Special Topics 1B - Autumn 2022 - Homework and Study Guide
Instructor: Dennis Riches
"Cold
Wars" and Contemporary History
Final Project
The final project consists of a research report performed as a multi-media presentation. Students will write an original script and perform the narration for the presentation, or speak extemporaneously while referring to notes and slides. Students will choose one civil war/independence movement of modern history (1900-2022) to study in detail. You can focus on one of the topics covered in class and go into it in more detail, or you can choose a topic not covered by the teacher.
The presentations will be done in the last class or the last two classes of the semester. Students should finish their first drafts by December 16th so that the teacher can give feedback before the final presentation.
Possible
Themes
sovereignty of indigenous people
post-colonial struggles
post-independence struggles against neo-colonialism
settlers vs. indigenous people vs. metropolitan government
struggles based on ideology
internal revolts, insurgencies, revolutions (not based always on the
goal of regional independence)
How to submit files to the teacher
To send me homework by e-mail,
send it in an MSWord file as an attached file. Other formats, such as
Powerpoint (.pptx), are possible, but .docx is the most common one for
documents. Please give a file name with this format, with the hyphens:
your <last name-your first
name-year-month-day.docx>
for example: tanaka-saburo-2022-12-21.docx
The date should be the date you send the attachment. If you send another draft later, use a new date so it will be easy for me to see which file is the most recent one.
When I return your homework by email, you will see my corrections in it in red font in an MSWord file. Please read this IMPORTANT DOCUMENT that explains how to use the reviewing and editing features of MSWord: How to Track Changes and Accept Changes in MSWord.
Alternative
Media
to follow
Many of the topics we cover in this course are covered regularly in
the following alternative media sites. Everyone knows about the
mainstream media sites, so you can go to those if you like.
To succeed at a course like this, you have to develop a reading habit. Try to find articles which interest you in these alternative sources, and prepare to discuss what you learn from them during class time.
Nippon.com (日 本語&English)
Peace Philosophy Centre (日 本語)
Peace Philosophy Centre (English)
Physicians
for Social Responsibility
The teacher's blogs
https://nf2045.blogspot.com
https://dennisriches.wordpress.com/
Teacher's YouTube channel (videos with English subtitles for English learners)
Tools for research
Online sources students can use to create lists of resources in MLA, APA or Chicago style:
The Online Writing Lab of Purdue University