Homework:

Enjoy the summer holidays.

Today’s class:

1. Hand in your essay
2. Exam.

Homework:

Finish writing your final essay.

• Final essay should be 800-1000 words (excluding the bibliography).
• The topic can be any topic connected with British history in the 19th century.
• Choose something you are interested.
• Choose something you want to find out about.
• Your essay title should be a question, e.g. “Why did Britain become so rich in the 19th century?”, “Why did prices fall and wages double in the 19th century?” , “Why was compulsory education introduced in Britain?” etc.

Today’s class:

Rules for writing:

1. Format:
   1. Double-spaced?
   2. Indent-style paragraphs?
   3. Nice big indent (at least 5 characters, 10 is ok)
   4. At least 5 paragraphs?
   5. At least 3 items in the bibliography?
   6. One item must be the textbook. Use your MLA Guildebook
   7. Reference in the body of the essay?
2. Everything in your essay, including the bibliography, must be in Roman letters only.
   1. If you used Japanese sources, write them in Roman lettes. Don’t translate them!
3. Don’t use contractions like  “don’t, aren’t, isn’t, it’s, they’re” etc.
4. Don’t write names in ALL CAPITALS. It’s like shouting.
5. Don’t being a sentence with “And, So, But, Because”. Use “In addition,” “However,”  “Therefore,”. Or combine with the previous sentence to make a single sentence (and keep the “and, so, but or because”).
6. Give your opinion with evidence: facts, numbers, etc.
7. Say where you got the information from.
8. Make sure your introductory (first) paragraph has the outline of your essay.

Homework:

Choose the topic for your final essay and start writing.

• Final essay should be 800-1000 words (excluding the bibliography).
• The topic can be any topic connected with British history in the 19th century.
• Choose something you are interested.
• Choose something you want to find out about.
• Your essay title should be a question, e.g. “Why did Britain become so rich in the 19th century?”, “Why did prices fall and wages double in the 19th century?” , “Why was compulsory education introduced in Britain?” etc.

Today’s class:

Rules for writing:

1. Don’t use contractions like  “don’t, aren’t, isn’t, it’s, they’re” etc.
2. Don’t write names in ALL CAPITALS. It’s like shouting.
3. Don’t being a sentence with “And, So, But, Because”. Use “In addition,” “However,”  “Therefore,”. Or combine with the previous sentence to make a single sentence (and keep the “and, so, but or because”).
4. Give your opinion with evidence: facts, numbers, etc.
5. Say where you got the information from.

Homework:

Choose the topic for your final essay and start writing.

• Final essay should be 800-1000 words (excluding the bibliography).
• The topic can be any topic connected with British history in the 19th century.
• Choose something you are interested.
• Choose something you want to find out about.
• Your essay title should be a question, e.g. “Why did Britain become so rich in the 19th century?”, “Why did prices fall and wages double in the 19th century?” , “Why was compulsory education introduced in Britain?” etc.

Today’s class:

1. What is
   1. capitalism? A: An economic system with private ownership of the means of production. “Capitalism is an economic system in which trade, industry, and the means of production are controlled by private owners with the goal of making profits.”  (Wikipedia)
   2. socialism? A: “Socialism is a social and economic system characterised by social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy.”  (Wikipedia)
2. Why  and how did the bicycle give women more freedom?
3. Why did prices fall and wages double?
4. Why did women (and children) stop working in the mines?
5. What kind of jobs did women do in the 19th century?
6. What did women do before the bicyle was invented?
7. Why is football called football in Britain but soccer everywhere else?

Homework:

Read pages 154 (“Changes in Thinking”) -156 (“The Storm Clouds of War”)

Today’s class:

1. Presentation on pages 151 – 154 (up to changes “Changes in Thinking”).
   1. Today’s presentation was quite good, but speaking speed is still a little fast. And presenters, please LOOK at your audience to see how they are doing. Otherwise you seem very unfriendly. A presentation is communication, that means 2-way not 1-way.
2. Analytical tools. These are useful for analyazing any text.
   1. What is the root meaning of a word? For example, “socialism” or “capitalism”.
      1. Look it up for yourself. Don’t rely on what other people tell you.
      2. To understand the root meaning of a Japanese word, I look at the Chinese character. For example, the Japanese word for “man” is made up of 2 Chinese characters that mean “rice field” and “power”. So a man is “the power of the rice-field” in Japanese.
   2. Key questions:
      1. Voluntary co-operation or compulsory co-operation?
      2. Who benefits? (Cui bono?)
      3. Who pays?
3. Let’s look at some sentneces in the textbook and analyze them with our questions:
   1. p. 151: “prices fell by 40% and real wages doubled.”
      1. Is this voluntary or compulsory co-operation? (A: voluntary co-operation)
      2. Who benefits? (A: everyone, but especially lower-middle-class and working-class people.)
      3. Who pays? (A: consumers.)
   2. p. 151: “Most homes now had gas both for heating and lighting.”
      1. Is this voluntary or compulsory co-operation? (A: voluntary co-operation)
      2. Who benefits? (A: everyone, but especially lower-middle-class and working-class people.)
      3. Who pays? (A: consumers. But don’t forget the industrialists and engineers who made this technology possible and paid for its creation. Also, don’t forget the capitalists who provided the capital (and where did the capital come from? That’s right: savings.)
         

Homework:

Read pages 151-3, up to “The importance of sport” .

Today’s class:

1. Presentation on pages 148-150.
2. Students asked some good questions last week. Here are some of them:
   1. Why did Britain have so many colonies around the world?
      1. To answer this, first we must ask “what colonies did Britain have?”
         1. Canada, India, South Africa, Egypt, Sudan, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand.
      2. Then, we examine the different original reasons and motives people had for going to these different places.
      3. There were several key reasons for colonies:
         1. exploration and adventure
         2. gold (silver, diamonds, treasure, money)
         3. trade – new markets and new resources
         4. war – because several countries were travelling and exploring and trading and looking for gold, etc., there were fights between them which sometimes led to wars. In these wars, the local people became involved (sometimes the local people started the wars), and the winners of the war often got land as a reward.
         5. land and a new life with new freedom (sometimes religious freedom) – some people went to other countries to start a new life (e.g. in Canada, Australia, South Africa, places where the weather was not so different from Britain. They became farmers. Some became rich.
         6. to spread Christianity – I did not mention this today, but Christian missionaries from many different countries followed the explorers and soldiers to bring Christianity to the natives. I’m sure you know about Francis Xavier, for example, who visited many countries, including Japan.

   Continue reading As1, wk10, June 20th 2014 →

Homework:

Read pages 148-150.

Today’s class:

1. Presentation on pages 144-6.
2. Extra points:
   1. Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth I were two queens who had similar reigns:
      1. Long reign (Queen Elizabeth 50 years, Queen Victoria just over 60 years)
      2. Elizabeth never married; Victoria married but her husband, Prince Albert, died young.
      3. A flowering of artistic and scientific invention during their reigns
      4. Development of British military strength (and wars) during their reigns
   2. Two movies have been made about the Zulu Wars:
      1. Zulu – about the Battle of Rorke’s Drift which the British won, and
      2. Zulu Dawn – about the Battle of Isandlwana, which the British lost.
3. The British Empire brought some benefits to the countries it conquered:
   1. Military protection, military training and discipline – in many countries, the native people were impressed by the discipline, bravery and fairness of the British, especially by British victories by small numbers of troops against much larger native armies. How did they do it? Training, discipline and superior weapons.
   2. Military force also brought peace and law and order to areas which had otherwise only had intermittent fighting and no rule of law.
   3. The British also brought trade and offered the British and Eruopean and Empire markets to the new colonies.

Have something to say? Let me know in the comments (or send me a private email).

The latest presentation schedule for this semester is here:AS1_Schedule

Homework:

Read pages  144 in the textbook (from “Queen and monarch”) to the bottom of page 147.

Today’s class:

1. Presenters: give your listeners time to read the text and take notes; help your listeners by repeating the key points several times, especially at the end of your presentation. Also, allow time for questions.
2. What is the difference between Tory (Conservative) and Whig (Liberal) philosophy? Philosopher Herbert Spencer (1820 – 1903) wrote in The Man Versus the State （1884年）  『人間対国家』:

“Most of those who now pass as Liberals, are Tories of a new type…the intrinsic natures of Toryism and Liberalis…  the two political parties at first stood respectively for two opposed types of social organization… these two are definable as the system of compulsory cooperation and the system of voluntary cooperation.” (chapter 1 “The New Toryism”).

What did you think of today’s class? Did you enjoy it? How much did you understand? Let me know in the comments (or send me a private email).

The latest presentation schedule for this semester is here:AS1_Schedule

Homework:

Read pages 142 (from “From 1846…”) o 144 in the textbook (up to “Queen and monarch”).

Today’s class:

1. Don’t believe the textbook, and don’t believe your instructor: after all, he’s British! So of course he’s going to say that Britain is great, the British Empire was great, etc. Think for yourself. Ask your questions.
2. Look at the cartoon on p. 140. It is not a photograph. It is an opinion, not fact. The cartoonist wants you to feel sorry for the women and children, and to feel hate for the lazy, rich people at the top of the picture. But…
   1. Why are the children working?
   2. Who created the jobs?
   3. The cartoon is titled “Capital and labour”. What is capital?
3. Look at the picture on p. 141.
   1. Who is the man in the middle of the picture?
   2. Who is the man  sitting in the chair at the far right?
   3. Look at the man with his legs sticking out, sitting near Mr. Gladstone. Look at the line under his feet. What is this line for?

What did you think of today’s class? Did you enjoy the discussion? Did you enjoy taking part? Would you like to have more discussions in future? Let me know in the comments (or send me a private email).

The latest presentation schedule for this semester is here:AS1_Schedule

Homework:

Read pages 140 (from “The growth of towns and cities”) to 142 in the textbook.

Today’s class:

1. The main purpose of this class, in my understanding, is to improve your English speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. So why are the presentations in Japanese? Is this really the best way to improve your English?
2. This textbook is called “An Illustrated History of Britain”, but the most important things about British history are the ideas, and they are invisible – you cannot see an ilustration of them.
3. The Great Exhibition of 1851 at Crystal Palace (click here to see some Google images)
4. Brighton was a minor fishing village on the south coast of England until the 19th century when it became a popular resort. Why?
   1. “Doctor Brighton”: “in 1750 …Dr Richard Russell, a resident of Lewes, wrote a book in which he claimed that bathing in seawater was very good for your health. Rich people began to come to Brighton hoping to be cured of some illness by bathing in seawater. At first they were a trickle, but later became a flood. In 1783 the Prince of Wales and his friends visited Brighton which ensured its popularity.” (From “The History of Brighton” by Tim Lambert, web)
   2. The Prince of Wales built the Royal Pavilion, starting in 1787 (click here to see some Google images of this famous Brighton landmark)
   3. The London-Brighton railway line was completed in 1840. From then on, more and more London people visited Brighton. It was so close that you could go and come back in a day (a day-trip).
   4. Brighton is just one example of a town that grew partly because of the growth of the railways.
5. The 19th century was a great century for British literature. I warmly recommend the following authors:
   1. Charles Dickens 1812 – 1870)
   2. Thomas Hardy 1840 – 1928)
   3. E.M. Forster ( 1879 –  1970):  his most famous novels have been made into movies; check the DWC AV centre or the library for these DVDs –
      1. A Room with a View 眺めのいい部屋 （1908年）
      2. Howard’s End ハワーズ・エンド （1910年）
      3. Passage to India インドへの道 （1924年）
   4. The Forsyte Saga (1922) by John Galsworthy ( 1867 – 1933) who won the Nobel prize for literature in 1932. This long story has been twice made into a TV series, the first was by the BBC in 1967-69 which was hugely successful: 18 million watched the final episode in 1969. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGKF60F_heg
6. I also recommend the novels of Ayn Rand, “The Fountainhead” and “Atlas Shrugged” (both are available in Japanese translations; movies have been made of both novels, but only “The Fountainhead” (『水源』. Ayn Rand was a Russian emigrant who lived in the U.S.A. and set her novels in that country, but her novels are a good and interesting way to learn about the key ideas of individualism and capitalism.
   1. Here is a Japanese video review of “The Fountainhead” 「水源」httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H8b_eiBpY8