Short-Write No. 2

Essay Practice


For this assignment, you will need access to high-speed internet, Windows Media Player, and headphones (if you are in a lab), because you will be watching an online video (Video on Demand).

View one or two of the following Videos on Demand from the Annenberg  website.  These videos are for high school and college students.  Some students complain that they are too boring.  Personally, I find them interesting -- so maybe my standards are different (?).  Anyway, maybe one is more interesting than the other.  Pick one(s) that you want to view and write about.


While you are viewing the video(s), take notes.  The subject matter should be somewhat familiar to you, based on what we have been talking about in or reading about for class.  When you are finished, write a one-page paper in which you do the following:
  • identify a thesis and write about it according to the guidelines you will be expected to use for a SECRET (see http://www.marthabianco.com/Courses/Cities/Simple%20Layout11.htm)
  • follow MLA format precisely (see and use all of the handouts at http://www.marthabianco.com/Courses/Cities/checklist.htm).
  • include an introduction (with attention grabber, thesis statement, and paper plan), body (substantiating your thesis and identifying alternative arguments/explanations), and conclusions (hitting home your key points, connecting with the intro, and making an elegant exit)
  • include an MLA-formatted Works Cited page and a separate cover page (making the entire paper 3 pages long)
  • follow Hodges' Harbrace Handbook

The purpose of this short write is to
  • offer you an alternative to understanding the material besides just reading (I always like to present material in a variety of forms, for those who do not get everything from just reading)
  • give you practice in writing a paper for me, learning where all the resources are, learning how I grade, etc.
  • give you practice in using MLA format
  • give you practice in writing succinctly; many of you will find the page limitations in this class difficult at first, but you must learn to use words wisely and not to waste a single word unnecessarily.
  • THIS IS PRACTICE:  You should do your best, because this will also serve as a diagnostic tool  for me; if I identify areas of weakness, I will point you in the direction of resources to assist you.  But this is also an opportunity for you to learn a little bit about writing an analytical university-level paper.  You will receive a lot of feedback from me.  This exercise will prepare you for work to come.

This Short-Write is due at the beginning of class on Thursday, April 20.   Please make sure it is stapled and in a pocket folder.

I need help!

Pick one or two of the following videos to watch and write about.  They are 30 to 60 minutes long.

"The Hearth." Out of the Past. Pennsylvania State University and WQED/Pittsburgh. 1993. 60 min. <http://www.scctv.net/annenberg/Out_of_the_Past_02.asx>. Examines how enculturation and economic cooperation have shaped the homes and families of people, past and present. Remains of houses at archaeological sites and footage of family life in traditional cultures provide a glimpse into what family life must have been like. Looks at the Mayan center of Copán, Honduras, as well as other ancient societies in Central and North America, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. I chose this video because of the fundamental concept I find so central to "community" -- that is, the idea of  living, working, eating, sleeping in the same place versus in different places.  This video really focuses on that concept.

"Artisans and Traders." Out of the Past. Pennsylvania State University and WQED/Pittsburgh. 1993. 60 min. <http://www.scctv.net/annenberg/Out_of_the_Past_03.asx>.   Explores the link between economic and cultural evolution. Hunter-gatherers and early agriculturalists had simple divisions of labor, but today people make a living in many ways. The proliferation of occupations and the extreme economic interdependence of today are the result of increasing job specialization, causing society to continually undergo restructuring. Looks at the Mayan center of Copán, Honduras, as well as other ancient societies in Central and North America, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.  I chose this because I think it is very interesting with respect to issues related to diversification and specialization of labor in the preindustrial era.

"Power, Prestige, and Wealth." Out of the Past. Pennsylvania State University and WQED/Pittsburgh. 1993. 60 min. <http://www.scctv.net/annenberg/Out_of_the_Past_05.asx>.   Focusing on  the Mayan center of Copán, Honduras, this video explores the relationship between power, prestige, and wealth in preindustrial societies, which helps us understand the beginning of class systems.

"Human Migrations." Bridging World History. OPB. 2004. 30 min. <http://www.scctv.net/annenberg/bridging_world_history_03.asx>. How did the many paths of human migration people the planet? From their origins on the African continent, humans have spread across the globe. This unit explores how and why early humans moved across Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas, based on recent studies in archaeology and linguistics.  I like this video because it helps highlight the importance of nomadism (wandering) as the roots of what I'll call "community-in-motion." This video helps clarify the concepts regarding human migration and settlement as precursors of the agricultural and then urban revolutions.  It might be good to follow this with the next VOD.

"Agricultural and Urban Revolutions." Bridging World History. OPB. 2004. 30 min. <http://www.scctv.net/annenberg/bridging_world_history_04.asx>.  This video does a great job of recapping Childe's theory regarding the agricultural and urban revolutions in the fertile crescent -- and in other areas of the world that we are just now beginning to recognize as having their own "cradles."  This is a good follow-up to "Human Migrations."

"Order and Early Societies." Bridging World History. OPB. 2004. 30 min. <http://www.scctv.net/annenberg/bridging_world_history_06.asx>. How do diverse political structures and relationships distribute power and material resources? Through the rise of the Chinese empire, Mayan regional kingdoms, and the complex society of Igbo Ukwu, this unit considers the origins of centralized states and alternative political and social orders. We can see from this video how diversification and stratification in early societies is both an economic and a cultural phenomenon that  not only makes societies more complex, but may be a prelude to strife and conflict.  It might be interesting to view this film with one of the others in the Bridging World History series or with "Power, Prestige, and Wealth" from the Out of the Past series.

"Early Economies." Bridging World History. OPB. 2004. 30 min. <http://www.scctv.net/annenberg/bridging_world_history_08.asx>. How do societies assign value to land, labor, and material goods? Manorial economies in Japan and medieval Europe are contrasted with the tribute economy of the Inka, and the experience of dramatic economic change is illustrated by the commercial revolution in China.  This video is another means for us to understand distinctions between classes and how economic class variations are connected with advanced economies.  I think this would also go well with "Power, Prestige, and Wealth" from the Out of the Past series or any of the Industrial Revolution videos in The Western Tradition series.
 
"Family and Household." Bridging World History. OPB. 2004. 30 min. <http://www.scctv.net/annenberg/bridging_world_history_13.asx>.What does the study of families and households tell us about our global past? In this unit examining West Asia, Europe, and China, families and households become the focus of historians, providing a window into the private experiences in world societies, and how they sometimes become a model for ordering the outside world.  What fascinated me about history is the study of everyday life, because that can often be a window to how community is experienced by ordinary people.  This video might be a good complement to "The Hearth," from the Out of the Past series.  Another video that might go well with this is:

"Food, Demographics, and Culture." Bridging World History. OPB. 2004. 30 min. <http://www.scctv.net/annenberg/bridging_world_history_16.asx>.  Ah, food!  What role has food played in human societies? Studying the production and consumption of food allows historians to uncover hidden levels of meaning in social relationships, understand demographic shifts, and trace cultural exchange. This video examines the earliest impact of globalization including changing cuisine, environmental impact, and the rise of forced labor as a global economic force.  How does the globalization of the food economy affect community?  This video might go well with "Family and Household" or "Human Migrations" from the Bridging World History series.
 
"The Industrial Revolution." The Western Tradition. WGBH Boston. 1989. 30 min. <http://www.scctv.net/annenberg/Western_Tradition_41.asx>. Eugen Weber gives a lecture, presenting amazing  primary materials and art work to summarize the technological changes that brought about the Industrial Revolution.  This video is useful for summarizing the critical economic changes that the accompanied the Industrial Revolution and changes in how community came to be experienced, particularly with the rise of the modern city.  This is best viewed with the following video, "The Industrial World."

"The Industrial World." The Western Tradition. WGBH Boston. 1989. 30 min. <http://www.scctv.net/annenberg/Western_Tradition_42.asx>. Eugen Weber gives a lecture, presenting amazing  primary materials and art work to summarize the new world after the Industrial Revolution.  This video focuses on the positive and negative changes to society as a result of the Industrial Revolution, with an emphasis on the "darker side" of this revolution.  I think this material helps lay the foundation for understanding the "revolutionary" thinkers of the 19th century, who-- from Tönnies to Marx and Weber -- critiqued the social and economic changes they were witnessing.  This is a good follow-up to "The Industrial Revolution" video, above.

"Revolution and Romantics." The Western Tradition. WGBH Boston. 1989. 30 min. <http://www.scctv.net/annenberg/Western_Tradition_43.asx>. Eugen Weber gives a lecture, presenting amazing  primary materials and art work to summarize the manifestations of conflict in politics and the arts that resulted from the dramatic changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution.  Like "The Industrial World," I chose this video because it helps explain the revolutionary thinking and action that emerged out of the growing discontent with the industrialized world -- all of which would have a dramatic effect on the experience of "community."  You probably need to watch this with one of the other two preceding it.
Enjoy!