Our next Zoom session will take place on June 8th from 4-5 pm. It will use the same meeting ID and password published on Week Seven's blog post.
This week's topic is protest in US history. Protest in the form of the Boston Tea Party in colonial America is part of parcel of every young child's history lessons in the United States. Learn here what the Boston Tea Party was and answer the questions that follow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cT_Z0KGhP8
1. What spurred the 1767 tax laws imposed on those living in the colonies in what would become the United States?
2. What was the Boston Massacre?
3. How did Americans react to the 1773 Tea Act?
4. What did the Coercive Act (referred to as "Intolerable Acts" in US history books) of 1774 do?
Have a look at this footage of over 100 years of various US protests to get an overview of some of the US' most significant protests: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8T51lWGrh0
Coming on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and the 1960s, the late-60s/early-70s are known for being times of protest and influenced protest movements around the globe. Read the following article on student protests against the war in Vietnam and answer the accompanying questions:
1. Why were students protesting Dow Chemical during the Vietnam War?
2. What students were most likely to be drafted to enter the Vietnam War?
3. What are teach-ins and sit-ins?
4. What form did the cultural and political backlash to these student protests take?
Protest songs had a tremendous influence on the culture of the 1960s and 1970s, but their influence is not limited to that era. Watch the following video on the evolution of protest songs in US history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLc5QJsMgvw&t=301s
Select a song referenced in the video and listen to it in full (it might also help to look up the lyrics themselves). What makes the song a protest text?
Finally, consider how you would respond to the following exam-like question: How have protest songs influenced and shaped pop culture in the United States?
Many of you will have seen lockdown protests taking place all over the United States. Watch the following video on these protests and answer the accompanying questions:
1. What is meant by government overreach?
2. What is Operation Gridlock?
3. Who is showing up to the protests?
4. Who is organizing these protests?
5. What does the journalist mean by Trump offering "tacit" support to the protests?
6. You'll notice a yellow flag showing up again and again at these protests. What is this yellow flag and how has it been used in US history?
Read the following article for context on lockdowns and lockdown protests in the United States. Then, watch the first video featured in the body of the text and pay attention to the visuals (signs, clothing, etc.) that you see represented at the protests. What stand out to you as noteworthy artefacts of these protests?
The majority of Americans feel that public protest is effective ( https://www.statista.com/statistics/757961/public-political-protest-effectiveness/ ). How would you go about empirically investigating whether this stance was true or not? (Remember: defining "effective" in quantifiable terms is essential!) Why do you think most Americans believe that public protest is effective?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.