AP Comparative Government Homework
Homework 51: Please sign up to present to the class by filling out this form. Once you have done so click here to see my response--scroll to the right and look in the yellow highlighted column.
-Due Tuesday, May 19
ADDITIONALLY: Please bring me a check or money order made out to Stuyvesant High School in the amount of $41 to pay for this term's Economist.
Homework 50: Vice videos on Mexico! Thrill to the music of the narcocorridos--bands that play for and celebrate brutal drug cartels (and here's the links to parts two and three). Be chilled by the seemingly scary (but maybe not so bad) subway gangs of Mexico City. Don't spill your drink as you learn about what has happened in the 20 years since the Zapatista uprising in the impoverished state of Chiapas. And learn about the triumph of the human will at Mexico's other border. Also, please read this incredibly gripping article from the New York Times Magazine from last year about an American priest ministering to a prison controlled by the Zetas.
-Due Friday, May 15th
ALSO: I cannot stop watching this video.
ADDITIONALLY: Please bring me a check or money order made out to Stuyvesant High School in the amount of $41 to pay for this term's Economist.
Homework 49: Continue on in the Ethel Wood reading on Mexico--please read pp. 383-91. More fallout from the drug war. Also, a Mexican crackdown on the number of children entering the US illegally.
ALSO: New Yorker piece on the "real lessons" of the UK election for 2016." And why Cameron's victory may mean the end of Great Britain as we know it.
-Due Thursday, May 14th
ALSO: The brutal reality of life in one of China's most polluted cities.
ADDITIONALLY: Please bring me a check or money order made out to Stuyvesant High School in the amount of $41 to pay for this term's Economist.
Homework 48: Continue on in the Ethel Wood reading on Mexico--please read pp. 373-82. And here's a good piece about Jesus Malverde--considered to be "the patron saint" of drug dealers.
ALSO: More British election aftermath! News on the race to succeed Nick Clegg as LibDem leader! "Lazy Labour, not Shy Tories lost Ed Miliband the Election," say pollsters. David Miliband slams his brother on the BBC--and reveals his intentions. Click here to see!
-Due Wednesday, May 13th
ALSO: The case of the 16 year old Singaporean boy who dared to criticize Lee Kuan Yew.
ADDITIONALLY: Please bring me a check or money order made out to Stuyvesant High School in the amount of $41 to pay for this term's Economist.
Homework 47: Continue on in the Ethel Wood reading on Mexico--please read pp. 363-72. Also, please focus on this piece from last week's Economist on the rise of Mexican NGOs.
ALSO: British election aftermath! Tony Blair says that the party should never have abandoned the New Labour reforms that let it to three election victories... and could a savior from America emerge? The betrayed brother himself? That's right: David Miliband may yet throw his hat into the ring.
-Due Tuesday, May 12th
ALSO: Crazy GoPro action!
Homework 46: Continue on in the Ethel Wood reading on Mexico--please read pp. 355-63. And British election coverage! Here's a nice rundown on all the major issues from the BBC. Here's what deal each party is willing to make--the so-called "red lines." And build your own coalition! Also, place your bets, but it'll be a challenge!
-Due Friday, May 8th
ALSO: An Object at Rest
Homework 45: Continue on in the Ethel Wood reading on Mexico--please read pp. 346-55. Also, check out this great Vox explainer on the War on Drugs. And from a 2014 Atlantic piece: "The Good Mexico Versus the Bad Mexico."
AND:
Open Up Europe! Let Migrants In, says an op-ed in today's New York Times.
-Due Thursday, May 7th
ALSO: 23 Maps and Charts on Language.
Homework 44: Here's the second section of the Economist special report on Mexico in 2012. Also, here's the first Ethel Wood reading on Mexico--please read pp. 337-46. Here's a photo spread on the "days of rage" that took place in Mexico last year after the disappearance and murder of 43 student teachers. And here's an NY Times run down on the upcoming British elections.
-Due Wednesday, May 6th
ALSO: At last, the Kardashian-blocking web tool that we've all been waiting for. Also, courtesy of Vox.com, 23 Maps and Charts on Language.
Homework 43: We move on to Mexico! The Economist did a special report on our southern neighbor in 2012--please read the first section.
-Due Tuesday, May 5th
ALSO: Are you ready for the Greatest Weekend in Sports?
Homework 42: Please read this Ethel Wood minichapter on newly industrialized nations (NICs). One group of nations that has been discussed as part of this trend are the BRICS--Brazil, Russia, India and China (to which has been added South Africa for the "S" and possibly Mexico for BRIMCS). Here's a piece in the New York Times about BRIC markets. Here's a piece about what the name of the BRICS actually is (are?). And here's a piece in the Economist about the rise of the BRICs.
-Due Friday, May 1st
ALSO: Some amazing (and at times graphic) pictures in the Winners of the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards.
Homework 41: Please continue on in Ethel Wood--pp. 449-56. There's a new "Our Man in Tehran" video--"A Narrow Escape." It's pretty riveting.
-Due Thursday, April 30th
ALSO: The making of dried bonito flake--a key ingredient in many Japanese soups like ramen.
AND: "The idea that we are edging up to a mass extinction is not just wrong – it’s a recipe for panic and paralysis"
Homework 40: Please continue on in Ethel Wood--pp. 440-49. Here's the link to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran--the organization headed by Hadi Ghaemi. Here's a great video from the Council on Foreign Relations on 2009's Green Movement.
-Due Wednesday, April 29th
ALSO: Could this be the first step to Gundam style mech suits?
Homework 39: Please continue on in Ethel Wood--pp. 430-39. Here's a fascinating piece from Foreign Affairs, arguing that the USA was not instrumental in overthrowing Mohammad Mossadeq. Here's a cool video showing 100 years of beauty in Iran. And here's a really nice rundown of Operation Ajax from the New York Times.
-Due Tuesday, April 28th
ALSO: Video games that work better than school?
Homework 38: Please continue on in Ethel Wood--pp. 421-30. A nice video from the NYTimes on what's at stake in the nuclear negotiations in Iran. And here's an interesting piece covering Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's take on the potential nuclear deal.
-Due Friday, April 24th
ALSO: 20th century hairstyles!
Homework 37: Please continue the Ethel Wood reading--pp. 412-21. From the New York Times: "Atomic Labs Across the US Race to Stop Iran." A short graphic on the tangled alliances of Iran here. And here are some portraits of Iranians talking about the effect of sanctions.
-Due Thursday, April 23rd
ALSO: Where, exactly did "eeny, meeny, miny and mo" come from?
Homework 36: Please begin the Ethel Wood reading--pp. 402-12. Also, the New York Times is running a fantastic series of short videos featuring their Tehran bureau chief, Thomas Erdbrink. It's entitled "Our Man In Tehran." This is the first episode, which also features a Q&A about Iran.
Episode 2: The Martyr's Daughter.
Episode 3: Big City Life.
Episode 4: Mr. Big Mouth.
Episode 5: Eye For an Eye.
These are seriously amazing--you should watch them all!
ALSO: I'll be teaching a review session for the AP US Government exam this Thursday after 10th in room 337.
-Due Wednesday, April 22nd
Homework 35: We are beginning a new country--Iran. Please read this fantastic primer on the difference between Shia and Sunni Islam. Also, please read "Who Is Ali Khamenei?"--a piece from Foreign Affairs. Finally, check out this excerpt from Marjane Satrapi's great graphic novel Persepolis--a tale of her coming of age during the Iranian Revolution.
-Due Tuesday, April 21st
Homework 34: Please read this excerpt from Ethel Wood on Nigeria, pp. 507-515. -Due Thursday, April 16th. If you are interested in people who scam Nigerian scammers, you can check out 419 Eater. If you are particularly interested in scam-baiting and its moral implications check out this episode of the NPR radio show "This American Life" (click on the button for "Full Episode" to hear).
Optional Stuff
Who knew that the humble aluminum soda can was such a triumph of engineering?
Homework 33: Please read this excerpt from Ethel Wood on Nigeria, pp. 499-507. For those of you interested, here is the article from National Geographic magazine on the curse of oil that we discussed in class the other day. Click here to see videos that accompany the article. Click here for photos. Lastly, click here if you want to read the field notes of the author. Additionally, here's a site devoted to the memory of Ken Saro Wiwa--activist for the Ogoni people of the Niger Delta.
ALSO: Here's a piece showing how Germany's attempt to use cleaner energy has paradoxically led to a massive rise in coal consumption.
-Due Thursday, April 16th.
Optional Stuff
Why do so many NBA teams feature basketballs in their logos while so few NFL teams have footballs in theirs? This piece actually has a geopolitical element as well.
Homework 32: Please read this excerpt from Ethel Wood on Nigeria, pp. 491-99. A plethora of resources on Nigerian corruption! This is an amazing podcast on how to steal a million barrels of Nigerian oil. And here's a piece about the extraordinary removal of central bank governor Lamido Sanusi after he uncovered $20 billion in missing oil money. Here's another account--the Extraordinary Story of Nigeria's $20 Billion Oil Money "Leakage."
-Due Wednesday, April 15th.
Optional Stuff
Do you STAND WITH HILLARY? Warning: earworm alert.
Homework 31: Please read this excerpt from Ethel Wood on Nigeria, pp. 482-91. Over the break, please watch this documentary showing one example of Nigerian corruption: the fuel subsidy scam of 2011. Note that it has been banned in Nigeria.
Here's a neat graphic representing Nigeria's top exports.
-Due Tuesday, April 14th.
Optional Stuff
I am obsessed with watching amazing examples of penmanship. Here's Seb Lester expertly drawing various corporate logos freehand. And here's self-taught auto detailer Glen Weisgerber demonstrating roundhand lettering.
Homework 30: Please read this excerpt from Ethel Wood on Nigeria, pp. 474-82. And big news: Muhammadu Buhari defeated Goodluck Jonathan in the Nigerian elections, representing the first democratic transition of power between parties. Here's the Economist's take, and here's the New York Times's piece on Buhari. This is the book review on Boko Haram that was in this week's Economist.
-Due Thursday, April 2nd.
Optional Stuff
Visit the world's only abandoned floating McDonalds!
Homework 29: Please read this excerpt from Ethel Wood on Nigeria, pp. 466-74. Also, here's the rest of the Welcome to Lagos documentary.
ALSO:
Here's a great piece from (my elementary school classmate) Evan Osnos about Xi Jinping, who he calls "China's most authoritarian leader since Mao."
-Due Wednesday, April 1st.
Optional Stuff
How to pronounce UK place names! Also, one woman--17 British accents.
Homework 28: So we are now starting Nigeria--and the election just happened... though results have yet to come in. Here's a BBC explainer on who's running against whom and what the major issues are. Also, the Economist has two good pieces on the election as well--one about the intersection of oil and politics, and the other with more background in graphic form. ALSO: Slightly modified calendar here.
-Due Tuesday, March 31st
ALSO
MINI-PAPER 2: In exactly three pages, I want you to compare some aspect of Chinese government to some aspect of Russian government. Go crazy--choose whatever you want! Also: please use this format!
-Due Friday, April 17th
Optional Stuff
Super slo mo of a compact disc shattering.
Homework 27: Please read pp. 310-6 in this excerpt. Also, check out some of the official government-approved routines for the dancing grannies.
-Due Friday, March 27th
Optional Stuff
Don't trust adults!
Homework 26: Please read pp. 302-9 in this excerpt. Also read this hilarious story about the Chinese government's attempt to rein in its army of 100 million dancing grannies (here's a video about the phenomenon). Also, here's an interesting piece about how the Chinese government uses nationalism to increase its popularity from the Brookings Institute.
ALSO: Schedule switch. Check out the new calendar here. Due to the impending Nigerian elections, I have swapped Nigeria and Mexico in the schedule.
-Due Thursday, March 26th
Optional Stuff
The Sony 2015 World Photography Awards.
Homework 25: Please read pp. 293-302 in this excerpt. Also check out this story about the increased effort of the Chinese government to oversee nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
-Due Wednesday, March 25th
Optional Stuff
Amazing photographs of waves.
Homework 24: Please read pp. 285-93 in this excerpt. Also, check out this piece from the 2003 New York Times: China's State Sponsored Amnesia. Also here's an interesting piece about the Chinese trend of gay men marrying lesbians to conform to societal norms. And! awful photoshopping in Chinese media.
-Due Tuesday, March 24th
Optional Stuff
Really cool graphic on the NYT.
Homework 23: Please read pp. 278-84 in this excerpt. Also, please check out this special report from the 2013 Economist on China and the Internet. And here it is: The Secret Document that Transformed China!
-Due Friday, March 20th
Optional Stuff
Fantastic piece in the New Yorker on how South Korea has become the plastic surgery capital of the world. Here's a GIF showing how similar the faces of beauty pageant contestants look. Here's 30 startling before-after pictures of Korean plastic surgery.
Homework 22: Please read pp. 268-78 in this excerpt. Also some interesting info about the new Chinese-led Asian infrastructure bank, which threatens to upend the international aid system.
-Due Thursday, March 19th
Optional Stuff
A bit late, but here's a cool article on Pi.
Homework 21: We are beginning to read Ethel Wood's section on China. Please read pp. 258-68 in this excerpt. And this is a fascinating piece on what might have been in China--democracy?
-Due Wednesday, March 18th
Optional Stuff
Did culture kill the two parent family?
Homework 20: We are beginning China! Check out China's Way Forward, an article from the Atlantic Magazine written by James Fallows--an American journalist living in Beijing at the time of the writing. It's a couple years old, but still good. Also read this piece from the Wall Street Journal, entitled "The Coming Chinese Crackup."
-Due Tuesday, March 17th
Optional Stuff
Check out this link: crazy smog in Beijing--click on images 2-4 to bring and dispel the haze.
Homework 19: Russia!!!!1! Please read pp. 234-49 in this section. Here's a Guardian piece on Why We May Never Know who Killed Boris Nemtsov.
-Due Friday, March 13th
Optional Stuff
New hold music for Yahoo?
Homework 18: Yet more Russia. Please read pp. 225-34 in this section. Here's a piece on the suspiciously quick apprehension of the suspects in the killing of Boris Nemtsov.
-Due Thursday, March 12th
Optional Stuff
Have you heard of "eephing"--also known as "hillbilly beatboxing"? Here's a sample.
Homework 17: More Russia. Please read pp. 218-25 in this section. Here's some articles from Anne Applebaum--a reporter who happens to be married to Polish politician Radek Sikorski; the first on Britain's withdrawal from the world stage, and the second about Europe's new political divide.
-Due Wednesday, March 11th
Optional Stuff
End the scourge of clock changing! Also, how well do you really know the NYC subway?
Homework 16: Deeper into Russia! Please read pp. 208-18 in this section. Please note that Essay one is now due at 12am Sunday night/Monday morning!
-Due Monday, March 9th
Optional Stuff
Fascinating graphic illustrating the world's nuclear stockpile. Also, rap stars and pre-16th century art resemblances?
Homework 15: Deeper into Russia! Please read pp. 200-8 in this section. Also, here's "Understanding Stalin," a review of Stephen Kotkin's biography of Stalin. Kotkin was the author of the FA piece from last night's homework.
-Due Thursday, March 5
Optional Stuff
A weasel riding the back of a woodpecker? Can it be real? Can it be?
Homework 14: Deeper into Russia! Please read pp. 191-200 in this reading. Also, please read this fantastic article from Foreign Affairs about the rise of Vladimir Putin.
-Due Wednesday, March 4
Optional Stuff
The cartoonist has no idea how net neutrality works.
Homework 13: We begin our unit on Russia! Please read pp. 183-191 in this reading. Also, the nation (and the world) has been roiled by the recent assassination of reformist politician Boris Nemtsov. Check out this article as well as this one from the New York Times.
-Due Tuesday, March 3
Optional Stuff
From 1995 in Newsweek--some people call this "the wrongest article ever written."
Homework 12: We are moving on to a new chapter in the textbook on supranational entities, focusing on the European Union--please read it: 162--179. Also, please read this article from last year's Economist.
-Due Thursday, February 26th
Optional Stuff
Some great stuff from Francis Fukuyama on European identities--here's part one and here's part two.
Homework 11: Please continue on in the textbook. Please read pp. 143-152. Also, please read this leader and this article from this week's Economist.
-Due Wednesday, February 25th
MINI-PAPER 1: In exactly three pages, decide which form of government is superior--that of the United States or that of Great Britain. A word of caution: It's okay to say that US Government works best for the US and British government for the Brits, but if this is your choice, be sure to elaborate... Couldn't the US be a unitary state? Why not let the British regions be autonomous? You get the idea. Also: please use this format!
-Mini Paper Due Friday, March 6.
Optional Stuff
Is the dreaded Rebound Effect making our gains in energy efficiency meaningless?
Homework 10: Please continue on in the textbook. Please read pp. 133-42.
Check out an example of Prime Minister's Questions from February 11th--note that Question Time starts about at about the 1:19 mark on the video. "Number 1" is the traditional first question, to which the PM always gives the same response. Here is the transcript. Right off the bat, things get pretty intense and nasty. It's an interesting time in Britain--a steadily improving economy is making things look better for Cameron and the Tories, but polls still show a presumptive lead for Labour. Also worth noting is the fact that Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, is much more unpopular than his party. At thirteen minutes in, a speaker complains about an unused Aldi Supermarket in his constituency--showing how centralized and unitary the British Government is.
Note: when members stand after a point, it means that they are trying to get the attention of the Speaker to ask a question. Note that all of the comments of the Prime Minister are always directed towards the Speaker. The Speaker calls for order (frequently) and also calls on members to ask questions. The most frequent interlocutor of David Cameron is Ed Miliband, leader of the opposition Labour party. The people sitting next to the Prime Minister are the members of the Cabinet and the people sitting next to Miliband are the members of the shadow cabinet.
...and here's a clip of David Cameron calling Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls a turkey.
-Due Tuesday, February 24th
Optional Stuff
Pretty cool stuff--definitely worth watching.
also
You've always wanted to hear Tainted Love played on thirteen floppy drives and one hard drive, haven't you?
Homework 9: Please continue on in the textbook. Please read pp. 124-33. Also, check out this Economist article from 2010 about the (failed) Lib Dem attempt to change the voting system in the UK.
-Due Monday, February 23rd
Optional Stuff
Ten not entirely crazy theories explaining the great crime drop.
Homework 8: Please continue on in the textbook. Please read pp. 114-23.
ALSO:
What do you think about this format for work?
If you're interested in the details on on some of the ASBOs handed out, click here for Asbowatch VII, and note that there are links to Asbowatches I-VI. These are pretty funny.
-Due Friday, February 13th
Optional Stuff
Amazingly animated, the Eagleman Stag will blow your mind.
Homework 7: Please continue on in the textbook. Please read pp. 102-113. Also, please read this article from last summer's Economist in which the editors implore Scotland not to leave the United Kingdom (spoiler: they ultimately voted not to leave).
-Due Thursday, February 12th
Optional Stuff
These clips of early color motion pictures from 1922 are really haunting--some of the earliest use of color you will ever see.
Check out Li Hongbo's bonkers paper sculptures.
Homework 6: Please continue on in the textbook. Please read pp. 92-102. Also, please read these two articles from the Economist on Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) and personal liberties.
-Due Wednesday, February 11th
Optional Stuff
Some sobering details about the birth rate in China.
Homework 5: Please continue on in the textbook. Please read pages 54-80. Also, the Economist argued in 2011 that California suffered from an excess of democracy. How can that be? Please read this piece.
ALSO: The course calendar is now online! Find it here!
-Due Tuesday, February 10th
Optional Stuff
Pogo remix!
Those of you who have had me before know that I'm a bit worried about all humans being pushed out of the workforce. This film elegantly explains why this is a threat: Humans Need Not Apply.
Homework 4: Please continue on in the textbook. Please read pages 34-54.
ALSO: The course calendar is now online! Find it here!
-Due Monday February 9th
Optional Stuff
An amazing day in India.
See pictures of the devastation in Ukraine, courtesy of the Atlantic's amazing In Focus photoblog. WARNING: Some graphic images of violence.
Homework 3: This is the first excerpt from the textbook. It's sideways, so I suggest that you download it and rotate it in your PDF viewer. Please read pages 12-34. Also, check out this piece written by Bill and Melinda Gates entitled "Three Myths on the World's Poor."
-Due Friday, February 6th
Optional Stuff
The Simpsons opening sequence in pixels!
An amazing retrospective on National Geographic maps.
Homework 2: Please check out this famous article by Harvard prof (and Stuy alum!) Samuel Huntington from Foreign Affairs--a counterpoint to the utopian philosophies that emerged around the time of the end of the Cold War. Later this was turned into a book.
-Due Thursday, February 5th
Optional Stuff
How good are you at recognizing foreign languages? Test your skill with the Great Language Game!
Those of you as obsessed with Chipotle as I am will find this oral history of Chipotle very interesting.
Homework 1: Please go to this form and enter your information!
ALSO:
You should do the following:
1) Make sure you have a Dropbox account.
2) Share a folder with me. The format should be as follows: If your name were Patrice Lumumba and you were in my 6th period AP Comp Gov class, the folder would be entitled: Patrice Lumumba, CG6. Please do not omit the "CG" in front of your period number. My e-mail address for sharing is mpolazzo@gmail.com
3) Upload a headshot of yourself that (a) is not too large and (b) actually looks like you. Place it in the shared folder. Name it patricelumumba.jpg (substitute your first and last names). Please note that all headshots should be in JPEG form!
4) All uploaded data is due by the start of the period that I teach you on Thursday!
-Due Wednesday, February 4th
Optional Stuff
The Atlantic Magazine has an amazing photo blog called "In Focus." Check out their round up of the best photos of the recapture of Kobane by the Kurds here.
Amazing animated infographic of auto sales in the USA. Sounds boring, but very cool and interesting!
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