Fitting the Pieces Together: The Industrial Revolution

Visit this site that deals with inventors and inventions related to the Industrial Revoltion to complete blog assignment.

On Monday we will travel back in time to expand our horizions and read some about the travels of Muhammad As-Saffar, a Moroccan who visited France during the Industrial Revolution. Read selections from the book here.

MLK Day

MLK day in 2009 takes on a new significance (read about the history of MLK day here), particularly with inaugural activities underway as tomorrow the United States will welcome its first African American President.

MLK day in is also called "Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service." How will you serve your neighbor today, or welcome the stranger, or exhibit hospitality? How will you give back?

And since most newsclips and news footage of MLK on MLK day nearly always features snippets from his famous "I Have a Dream Speech" in Washington, D.C. in 1963, his post-1963 speeches deserve attention as well, the national and international "radical" phase Harvard Sitkoff captures in his recent book.

Important moments during this period include his Nobel Prize Speech (December 1964)--since this is a European history class I should mention that he delivered this speech in Oslo, Norway--his Mountaintop Speech (April 1968), his Vietnam War speech (April 1967), and the God is Marching On address (March 1965).

What Are You Reading?

There's been some attention lately to Presidential reading habits.



In a December Wall Street Journal article, former Bush political advisor Karl Rove told of a competition he and the President had to see who could read the most books in a year. It offers a revealing look at what George Bush has been reading the last few years.

Most recently, President-elect Barack Obama's reading list has received some press. An NPR radio story last week commented on his reading habits and book interests. An author himself, Obama can appreciate a good book.


Since we read and discussed both of these authors in class, you may be interested to note that Obama has recently read one of Thomas Friedman's books. And, as you can see from the picture, the President-elect has also recently read the work of Fareed Zakaria.

In what is similar to the economic effects of Oprah's Book Club, these stories note that when a President is photographed with a book, or it becomes know what book the President is reading, sales of that book jump dramatically.



Now, if only I can figure out a way to get Holy Mavericks: Evangelical Innovators and the Spiritual Marketplace in Obama's hands....







[I thank my friend and fellow historian and blogger John Fea for the article leads and inspiration for this post.]

Histoire Francaise

Terms to Consider:
Estates General
the Bastille
First and Second Estates
Third Estate
the National Assembly
the Tennis Court Oath
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
Olympe de Gouges
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
Committee of Public Safety
Maximilien Robespierre
Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen
Reign of Terror
the guillotine
Temple of Reason
Toussaint L’Ouverture
Directory
Napoleon Bonaparte
Italian and Egyptian campaigns
First Consul and Emperor
the Concordat
the Civil Code
Elba and Saint Helena
American Revolution
Declaration of Independence
France vs. Britain (18th century)
Print media in revolutionary North America and Europe
Seven Years’ War
Cahiers de doleances
Woman’s March
Republic of Virtue

Questions to Consider:
1. Discuss and explain the causes of the French Revolution. Do you think there is one cause is more important than others? Why or why not?

2. How was France changed by the revolutionary events of 1789-1792? Who benefited the most from these changes?

3. Why did the French Revolution enter a radical phase? What did the radical phase accomplish? What role did the Reign of Terror play in the Revolution?

4. Napoleon has been considered the greatest leaders of all time. Using examples from the text defend or refute this statement.

5. In what ways did the American Revolution inspire the French Revolution, and subsequently the Haitian Revolution?

6. Which revolution–American or French–has had the greatest influence during the last two centuries and why?

7. Discuss Napoleon’s rise to power, his government policies, both foreign and domestic,and evaluate the extent to which he championed the French Revolution or challenged its major claims.

8. In what ways do the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen relate?

Libertie, Egalite, Fraternite

Check out the companion site to the French Revolution documentary. It has a host of interesting links, trailer(s), and even a historical game.

You will use the timeline found at the site to complete the Critical Thinking component of the video worksheet.

Reframing the Past: Global Declarations

When in the course of traditional discussions about the Declaration of Independence, it becomes necessary to break free from the contents of customary lessons that govern the way we see and study the past. At least this is what Harvard historian David Armitage argues, in part, in his fantastic study The Declaration of Independence: A Global History, published in 2007.

We've previously discussed the European background to the Declaration, making connections to the ways in which it influenced the French Revolution. Now, with David Armitage's help, I want to consider the document in a global perspective.



At the annual meeting of the American Historical Association in Washington, D.C. in early 2008, I had the good fortune to attend a lunch at which Armitage addressed this topic. Armitage is a delightful and witty speaker, and his talk covered the basic contents of his book.





Hence, I want to think about the Declaration in these ways, fleshed out in class discussion:


1. its universal/universalizing claims
2. "international" idea of the nation-state
3. the universal physicality of the document itself
4. the "declaration" genre of literature
5. declarations as anti-colonial protest
6. identify world-historical moments of declarations of independence

Be sure to scan Armitage's list of declarations of independence. Also, here's an early reflection on the universal dimensions of the Declaration, as well as an interesting review of the book from Itinerario and another from the Boston Globe. Here's a nice biographical portrait from the Harvard Gazette.

Believe It or Not: The Protestant Interest and Eighteenth Century Religious History

In our concluding discussion of the eighteenth century, we will analyze Thomas Kidd's idea of "the Protestant interest" as it relates to North America, Europe, and the globe. (I will also compare this to Luke Clossey's conception of global Jesuits from his recent book.)

Consulting notes from lecture/discussion, and from Spielvogel, read the specified portions from Kidd's book The Protestant Interest here.

Since "revolution" one of this semester's key themes, and since religious history will continue to inform our discussion of Europe's past, Kidd's conceptualization is helpful as we discuss historical context, change over time, and the migration of ideas.