Welcome

Welcome to AP European History! Our main focus this year will be on Europe from the Renaissance to the present. Europe has an amazing and diverse history and you will be surprised at the tremendous amount of influence it has had on the entire world. Some of the most renowned art & music, influential thinkers & politicians, and decadent castles & cathedrals are contrasted by some of the world's bloodiest & most brutal wars & weapons, not to mention ruthless despots. European history has a bit of something for everyone - I look forward to a fun and exciting year with you!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Fun Friday: Communism vs. Anarchism

Today's Fun Friday was a huge success...everyone participated and looked great! It was so great to see such awesome AP Euro students embracing either Communism or Anarchism in the spirit of the activity!

APEH Section 1
APEH Section 2

It would seem that overall, Anarchism won out with 20 votes to Communism's 14. And while some people cited wardrobe limitations or preferences for one color over the other, the overwhelming rationale for an Anarchist state was the thought that no government is better than too much government. Except Cyrus. He wanted the chaos of Anarchy to create a situation by which he could "start my own brand of justice." Go get 'em tiger!

Those who chose Communism did so mostly out of a sense of the need for social and economic equality. Glen said it nicely when he wrote, "Without (inequality) war and violence are eliminated and all members are equally happy." Marx is smiling down on Glen and the 13 others who spoke of such things (we'll just ignore the fact that Marx called for violence as a means to peace...) Lots of students argued that, in its purest sense, Communism is ideal...at least "on paper" anyway. Finally, many cited that we need some form of government to prevent utter chaos. Clearly they understood that no one wants a can of Cyrus' whoop-butt opened on society.

I'm sure your burning question is: And what about Ms. B? What DID she wear?? So you don't lose any more sleep over it, I will put your mind at rest. Of course I had to be different. I chose to wear pink and gray. White, the color of peace, when mixed with red makes pink, and with black makes gray. My choice was Utopian (socialism). 
Utopian Moi

Thanks to my APEH kids for a Fantastic First Fun Friday!!! Peace Out!

APEH Section 1: Liza and the best hat EVER!
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APEH Section 2: gotta LOVE Kate & Brooke's A shirts!

24. Impressionism & Post-Impressionism

23. Belle Époque France

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Video on the Irish Potato Famine

Here is the link to the video: Famine to Freedom: The Great Irish Journey
You should be sure to begin with the segment "The Potato Blight Strikes Ireland" (apx. 14 min into the video). Stop at "Coffin Ships: and skip over that, then watch the next two segments, "Eviction" and "Famine Leads to Revolution." You may stop there, but of course if you want to watch the whole thing, I highly encourage that. It is very interesting and if you have Irish heritage, you may find it particularly so.

If you lost the user-name and password to get in, email me directly.

22. Victorian England