Monday, February 22, 2010

Peace and Conflict Studies: The People Speak, Pt. 1

(For students--post responses in the comment section at the bottom of this post)



Here is a list of the resources I'm going to be putting on reserve for you at the BCTC library circulation desk, in the HUM 220 section:

Crips and Bloods: Made in America



Mooney, James, ed. American Dissenters: Volume Two. Maplecrest, NY: Brandywine Press, 2005.

Includes chapters on:
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Agrarianism
Henry George
Bill Haywood and the IWW
Thorstein Veblen
Emma Goldman
Upton Sinclair
Sinclair Lewis
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Port Huron Statement
Reflections on Power and Self-Righteousness
The Battle in Seattle
The Arrogance of Ownership

Ruane, Kevin. War and Revolution in Vietnam, 1930-1975. Bristol, PN: UCL Press, 1998.

Buchheit, Paul, ed. American Wars: Illusions and Realities. Atlanta, GA: Clarity Press, 2008.

McCarthy, Timothy Patrick and John McMillian, eds. The Radical Reader: A Documentary History of the American Radical Tradition. NY: The New Press, 2003.

Also in regards to the documentary:

The Zinn Education Project

Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States: 1492 - Present. NY: Harper-Collins, 2003.

Howard Zinn on Democratic Education (Z Magazine)

Howard Zinn on Holy Wars (Democracy Now)

Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Brooklyn, NY: Verso, 1996.

Loewen, James. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. NY: Touchstone, 2007.

Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Propaganda Model of the Media



and an ongoing archive of materials on Howard Zinn

12 comments:

Jane said...

It is good that students in class are challenging what they have been taught, especially students who are already set in a certain mindset. It was good to see someone from the military speak out about the atrocities against labor organizers, and how it astounded them, because they had never heard/read about certain things that had been buried. I'll have to check out that American Dissenters book, especially because of the chapter on Agrarianism. Looks super cool.

Michael said...

Jane,

It is good that all of us challenge our mindsets, certain or otherwise. Adopting a sense that one is beyond that need is just as dangerous as having a closed mind.

I'm always of the opinion the more "voices" the better... at least if our goal is critical citizenship and/or autonomous action.

I just put the resources on reserve... if you are interested in agrarianism, you might want to check out Kentucky author/activist Wendell Berry

Here is an archive I have about him: Wendell Berry: Conservatism I Support and some excerpts from his books

Kristy Karnes said...

My response to part one of The People speak is one of great empathy. I really enjoyed listening to the actors potrayal of the people behind the voices in the book. I especially thought that Viggo Mortison did a great job speaking for the small farmowner asking for his fellow farmers to help him, he really took on the frustration that could be heard behind the words. I was also quite touched by the woman who yelled coward. I didn't have time to catch her name, but her account of the labor shootings, was intense, when she told her fellow women to stand next to their men it made me cry, in fact I had to hold back tears a few times during this movie, It is an honor to hear the thoughts of those before us.

Michael said...

Kristy,

Viggo is a powerful actor and well-suited to bringing these citizens' voices to life for us... heck, he even looked the part with his The Road era beard.

The woman who did the "courage" reading was Marisa Tomei

Dustin Cole said...

I really enjoined the film. The setup of the production was well thought out. The celebrities that spoke for others in the past made it very interesting. I also really enjoyed The story that was told by Morgan Freeman, speaking for Langston Hugues. It was about the African Americans struggle during the stock market crash. It was so powerful that he explained all of his struggles were based on the fact that he was "Waiting on Roosevelt". That was so powerful, but true.

Katherine Carter said...

The People Speak is an authentic depiction of the people’s history of the United States. The speeches are full of conviction and compassion for the many people who suffered because of our government’s injustices. Howard Zinn states in the beginning of the film ”Democracy does not come from the top, it comes from the bottom” this is why each voice in this film has such great importance. According to Susan B. Anthony in her address to Judge Ward Hunt “ resistance to tyranny, is obedience to God” these words were spoken with such assertiveness I could not help but to feel empowered by her unwillingness to be silenced by the power that was oppressing her. This film shows us how words can be used as a powerful tool, which can provoke positive change.

Jeremiah said...

The small portion of The People Speak that I was recently exposed to was nothing less than captivating. It is a look into history that many will never consider. I noticed the reaction of people to the part about the violence against the union strike. Just wondering if anyone knew about the union mining wars the took place in Harlan, KY. If anyone is interested, there is a documentary called the Harlan County Wars.

Michael said...

Jeremiah,

I have seen Barbara Koppel's video--amazing depiction of that place/era!

It would be a good subject for the term paper--if you are interested in exploring it more.

For more info on the documentary Criterion: Harlan County USA

There is a copy at UK Library

cleslie0005 said...

Chelsea Leslie

For the first part of people speak I was unfortunate to have to deal with other matters and wastn able to see the whole first part. I think that it is great that people are taking a stand and saying how they really feel, and it is actually be heard. Alot of the times the people that make a difference in the world are not seen or heard I think that this documentary is going to be very inspiring to me. As for the second part of the documentary I was moved tremendously by the Pink song Dear Mr. President. Everything that she had to say was true and alot of what most people would have liked to say to President Bush. I love the documentary so much becuase this is the people story those that live in our nation without the priviledges of those that are in leadership and have real problems and go through trying times that most of the time those that are making a way aren't involved.

Keith Walters said...

It is always good to challenge the lessons in life that you have been taught. As I stated in class, history is written by the victor. There are many things throughout the worlds history that is covered up or conveniently "forgotten" due to the influence of government or business. A classic example of this when we think of Jews, we automatically think about teh Halocaust committed against them by Nazi Germany. However it is strange to me that I have never heard anyone discuss how the Jews in the Old Testament of the bible commited genocide against other civilizations in their quest for a Promised Land.

However, I encourage everone in our class to carefully consider what they read in books, hear in classes, or watch on television in regards to different viewpoints about past events. I have noticed many of the writings and visual aids that we have encountered in this class are very biased towards one view. There is a great deal of word play that can be used to distract the viewer. Just remember that just because we are seeing different viewpoints in this class does not mean that it is absolute truth.

Michael said...

Keith,

As I stated in class all communication is biased and that we should always question what is communicated to us (intent/form/message). This was the theme that I started the class off with in my first discussion, were you absent the first day?

Michael said...

The deadline for responses to this section was Thursday, but I cut a few of you slack :)

Students are encouraged to still make comments, but credit for the assignment has ended.