Thinking about Progress

1.  I define progress as a social and political movement to give women and children basic constitutional rights.

2. The Progressive Era was from the late 1800s through the early 1900s.  This was in response to the major corporations and child labor issues.

3. Things associated with this era are women's suffrage, child labor laws, wage raises, working condition reforms, and living condition reforms.

4.  All of the issues brought up by progressives have to do with lower class people and what they wanted to happen.

5.  The reforms that happened that were listed above ranked from the best reforms to the worst. 1. living conditions  2. working conditions  3. child labor  4. women's suffrage

Votes for Women

Future predictions from 100 years ago

1.  There were many predictions 100 years ago that came true.  In this list on Visual News, one prediction made was moving houses on trains.  This partly came true with the invention of mobile homes and RV's. Another prediction was broadcasting theatre shows.  This definitely came true with the invention of television.  One French print on this web page show an airplane rescuing a sinking ship.  With the invention of helicopters, this came true.  Another web page shows two people driving cars with machine guns on top of the cars in a war.  This came true in World War I & II with the use of tanks and early models of jeeps that were know as Ford GPW's.  On this web page, Isaac Asimov made predictions about telecommunications.  He said "Communications will become sight-sound and you will see as well as hear the person you telephone. The screen can be used not only to see the people you call but also for studying documents and photographs and reading passages from books. Synchronous satellites, hovering in space will make it possible for you to direct-dial any spot on earth, including the weather stations in Antarctica." This prediction from only 50 years ago came true with the popular use of Apple's Facetime and Skype.  

2.  Most of the predictions in the articles I read were "wish list" items.  They predicted that modern life would have more amenities and convinces.

3.  There were many predictions that could not be done even with modern technology.  Weather machines were far out of reach and still are, cities with roofs are impractical, and car shoes are too dangerous.  

4.  These predictions are mostly technologies that are aimed to make life easier.  And also technology for first responders to make chasing down criminals and putting out fires easier.  

5.  In the future I would like to see water shoes that can be worn to walk on water, passenger undersea boats, personal airships, and personal hovercrafts.

6.  Controlling the future.  While institutions, the government, groups, NGO's, non-profits and others are changing the future constantly, individuals have as much control as they want.  People around the world can either lash out in violence or simply resist new technology to show that they're not interested.  
  

flying bike

How do you analyze a political cartoon?

How to read political cartoons. 

Observe the cartoon and use prior knowledge to get an idea of what is going on.  Then look for symbolism, exaggeration, and irony.  Use external resources as needed.

Symbolism - physical things represent an idea. 

Exaggeration - artists will exaggerate characteristics of a political figure or an idea.

Irony - the difference in the way things should be and what is expected.

Library of Congress guide to reading political cartoons

This cartoon shows men who represent what the past American wars have been over.  The Philippines has a massive brick depicting how the Spanish oppressed them.  

This cartoon shows Uncle Sam, who looks very scary, lecturing children that represent the Philippines, Puerto Rico,  Cuba, and Hawaii.  The classroom setting shows that the U.S. was in charge and told their territories what to do, otherwise they were punished.  

This cartoon has an exaggerated image of Theodore Roosevelt marching through the Caribbean.  This cartoon is about how he ordered the navy around in the Spanish American War.  

Economic Effects of the Annexation of Hawaii

Topic: Annexation of Hawaii
Focus: Effects of annexation on Hawaii's economy.
Angle: U.S. sugar corporations benefited from sugar production and tourism, while Hawaiians were hurt from annexation.

Hawaiian sugar

Hawaiian, The Legend of Eddie Aikau

1.  The documentary was named Hawaiian, The Legend of Eddie Aikau, because Eddie Aikau embodied the Hawaiian culture.
2.  This film's "thesis" is that the Hawaiian culture isn't dead because of Eddie Aikau's surfing carreer and how he drew surfing back to Hawaii.
3.  Since ESPN made this film, they understood that their viewers wanted to be entertained rather tha informed about the Hawaiian culture and Eddie Aikau's personal life.  So, they showed images and videos of him surfing with voice overs covering his surfing career.
4.  If PBS or History made this film they would have focused more on his personal life, the Hawaiian culture, nature, and how the culture is dying.  They love to focus on how specific cultures are dying.

If I were a documentarian I would document the annexation of Hawaii.  My focus would be the effects of annexation on the Hawaiian economy.  The angle would be that large corporations that made profits off of the cheap labor from sugar plants and tourism killed the local Hawaiian economy.

Eddie Aikau

Phrenology

1.  Our group went and looked at the L.N. Fowler bust and took some initial notes.  Then we went on our computers and got a better understanding of Phrenology and its history.

2.  I learned that different combinations of search terms can lead to better results

3.  Mariam-Webster defines provenance as "the history of ownership of a valued object or work of art or literature" and "the origin or source of something"

Phrenology bust