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.