Update: Week I (2011)

The format and style of HistoryLynx are still evolving: sometimes formal and academic, sometimes informal or even chatty. Eventually, I’ll do more to customize the layout. In the meantime, I intend to post about three times a week.

This has been an exciting week–as I’ve struggled to keep up with events in Egypt. Quite honestly, I did not anticipate that my first week would focus on a single topic, yet the news kept me going. The Egyptian uprising is a big story–an opportunity to observe a major transformation in a volatile part of the world. I decided–after spending Tuesday (Feb 2) watching live coverage on the BBC and Al Jazeera English–that this topic deserved a series of posts. These will continue but soon I want to begin sharing less time-sensitive items. I have piles of clippings and long-lists of resources ... and so little time. Just got to keep at it.

What to Expect in an Update
About once a week I will post an update, to comment on post and to announce any major post-posting edits. Look for additional resources and links–as well as teaching activities.

• EXAMPLE: The Social Media ‘Hook’ (Feb 4) quotes a comment on Facebook (BBC page) by Gary Nelson. ASK: What "next world power" does he have in mind? DISCUSS: Why do you think this might happen (or not)? As students discuss, expect them to back up what they say, drawing on their knowledge of current events–and if they can’t, ask them to do some research and bring the results to class.

In a update I’ll also announce upcoming topics or features:

• EXAMPLE: expect, before the end of the week, a follow-up to Egypt: History and Hope (1).
• EXAMPLE: coming soon, a post focused on teaching vocabulary appearing in news sources about the Egyptian uprising.

When it seems necessary, I’ll respond to comments. By the way, if you have a comment or question and want to contact me directly, please use this e-mail: historylynx@gmail.com.
　
Intended Audience
Last Friday’s post (Feb 4) included a cautionary statement about the appropriateness (or not) of certain recommended resources. Please keep this in mind when accessing all material on this blog because it is aimed at a very broad audience. Perhaps this needs some clarification.

While the core audience is teachers and students in high school and college, the Lynx takes a long-term view: preparing students for life-long learning begins in Kindergarten. I’d especially like to attract middle school teachers, who might try out reading, writing, researching activities–all tied to current events. Let’s teach these basic skills and, simultaneously, turn students into "news junkies."

If the inclusion of K-5 teachers seems strange (and it must, given the content of this week’s posts), here is a partial explanation:

• It is amazing how many deep-thinkers we have in our Grade Five classrooms–kids seriously concerned with the world far beyond their own communities. Credit must go to deep-thinking teachers and social studies lessons, creatively taught.
• There are wonderful picture books with cross-cultural, global themes in school and public libraries (and on my bulging book shelves). I’ve had an opportunity to work on a Wisconsin DPI international studies project, drawing up guidelines for selecting books and using them to internationalize curricula. So, from time to time, I intend to blog about children’s literature.
• Teaching World History to college students convinced me that we ought to be doing more to provide a foundation--geography and global cultural literacy–in the elementary level.

Given such a broad potential audience, HistoryLynx will offer a wide range or resources and strategies. But you are in charge–so browse, select, and adapt as needed (PRN as my sister nurse would say).
　
Online Resources
HistoryLynx will feature mostly online resources so that readers will have instant access. The Lynx will find quality items that don’t appear on the first page of a Google search--then suggest why they add somthing extra to the menu. Posts will include overviews and critical reviews of web sites. Of course, it is impossible to discuss the full range of resources for any major current event or, for that matter, any world history topic. The purpose of HistoryLynx is to sample, select, and share.

So why did the posts on Egypt feature the BBC and Al Jazeera English? The BBC is a very reputable news agency. Listeners and viewers all over the world have a lot of confidence in the BBC. Via computer I was able to toggle between BBC and AJE live coverage. Al Jazeera not only reported the news from Egypt, it played a part in shaping events and therefore it is prudent to have a sense of its reportage–its content and how it was obtained (see reference at end of post). Both the BBC and AJE provide antidotes to more conventional US-based news media. This doesn’t mean that I will ignore US sources. As Sunday’s post (Feb 6) indicates, the New York Times web site is full of excellent resources. I also receive Washington Post headlines by e-mail and read as much as I can.

Personal Point of View
Point of view is a buzzword on the APWH (AP World History) listserv, a bit too emphatically, in my opinion. That said, POV is an important concept for the analysis and interpretation sources. In one way or another I’ve already begun to reveal "where I’m coming from" but here’s some more information about me, the Lynx:

• I grew up in rural Wisconsin, on a dairy farm, and so my WH interests include the transition to food-producing economies, rural and pre-industrial societies, the global food supply.
• As far as I can tell nearly all my ancestors were German-speaking peasants from Pomerania, literally "the land by the sea," now divided between northern Germany and Poland. I have a growing interest in the Baltic World, a region marginalized in both Western Civ and World History course. (Expect posts, as time permits.)
• From late November 1969 until mid-July 1976 I lived in Uganda. In January 1971 I slept through the coup that brought Idi Amin to power. During the Amin years we listened regularly to the BBC on a shortwave radio because Ugandan radio and TV was mostly "Idi Amin says " in several languages. So, I know something about living under a dictator.
• While living in Uganda I taught for a while in schools that came under the umbrella of the Muslim Supreme Council. Then I taught for two years in an international primary school in Kampala. The Israeli raid on Entebbe occurred one week before I left Uganda.

I am still working on a much longer piece about the life experiences that have shaped my POV. Please be patient.
　
Reference
Stelter, Brian. "Televising the Revolution." NYT (2-7-11).
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/business/media/07aljazeera.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=stelter%20televising%20the%20revolution&st=cse