China Presentation

Click here! :)

Internet regulations on China

Here is yet another example of the Chinese government regulating the internet.  This time, "microblogs" are the target.

BBC article on the Kony 2012 campaign

Here is a relatively unbiased article on the Kony 2012 campaign that most of you have probably already seen on facebook and youtube.  This is a great example of optimism (Invisible Children, Ocampo) and pessimism (Ugandan activists, people on the ground in Uganda) surrounding the consequences and changes brought about by globalization.

Here is an article outlining criticisms of the Kony campaign and a profile of Kony.

New course plan

Change of plans! As I announced in class, we will be covering democratization, globalization and political violence on Monday, March 12th.  There will be a multiple choice test on the corresponding O'neil chapters (LDCs and NICs, globalization, political violence) on Wednesday March 14th.  That will be your last grade for the third quarter.  When we get back from spring break, we will focus on the remaining three countries (Mexico, Iran, Nigeria) with an FRQ testing the material.  After that we will continue research for your policy presentations.  After all the material has been covered, we will do a comprehensive practice AP to see where you stand regarding the test in May.  We are almost to graduation, so keep your head down, keep working, and it will be here in no time!!

Also, if anyone has any recommendations for the Freedom Friday (March 16th) movie, please let me know.  I am planning on showing Hotel Rwanda (121 minutes, so we would start on March 14th after the test), but any relevant film suggestions will definitely be considered.  Use this post as a forum for suggestion and discussion!

Mexico briefing paper

Nevermind.  I just read the fine print and I can't post the briefing paper electronically without express permission by collegeboard (and I do not like paperwork).  Sorry, but I will have it for you next class!

Presentation rubric

Presentation requirements for AP Comparative Politics policy presentations

You will be graded on the following:        /50

1.       Presentation style – skit, lecture, quiz, class participation, appearance, visuals, country-specific knowledge, ability to answer questions, etc.  I want to see some creativity!

2.       Clarity, accuracy and scope – must demonstrate understanding of the following core components of comparative politics with a MAJOR focus on public policy:

Sovereignty, authority, and power – Has policy changed (or sought to change) views on these concepts in the last 15-20 years?

Political Institutional change – How have the actual institutions changed over the last 15 years? (example: elections rules, representation, etc.)

Citizens, Society and the State – How has their role evolved over the last 15 years? (protests, voting, interest group policy, etc.)

Economic change – What do most recent indicators tell us about change over time? GDP, HDI, GINI etc.

MAIN FOCUS - Public Policy – timeline of MAJOR public policy issues/changes over the last 15 years.  Useful to separate into social, political and economic spheres of policy     

-need AT LEAST 8 milestone policy changes (or MAJOR attempts at change) – FOCUS ON ACTUAL POLICY CHANGES

Your group must hand in:             /50

1.       PowerPoint presentations or Prezi (6 slide/pg. format OR link to prezi)

2.       A list of key terms unique to your country, organized and categorized by the core components of comparative politics listed above (print these out and hand to fellow students before presentation)

3.       Sample practice FRQ and rubric (this can be incorporated into your presentation or not)

Each student must individually hand in a one paragraph peer evaluation of your fellow group members’ contribution to your final product.  Be specific.

Links to important news articles

Party politics in the UK

Smog over China

New EU-backed fiscal policy

Mexico in 2012

Independence figure buried in Nigeria

Voting in Iran

Russian 'faces to watch' in upcoming elections

Leap Day FRQ

In honor of leap day, I gave you an extra FRQ prompt, but I did not tell you it was extra.  I will grade all responses, but only count the top three scores when I calculate your grade for this FRQ.  So, essentially if you entirely bombed one, you can consider it dropped from consideration.  See you on Friday for "Life and Debt".

On a side note, everyone please send me links (or post links as a comment on this post) to your prezi or powerpoint presentation so I can post them on the blog for all to access.

On another side note, Spenser and Patrick,  I do not know if you were there, but, because I forgot to gloat, second place on Monday and I carried my team....Batman, Ghost, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and A Few Good Men, in that order.  Bring it.

On yet another side note, good luck Patrick and Reno on whatever it is that you were dressed up for today.

Pics from Syria

Pictures from the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Hyperlinks to articles found by Brian and Reno plus another on microblogging

Putin's article on a strong Russia.

Media and elections in Russia.

Iran warns of military capabilities.

Obama's Google+ page bombarded by Chinese posters.

Here is another article I found that talks about the new avenue available to pro-democracy protesters: microbloggers v communism

Please post any other articles you found relevant and interesting.  Thanks and keep up the good work!!

Chinese Labor, Cheap No More

Here is the article I handed out in class today.  Great example of how globalization and market pressures can drive economic change in China.

links to prezi

Communism and postcommunism

authoritarianism and totalitarianism

democracy and advanced democracy

chapter 1-4, 6 and 7 review

The Russian Federation lecture

The People's Republic of China lecture

NICs and LDCs

Communist and post-communist regimes

Please post some recent articles highlighting the two countries we will study next: Russia and China.  We will go over them at the beginning of class on Thursday before the lecture on communist and post-communist regimes.

I will start the class off with an article about the VP of China visiting Obama.

NHS overhaul bill shot down in Paliament

Talk about an ongoing policy issue.  This article outlines what recently went down in Parliament over a controversial bill that would overhaul the NHS.

Consent form text

Parents and guardians,

We will be watching the HBO movie “The Special Relationship” in class on Friday February 10^th.  This movie is a dramatization about Tony Blair’s relationships with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, when Blair was the prime minister of the United Kingdom.  This will help the students better understand the “special relationship” (the movie is quite aptly named) that exists between the UK and the US, especially in the 90s.  The relationship between the US and the UK is an ongoing policy concern for the UK and therefore I believe it will be very useful in understanding the political undertones that drive this relationship.  By signing this you are giving consent for your child to view the movie.  If you do not want your child to watch this movie, I will have an alternative assignment ready for them.  Thank you very much!

                Sincerely,

                                Mr. Sharpe

I allow my child ________________ to view the movie “The Special Relationship” in Mr. Sharpe’s AP Comparative Government and Politics class.




x____________________________
parent/guardian signature

Class on Wednesday, February 8th

The reading assignment for class on Wednesday is Roskin, Chapters 2-6.  These chapters cover Great Britain.  We will go over Great Britain in depth on Wednesday and have a free response question after the lecture (time permitting-early release day).  This free response question will be cumulative and will count as the other half of the first unit exam.

Interesting article on Arab Spring

Despite the Arab Spring and the overthrow of many authoritarian regimes, there has actually been a slight movement towards authoritarianism globally, according to Freedom House.  Here is the article.

Class on Tuesday, January 31

On Tuesday we will finish up the viewing of Persepolis and discuss some of the themes (ethnicity, ideology, theocracy, fundamentalism, etc.) that apply to chapter 3 in O'neil .  Also, there will be a brief lecture on ideology and political economy with some activities setup to help you determine where you land on the ideological spectrum.  We will then continue on with Chapters 6 and 7, covering democracies and advanced democracies, with a practice FRQ at the end of class (time permitting).  I hope you enjoyed your Freedom Friday (even though it was a very lopsided election) and have a good weekend!!

Today we will be going over chapters 1 and 2 in O'neil.  Please post any questions or comments about the material we reviewed.  Also if you have any articles that apply to some of the concepts we learned about today please post them with a comment on the relevance of the story.

Welcome!

Over the last year or so a LOT has been happening in the field of comparative politics.  The Arab Spring, the global financial crisis, rising tensions in the Middle East, ongoing concerns in Israel,  global protests on income inequality, international humanitarian crises, and the rising economic power of China (among many other headlines) have all been changing the face of international politics as we know it.  You might think that these faraway developments don't concern you, but the fact is, with the rise of globalization and unprecedented advances in social communications technology, a grisly, suicidal protest by a young fruit-cart owner in a remote land can have monumental implications on the political landscape of the entire world.  

In one half of the course we will examine many broad concepts with which you might be familiar (sovereignty, power, freedom, equality, legitimacy, globalization, etc.), but we will also delve into many concepts that you might not have seen before (devolution, corporatism, clientelism, cosmopolitanism, etc.).  The other half of the course deals with six countries (Great Britain, Mexico, Russia, China, Iran and Nigeria) that all provide different perspectives on how political systems across the world work.  We will be conducting in-depth examinations of each countries history, people, and culture. 

I genuinely look forward to your participation and successful completion of this course.  This is the subject matter I studied in college, so I find it supremely fascinating and I hope you will too!

One more thing!!!  If there are any current, relevant political issues/events that you would like to talk about in class please comment on this post with whatever it is that peaks your interest!