Ara Chafai

Film Lesson: Dr.Zhivago

2008-01-14T14:13:00.000-08:00

The Film "Dr. Zhivago" was about the Revolution of Russia and how the people were under communistic control during this Revolution.

The Russian Revolution was caused by a violent struggle of power between the anti-government and the Czar of Russia. In December 1904 the people of Russia fought for their needed rights which was known as Bloody Sunday. When Dr. Zhivagogot returned home after a long and tiresome stay with the armies of Russia, he got a first hand look at Communism. The government had put many families into his home, because that is the idea of Communism, everyone shares. In the end of the Russian Revolution the Constitutional Democratic Party.

Joseph Stalin and Totalitarianism

2008-01-11T07:46:00.000-08:00

Joseph Stalin was born on December 21, 1879. His name was originaly Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, he later changed his name to Stalin which means "Man Of Steel". Joseph Stalin took over the Soviet Union when he was the secretary general of the Communist Party in Russia. Stalin was in charge of the Police during the Cold War. Stalin was always considered a dictator because of the million's of lives taken away when he the leader of Russia.

Totalitarianism is a state that regulates every public and private behavior.

Causes of WW I

2008-01-04T07:54:00.000-08:00

On June 28 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne was assassinated by Serbia nationalist Gavrilo Princip while on a formal trip to Sarajevo. Unbeknown at the time, this assassination would be the breaking point between the already tense and nationalistic European countries during this era.
Many countries inside Europe had strong nationilistic feelings, they believed that their country was greater than the next. Countries wanted to prove who was the best, they all wanted to go to war in someway or another. The assisnation of franz Ferdinand gave a reason to Autria-Hungary to go to war with a smaller country(Serbia). Serbia was nationalistic as well, they were upset because of a prior war in which land was lost. The assisnation was not the only cause of the war.

"The Opium Wars"

2007-12-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

In the 1830's, the English had become major drug-trafficking criminals. They primarily hit China with the drug Opium. Through merchants the English people smuggled this drug into China to give to all the people, this created a country full of drug-addicts. The Chinese emperor wrote a letter to the queen of England asking her why she was allowing his country to become this way, when frankly she would not tolerate it in her own. The English queen did not respond well, especially after the Chinese choose to block English way ports into their country, this started the Opium wars. In the end the English won, because of their technologically advanced ships and weapons. The Chinese suffered a humiliating defeat and the emperor was forced to sign a treaty legalizing Opium in China.

"The White Man's Burden"

2007-12-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

The White Man's Burden" reflects the views in which the white man has duties and responsibilities in his life, relating to the poem, the white man's duty is to convert the Philippines into a civilized democratic place to live which was a difficult task for the white man. The people of this period, especially in the West saw it as poetic representation of the white man's job to enlighten the world. It was his duty to the world to take over other nations and show them the "right" way of rule, as he say it acceptable.

"The Scramble for Africa"

2007-12-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

The scramble of Africa is all about the time when different nations and there leaders tried to conquer different countries that where in Africa. In 1400s the Portuguese started to trade at the coastline of Africa. In 1600s the Dutch established trade in the southwestern tip of Africa.

Film Lesson: "Mountains of the Moon"

2007-12-03T15:47:00.000-08:00

When Europeans began to explore Africa they faced many challenges. When the Europeans traveled through Africa the natives who were all dark skinned and who had never before seen "white men" were scared and attacked them. The native tribes also did not like the fact that the Europeans were invading there territory. Europeans employed Africans to join them as workers on there expeditions, but soon some of the Africans took there supplies and fled camp, so the European travelers were stranded sometimes without there necessary supplies.

When the discovery of the source of the Nile river was made, the founders were from England, and there queen was named Victoria, so they thought they would honoring her by naming the 3rd largest lake in the world after her.

Europeans were able to take over Africa easily because of there machine guns, the African tribes only had bows and arrows whilst the Europeans had these machine guns that could kill people by the thousands.

The Meiji Restoration of Japan

2007-11-27T07:48:00.000-08:00

The Meiji Restoration was a chain of events that occurred and led up to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure. It happened during the end of the 19Th century. The changes of Japan were a direct response to the witness of the Black Ships Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy.

The Black Ships was the name given to Western ships arriving in Japan, The name refers mainly to Mississippi, Plymouth, Saratoga, and Susquehanna. The word Black was given because it refers to the black color of the sails and the coal emerging from the ships into the sky.

Matthew Perry's military training put him a good position to negotiate a treaty allowing American trade with Japan. People usually refers to his strong negotiation skills toward the Japanese as "bullying" but he was simply verbally aggressive and forward, if you can call that "bullying then he did what he had to do. Before this Japan only traded with a few small groups for about 200 years.

From this exchange Japan realized that things where missing from there economy and they needed to catch up. Japan began by sending statesmen go to other countries such as Europe and north America and learn the views of life and how foreigners look at life and beyond. Japan decided to replace there feudal system with newer and fresher ideas such thus from western countries. An industrial change took place, factories and ships started to flourish and grow into a mass production industry. Japan soon turned into a great and modernized place in which now is the largest mass production country in the world.

Karl Marx and Communism

2007-11-19T13:39:00.000-08:00

Communism: the doctrine of the conditions of the liberation of the proletariat. The proletariat is a class in society which lives from the sale of its labor and does not draw profit from any kind of capital. The proletariat, or the class of proletarians, is, in a word, the working class of the 19Th century. There was one person who hated the treatment of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie, and his name was Karl Marx.

Karl Marx despised capitalism, he envisioned a world where everyone could be treated equally and without favoritism between anyone. He wanted no social classes to exist, he wanted evey person to have the same amount of money, same amount of everything. Every public building was owned by the state or government, no privet ownership. Karl Marx believed that eventually governments would fade out because of the equal sharing and responsible society. Marx's idea in theory was a great one, but when laid out in plan as a society it failed to accomplish high expectations.

Marx believed that the good guys were communists and the bad ones were the people who wanted capitalism. He thought that his ideas were the ideas of the future, that was true for Russia for about 70 years until it could not keep up with capitalism demands. It was a good idea for a great utopia but laid out it would eventually lead the world into a negative one.

Karl Marx and the Industrial Revolution

2007-11-18T10:10:00.000-08:00

Karl Marx was a Political economist and revolutionary. His ideas were radical, they went against the Industrial Revolution for many reasons. He felt that the Industrial Revolution was hazardous and political incorrect. He argued that workers should be in control of farms and mass production factories instead of high society landlords. He once shouted that workers of the world should unite in a "world wide revolution."

Marx believed that wealth should be equally shared between a Communist society, the word communist the abolition of power of people over people, "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs", said Marx.

One of the main things that stands out about the industrial revolution was the extreme poverty and the poor in which people lived. Marx did not like the way the revolution treated people who struggled to work. He wanted to change things for the better. He described Communists as those who best understood the class struggle. Marx thought that the lower class understood pain, struggle, and suffering which would get them united and a revolution unlike no other to cease the new day.

Nationalism and the creation of Italy

2007-10-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

Nationalism means devotion and loyalty to one's own nation; patriotism. I am nationalistic in a way that on the fourth of July I wave the American flag frantically around. I also show my patriotism for this great country by not blowing up any buildings and/or a group of people. One last way I show my patriotism is by not telling people to avoid paying there taxes and/or parking tickets.

The nation of Italy was created by the patriotism of all the people combined. In Italy the Italian people united to become one nation and rise up from their broken [literally] past. This was established when the city-states gathered in groups and realize that they had the same vision in two different ways and formed Italy in its most national way.

Simon Bolivar and Latin American Revolutions

2007-10-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

Simon Bolivar was possibly one of the greatest South American generals. His victories over the Spanish rulers won Bolivia, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela there awaited freedom. He is called El Liberator (The Liberator) for his work and many great accomplishments.

Simon Bolivar was born in July 24, 1783, in Venezuela. His parents died when he was a child leaving him a wondrous fortune. As a young man he loved to explore and fulfilled his yearning for adventure by traveling and seeing Europe.

He joined a group of patriots that took control of Caracas in 1810 and announced independence from Spain. He then traveled to Great Britain to search for help but came out with a promise of British neutrality. He returned to Venezuela and took control of a patriot army, he re-captured Caracas in 1813 from the Spaniards.

The Spaniards forced Bolivar to run from Venezuela to New Granada [Columbia] also at war with Spain. He recruited Colombian force and captured Bogota in 1814. The patriots lacked men and supplies. New loses led Simon to flee to Jamaica. In Haiti he gathered a group that landed in Venezuela in 1816, and took Angostra (now Ciudad Bolivar). He also became dictator there.

Bolivar marched into New Granada in 1819. He defeated the Spaniards in Boyar in 1819, liberating the territory of Colombia. He then returned to Angostura and led the congress that organized the original republic of Colombia (now Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela). Bolivar became its first president on December 17, 1819. His reign of winnings was not yet over, he was still to conquer many places and become one of the greatest generals to live

Robespierre and The Reign of Terror

2007-09-28T07:03:00.000-07:00

Before the the start of the democracy the French Revolution promised there came a period known as The Reign of Terror, this era came about because there was a power-struggle between the different groups in France at the time. One group arose atop all and they were named the Jacobins, there mission was to rid the streets of Paris of anyone connected to the Old Regime.

The Jacobins way off eliminating the competition was by way of the famous French execution machine know as the guillotine the Jacobins cut the heads off of anyone they thought might be against them and there ideas. King Louis XVI was found guilty of treason by the Jacobins and his head was cut off in public for everyone to see

Maximilien Robespierre also known as the Master of the Terror was one of the most recognizable people in France's fight for democracy. Robespierre was a cruel dictator that thought the best possible way to be the head was to chop off someone else's. There was terror that gripped France, because of Robespierre. Eventually People grew tired of Robespierre cutting people's heads off. A conspiracy was organized against Robespierre by the government. He was arrested and his head was cut off accompanied by the shouts of happiness coming from the french people. The Reign of Terror was over.

The French Revolution: Social Causes

2007-09-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

The French Revolution was a major transformation of the society and political system of France, it lasted from the years 1789 to 1799. During the course of the French Revolution, France was transformed temporarily from the absolute monarchy that had ruled for ages, where the king had all power, to a republic of free elightened and equal citizens. The effects of the French were one that resulted in it being one of the most important events in the history of Europe.

Before the Revolution there were three classes, The first estate which made up one percent of the population was made up of Catholic clergy. This class had much say and control over government decisions. The second estate was made up of nobles and consisted of two percent of the population. They were also powerful but did not have as much say as the Catholic Clergy. The third and last estate housed merchants, commoners, peasants and farmers, they made up ninety-eight percent of the France's population. The third estate was the poorest, they had to pay the most taxes, which was almost fifty percent, While the other two classes got some leeway when it came to payment of taxes. There were reasons beyond unfair taxation that led to the French Revolution, like Poor Economic Situations, High Unemployment and high bread prices as well as the king at the time of the French Revolution was weak.

The French Revolution was greatly effected by the enlightenment and the great thinkers behind it. The Enlightenment and liberal thought which Voltaire and Diderot emphasized such as. Toleration and Natural rights. The 3rd estate took this things in consideration when they realized that there needed to be a changed in France because after all the Revolution was thus a battle to achieve equality and remove oppression.

On July 14, 1789 an angry French mob stormed the Bastille. Located in Paris, the Bastille was a prison, housing a dozen prisoners at the time. However, rumors flew through Paris that there were guns and firearms stored there to overthrow the new National Assembly. They were very suspicious of the king and his intentions. When word spread that the King's troops stood around the city of Paris, angry residents looked toward the Bastille. In the morning of July 14, 1789, people gathered outside the prison. As the mob came forward the Bastille, there came orders to open fire. One hundred Parisians were killed when they did. Realizing the numbers the warden surrendered, and the king withdrew the troops, and so the dawn of an era.

Copernicus and the trial of Galileo

2007-09-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

There are two theories that had pulled people in the scientific revolution. One was the Geocentric theory explains that the center off the universe is the earth and that all other planets and the sun revolve around it. This theory was stated by Plotomy of ancient Greece. This theory came before the correct idea which is known as the Heliocentric theory. This theory which arrived during the scientific revolution claims that the sun is the center of the universe and that the earth along with all other planets orbit around it.
Galileo Galile was a scientist who was greatly known during the scientific revolution. He proved many ideas that were once stated by earlier scientists were wrong. He believed in the Copernican Planetary System. He was summoned in by the inquisition [holy office] to withdraw his stance on the universal placing of the earth and the sun. The Church of course believed in the geocentric theory. They sentenced Galileo to life imprisonment but after his plea of change they changed his sentencing to life in house arrest.

Scientific Revolution: Scientific Method

2007-09-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

The scientific revolution was a time of great discoveries and changes. Before this people believed whatever previous facts scientists stated without needing actual proof of the existence of the so called ''fact''. Then when the scientific revolution began questions began to be asked. Does the bible have all the correct answers that we need?, did the scientists who stated these theories have a way to back it up? how can we know for sure?. Eventually curiosity got the better of these people and new experiments began to take place.
An example of this is when a scientist named Galileo went up to the top the Leaning Tower of Pigza and dropped stones of different weight and proportions to the bottom [as legend says]. When he saw that the stones even though they were of different sizes fell together and landed together, he realized that what Aristotle's theory explained was wrong. Aristotle's belief was that heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects. When he was proved wrong people began to go into full change mood and thus more theories were proven and others that were wrong were dismissed.

EVOLOUTION VS CREATION

2007-09-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

There are two theories that have plagued man kind for generations. They are the theory of evolution and creation. These theories have many contributions from different opinions.
Evolution is the notion believed by Charles Darwin and many others that all life on earth have the same ancestors. Through the years generations of species have passed down there traits and adaptions to the next generation. Over time the accumulated inheritance of genetic mutations thus form a new species the is different from the original ancestor but contain some of the same traits.
Creation on the other hand says that all ''souls'' were created with time and care, meaning that religions plays a very important part in this belief. Creationist's believe that there is a higher authority that plays out what comes to earth. God had created each animal, each flower, each tree and person for a reason and sent them to earth. Both sides of this theory have been having debates for a long while as to who is right.