND it's first thing in the morning! In all actuality, I love Social 30 and it really does have a lot to do with what you will encounter for the rest of your life. It is a great course to get into, if you want to, and can really help you understand how our society functions and to question whether or not how we run things is the best way possible.
I will be doing a "Modified Flipped Classroom", where there will be opportunities for you to deepen your understanding of the course content. What that means is that each week, I will try to put a new blog posting up by Sunday night to outline what we will be doing in the coming week. I will put links to powerpoints, slides, videos, websites, updates into Google Classroom and so on that, over the course of the week, you can look at to enhance your learning of the content. Once my projector is up and running, it is up to you to print off your notes if you want paper copies or to download digital copies to follow on your device. Ideally, the large portion of the intricate content would be what you look up on your own. Now, I know that looking up history is not everybody's cup of tea. However, by doing the background knowledge at home, it allows us to use the time in class to work on your skills to understand the knowledge = you will practice skills that will help you to be successful on your diploma in class, rather than focusing on knowledge. This is not to say that there won't be specific knowledge presented in class; it simply means to gain a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the course, I will provide you with information to help better prepare you.
Videos, such as the one below, are great background knowledge to what life was like before individualism came around that we are definitely not going to be able to cover in class. So, it is up to you whether or not you watch it. But I really think you should :)
This blog will also let you know what we will be doing for the week, so it will be an agenda for what we are to get through.
So what's in store for this week?
Monday
Re-cap notes for Characteristics of Ideologies
Essential component of your project due on March 4
Philosophers of the Enlightenment - the European men who greatly influenced the development of Classical Liberalism
Adam Smith
John Locke
Jean Jacques Rousseau
John Stuart Mill
Thomas Hobbes
Voltaire
Monstesquieu
Karl Marx
Class notes on Philosophers
Tuesday
Principles of Individualism and Collectivism
Kahoot on Philosophers
Philosopher Matching
Friday
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Real-Life Examples
Parts of each of them
How do they affect a political system/government structure
Second Half of Class - Second Writing paragraph so you NEED your computers/iPads/something you can write on and access google drive from
This week is our week that is dedicated to the Cold War and we will probably finish this by next Tuesday at the latest. Which will leave us approximately 3 weeks to cover our economics unit. Since we are finishing up our unit on Dictatorships and the Cold War, next week you will have your test on this unit. This will include all aspects of dictatorships and parts of the Cold War. No clue how many questions it will be, but at least 20.
On another note, if you are really interested in the Cold War, here is a great documentary series that was on CBC.
For the most part of this week, you will be working on a short presentation for your part of the Cold War. That means you should probably be bringing your laptop or tablet every day so you can look up different videos/websites to get extra info on top of what's in your textbook. The article that I handed out to you on Friday and that we read about the start of the Cold War is just extra background knowledge for the Cold War and its origins.
Monday
Go through Potsdam Conference and the beginning of the Cold War
Extra Videos
Work on presentations - There were several different "parts" of the Cold War period. The class will be split into groups of 2-3 people and it is your responsibility to make some sort of presentation (nothing like a video unless you really really want to) to explain your groups part. This can be in the form of a visual presentation, a game, a live-action skit, anything that you think will help everybody remember your topic. These will be presented on THURSDAY. You will have half of Monday's class to work on it, Tuesday all class and be ready for Thursday to present.
Tuesday
Work on presentations - all handouts, questions and anything else needs to be turned into me by WEDNESDAY night so that on Thursday morning before class, I have the opportunity to photocopy anything that needs to be copied for your presentations.
Wednesday
Part 1 of your writing assignment. You can go to the computer lab at 8:00
Thursday
Rants by Taylor and Isaiah
Presentations!!!!
The New Cold War - is it a thing?
Friday
Part 2 of your writing assignments (or parts 2 and 3)
Dictatorships are the very opposite of what a democracy is supposed to be. By their very nature, they have the power and control of an entire nation being held in the hands of one person or a small, elite group. This means that individuals themselves do not matter; what matters is achieving the goals of the nation. Because of this, we would consider dictatorships to be based on collectivism, rather than individualism. In an ideal world, this premise has value in the efficiency aspect. It is far quicker to make decisions when it is only a small group making them, whose "best interests" lie in the greatness of the nation, by doing what the leader(s) see as the best course of action. This means that citizen participation is limited because taking the time to listen to all opinions and reach a consensus on what to do can take TIME = inefficient. In most situations, time isn't that much of an issue, unless it pertains to the safety and security of the nation. In general, people tend to accept the rule of a dictator because it usually brings a feeling of safety (or perceived safety). There is usually a belief that the dictator is benevolent and looking out for the population's best interest. This belief is enhanced through the use of propaganda/media to promote this sentiment. However, there can be a higher degree of safety because of the fact a dictator can act immediately to any security threat. As well, if we look back to Hobbes' ideas, people are selfish and reckless and greedy; therefore, you need strict control of the population to restrict these natural tendencies. Another philosopher that would somewhat agree with the ideas of complete control of the people would be Edmund Burke. Unlike Hobbes, Burke didn't believe that people needed to be controlled. Rather, he looked at political structure from a classical conservative point of view. This means that he was a reactionary. In all, Burke believed that people needed to have a strong leader/government because giving people freedom had proven disastrous, as seen with the French, American and Industrial Revolutions. People, particularly the uneducated masses, were not equipped to make important decisions. As such, you need to have an absolute power (in Burke's time this would have been a monarch) to control and make decisions for the people incapable of doing so.
Remember, there are several different names that can be given to be similar to the idea of dictatorships:
dictatorship
authoritarianism
totalitarianism
oligarchy
monarchy
autocracy
This week, we will be analyzing how dictatorships worked, particularly in Nazi Germany in the 1930s to 1945 and in the USSR from 1924 to 1991. We will briefly touch upon the economic ideas of communism in the USSR, but in the context that shows how the Soviet Union used it as a means to control citizens. After we look at both rejections of liberalism and compare them, we will look at how these rejections led to a World War (namely World War II) and the Cold War, which lasted from approximately 1945-1990 with the fall of communism and eventual disintegration of the Soviet Union. Liberalism did not, and still does not, stand idly by as other systems reject its beliefs; in the case of fascism, World War II was fought and in the case of communism, it was the Cold War.
So what will we be doing this week?
Tuesday:
Dissent Squares Due TODAY
Decide: More focus on projects to go through Hitler/Stalin OR projects as simply comparison?
We will decide tomorrow what you would rather do and pick a due date
Over-view of essays
Partner Re-test
You pick your partner and you will retake the test,without notes or your phones. This will be marked, just won't be worth as much as your individual test
Pick your groups and start researching
Wednesday:
What's in a dictatorship? Notes
Article: How does a democracy change to a dictatorship?
Work on your project
Thursday:
Rants by Kyle and Allia
Practice Writing
A WHOLE assignment will be posted, but you still only need to complete ONE paragraph (if you are in 30-2, you will need to complete one paragraph on each assignment). The difference? You pick what you want feedback on. So if it's defending your opinion, write that. Look at your rubrics from your essays - the areas you did not do well in should be what you ask for feedback on in the next practice essays
Last week, we had been talking about the difference between classical liberalism and modern liberalism and I heard a really good podcast on the radio this weekend explaining the importance of using these terms correctly, it doesn't take long and reviewed a lot of main ideas we have covered in our class so far. To listen, click on the link below:
"The USA was founded in the name of democracy, equality and individual freedom, but is failing to deliver the fundamental promise of protecting rights for all."
It is our human nature to want to feel safe and secure. It is only when you feel safe and secure that you can live your life in freedom. However, in a liberal society, that values rights and freedoms, creating that feeling of security can be a little tricky. The government must make a difficult decision about whether or not to limit rights and freedoms of individuals in the hopes of preserving the democracy long term. The issue with this is whether or not those rights will be reinstated. It is also ironic that the government that is sworn to uphold rights of individuals compromises one of its core values to "save" the democracy. But, the danger is that if the government doesn't take this action, you risk the democracy being taken over by an outside threat and disappearing altogether. So which is the worse threat?
When a democracy actively limits your rights, or any other aspect of liberalism, then it is acting ILLIBERALLY. This is what we will be looking at this week: should our rights and freedoms ever be limited to keep our democracy safe? Are there some situations that are more feasible than others? There are no easy answers to these questions. But it is up to you to decide what role you really think our government should take to reach these goals.
If you haven't watched the 9/11, Patriot Act or Omar Khadr videos from last week, please make sure that you watch them at some point this week.
What are we doing this week?
Monday:
Finish going through Collective Rights
Be sure to bring the booklet of questions/articles that I handed out to you on Friday morning (had the human rights questions on the first page). You will need these for the class
Tuesday:
What are illiberal democracies?
Read the article about illiberalism in the world (Google Classroom)
This video is an example of the issue of illiberal actions in the name of the greater good
Go through the notes on illiberal actions
Censorship
Hate Crimes
Is this justifiable?
Wednesday:
Go through Canada's illiberal past
The War Measures Act - YOU NEED YOUR TEXTBOOKS FOR THIS CLASS. You can click on the link for the War Measures Act as well for more information
Compare the WMA to the US Patriot Act
Thursday:
Rant by Katelyn
Finish WMA and Patriot Act
Individual Case Studies - YOU WILL NEED YOUR LAPTOP OR DEVICE FOR CLASS FOR SURE TODAY
Friday:
Look at dissent
dis·sent
dəˈsent/
verb
1.
hold or express opinions that are at variance with those previously, commonly, or officially expressed.
"two members dissented from the majority"
noun
1.
the expression or holding of opinions at variance with those previously, commonly, or officially held.
