Posted by sikenberry in Uncategorized
4/ I’ve learned a good deal from FPRI over the years. They are a moderate to conservative foreign policy think tank based in Philadelphia, who make a strong effort to reach out to teachers. They have great conferences, all over the country,and usually they archive their talks, so they can be used for flipped classes or extra credit. They also sponsor trips to Japan, Korea….. so if they are not on your radar, they should be.
5/ Travel: There are so many opportunities to travel: A yearly tour of Germany sponsored by the Goethe Foundation TOP program is one of the best. 
Some years, not this year unfortunately, the Turkish Cultural Foundation sponsors a trip to Turkey  they have some helpful resources on their page.
The UK Parliament Education group has an annual event and each year they allow two Americans to attend. http://www.parliament.uk/education/teacher-training-cpd-opportunities/teachers-institute/And there are many more…. I have colleagues who have been to Korea, to Saudi Arabia,
I hope at least one of these ideas proves useful.
This is a lesson I developed for use with the essay by this name found in Davidson and Lytle’s After the Fact. It seemed to work well, perhaps just because it is so different from my more usual fare:
“From Rosie to Lucie”
We’ll answer these questions in small groups and then share the results: In your group take about 15 minutes to read or watch video . Be ready to talk about the questions I’ve asked as well as the group question at the end.
1/ Women as part of the War Effort:
Rosie the Riveter: =AE2z_N1fM5E=WNQ9q4zsmSA
How much of a departure was women in the workforce during the second world war How did the media depict the women who contributed to the workforce? What would women who participated in the war effort feel about leaving their jobs at the end of the war?
2/ In The Feminine Mystique (1963)Betty In 1957, Friedan was asked to conduct a survey of her former Smith College classmates for their 15th anniversary reunion; the results, in which she found that many of them were unhappy with their lives as housewives, prompted her to begin research for The Feminine Mystique, conducting interviews with other suburban housewives, as well as researching psychology, media, and advertising. Freidan expressed the frustration of American women forced back into domestic roles after tasting freedom during World War II
Why do you think this book became so widely read?
What thoughts do you have on this 2013 critique of the book in the Atlantic Magazine?
In terms of the statistics did women stop being in the workforce, or did the jobs they held change? What happened?
3/ Looking at “I Love Lucy”, what message does it deliver about women in the Post-War US?
http://www.criticalcommons.org/Members/ashleysy/clips/tv-housewives-does-i-love-lucy-a-feminist-strain
Does this 1959 clip have a feminist strain? Does it presage Betty Friedan? Or is it as Patricia Mellencamp suggests is it “Containment operated through laughter” that “might have worked to have held women in their place”
4/ Looking at “The Honeymooners”
=fWei1aFDUU8 (1956)
The Honeymooners was retro in a number of ways. The other family sit-coms showed families in small towns or in the newly developing suburbs. But this sit-com was based in a crowded apartment in the city– more an image of the depression than the l950s. How would you analyze the first ten minutes of this show in terms of women’s roles. …
Question for everyone: As potential historians how should we evaluate the media that is contemporary to period we study: Do images and expectations of people in media show cultural “domination” or “reflection” (358 – 60).
In other words do the media show the historian what people thought/think?
Or do they strongly influence what people thought/ think ?
I’ve been remiss in updating this blog. I have not been teaching AP US government this year, but a section has been reassigned to me next year, so I’ll begin updating what I have and will post everything that’s original here:
Meanwhile I thought I’d post one idea that I use for AP US history that could easily be adapted to US Government or to AP European:
Students listen to book talks for extra credit. You’ll find a ton of book talks on C-SPAN’s book TV, or you can look up othe sources. Around here (Washington, DC) we use Politics and Prose, which has its own site and its own You-Tube channel. I just gave a few samples on the attachment, but on my in-house website, I have many, many more to choose from. I try to encourage students to listen to something that’s more or less current to wha they are studying. Eager students sometimes listen in conjunction to class, and it works exceedingly well to have them comment on a book that is germane to class.
Extra Credit Book talks:
I use book talks to boost grades a bit, and to get students in the habit of finding books on line, but they can be used for flpped classes as well, or to supplement a book review…
Questions for book talks: Use these questions as the basis of an informal, but well-written paper:
Washington, DC where we are based, is a great place for book talks and lectures, so consider that you have the opportunity to take advantage of the city by attending a lecture or book talk. You can also watch a book talk or panel discussion on C-SPAN or elsewhere. I have a number of possible talks listed. At any time you’re looking for extra credit, if you are using an online talk, try to stay close to the period we’re studying. You get double-credit if you actually attend the book talk or a panel discussion.
Write-up the following questions as an essay.
Where did you go? Or What did you watch?
What kind of event was it? (Book talk, lecture, and panel…)
Who is the speaker? (*Or who were the speakers…)
What are the speaker’s credentials?
Write up a brief summary of what the speaker or author said:
What stood out for you in terms of what he or she said?
What was new or unusual or contrarian about his or her remarks?
Was there new evidence supporting his/her conclusions?
*If you go to a panel: answer these in a bit less detail for all participants, and comment on the moderator. What role does he or she play? Who was the speaker who stood out for you and why?
Other things to consider:
Who was in the audience? (Gender, age…)
What sorts of questions did the speaker get?
How well did he/she handle the questions?
Were there questions that were more comments (rants!) than questions?
What did you learn from the questions?
Did the talk make you eager to learn more? Can you buy the book?
Or will you look up his or her work?
Why/Why not?
And, you never know who you might run into…
If you choose a lecture: explain who all the signficant speakers are, what are their credentials, what is their point of view, and what are the main areas in which they disagree?
What did you come away having learned from this lecture?