LENGUA Y CULTURA II

Season´s Greetings!

2011-12-23T08:07:00.000-08:00

Band Aid was a British and Irish charity supergroup, founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the record "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year. The single surpassed the hopes of the producers to become the Christmas number one on that release.

It's Christmas time

There's no need to be afraid
At Christmas time
We let in light and we banish shade
And in our world of plenty
We can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world
At Christmas time

Wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
and if you want to help in this season...

Internationally ...

Join

Locally...

Young People as Agent of Change

2011-11-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

During the '50s, everyone was still recovering from the horrors of World War II. People from around the world idolized the Americans, who definitely prospered during this era. During the 1950s, youth became more self-aware, and they were determined to create their own styles, which the designers followed. Throughout the decade, the teenagers became a distinct group of society, which had never been done before. Young people gained much freedom, which was attributed by some to the lack of discipline after the war and the invention of Rock'n'Roll.

Rock’n’Roll roots lay principally in Rhythm and Blues (R &B). Blues, and rhythm and blues, were too adult, sexual, angry, and solely identified with black culture to be acceptable either emotionally or commercially without adaptation. Major record companies had for years been producing records for black audiences called "race records." The emergence of rock 'n' roll signified a slight weakening in resistance to black culture. Rock 'n' roll was for and about adolescents. Its lyrics articulated teenage problems: school, cars, summer vacation, parents, and, most important, young love. Though rock has used a wide variety of instruments, its basic elements are one or several vocalists, heavily amplified electric guitars, bass and drums. Its melody, the lyrics and the harmony were simple. The greatest exponents were Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Billy Haley and the Comets, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. Saturday nights were spent at local dances where teens jived to their favourite music. Adolescents gathered at coffee bars or diners and listen to jukeboxes while they smoked cigarettes. In America, that concern was conveyed even in youth cultural artifacts like comic books.

At the turn of the decade Detroit (where General Motors is settled) became an important centre for black singers, and a certain type of sound known as “Motown” (motor town), was named Motown Records. One of the most popular exponents of this style was Diana Ross and the Supremes.

In the 1960s music mirrored the tensions of the Vietnam War era and played an important role in American culture. The verbal content of rock songs turned toward rebellion, social protest, sex, and, increasingly, drugs. From this decade it was simply called "rock music", and it was no longer just for dancing.

Rock music surged to popularity in 1962 with the emergence of the Beatles, a group of four long-haired lads from Liverpool, England. They were initially acclaimed for their energy and appealing individual personalities rather than for any innovations in their music, which was derived from Berry and Presley. They produced a boom which was called “British invasion”. Their popularity inevitably produced other groups with unusual names. One of the most important of these was the Rolling Stones , whose music derived from the black blues tradition. An important transformation of rock occurred in 1965 at the Newport Folk Festival when Bob Dylan, noted as a composer and writer of poetic folk songs and songs of social protest appeared on stage, playing electric guitar and backed by an electrified rock band. In 1967 the Beatles again made history with their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which included drug-oriented songs. And from that year onward, the rock festival was regarded as the ideal context in which to hear rock music, and thousands of fans attended. The most successful and peaceful rock festival, Woodstock, was held near New York, in August, 1969. Some other performers of this decade were Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page.

The '60s marked an era of teenagers, as they truly became a distinct part of North American culture, the baby-boomers. A baby-boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World-War II baby boom (a peak in birth rate in U.S.) and who grew up during the `60s and `70s. They were widely associated with privilege, and as a group they were the healthiest, and wealthiest generation to that time, and amongst the first to grow up genuinely expecting the world to improve with time. As these teens received more money, they had an easy time finding jobs. One important feature of Boomers was that they tended to think of themselves as a special generation and, furthermore, to define the world in terms of generations, which was a relatively new phenomenon.

The '70s proved to be a drastic change in thoughts and beliefs of teenagers from the '60s. Many young people held pessimistic views of the world, and they felt very uncertain about what the future would hold. A turning point in rock music occurred in the mid-1970s in the form of punk rock, which was a response to the stagnation of the genre and a nihilistic political statement. In Great Britain, Punk music was performed by the Sex Pistols and the Clash; punk also quickly became popular in the Unites States, played by the Ramones among other groups. Movies and television shows also had a great impact on the styles of young people in the 70’s. On the other hand, Saturday Night Fever made disco very popular and many teens copied the costume worn by John Travolta in the famous movie. The Bee Gees were part of this style.

Work done by Muratore and Funes

Live Aid and USA for Africa

2011-11-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

Ethiopia in Crisis: Famine and Its Aftermath,1984-88

Toward the end of the 1980s, several crises, including famine, economic collapse, and military setbacks in Eritrea and Tigray.

Famine and Economic Collapse

Ethiopia had never recovered from the previous great famine of the early 1970s, which was the result of a drought that affected most of the countries of the African Sahel. The late 1970s again brought signs of intensifying drought. By the early 1980s, large numbers of people in central Eritrea, Tigray, Welo, and parts of Gonder and Shewa were beginning to feel the effects of renewed famine.

By mid-1984 it was evident that another drought and resulting famine of major proportions had begun to affect large parts of northern Ethiopia. Just as evident was the government's inability to provide relief. The almost total failure of crops in the north was compounded by fighting in and around Eritrea, which hindered the passage of relief supplies. Although international relief organizations made a major effort to provide food to the affected areas, the persistence of drought and poor security conditions in the north resulted in continuing need as well as hazards for famine relief workers. In late 1985, another year of drought was forecast, and by early 1986 the famine had spread to parts of the southern highlands, with an estimated 5.8 million people dependent on relief food. Exacerbating the problem in 1986 were locust and grasshopper plagues.

The government's inability or unwillingness to deal with the 1984-85 famine provoked universal condemnation by the international community. Even many supporters of the Ethiopian regime opposed its policy of withholding food shipments to rebel areas. The combined effects of famine and internal war had by then put the nation's economy into a state of collapse.

The scale of the disaster was evident by mid 1984, but it was the BBC television news reports of Michael Buerk and cameraman Mohamed Amin, broadcast on October 23 and 24 1984, that galvanised a huge international response. Buerk described the scenes of dying families huddled in feeding camps as "a biblical famine in the 20th century".

Live Aid in 1985

In 1985 Bob Geldof was the host of Band Aid at Wembly Stadium. Band Aid was all brought about initially after Bob Geldof has watched Michael Buerk’s reports on the news in 1984, which documented the famine and suffering in Africa. His initial response to help stop the people suffering was to make a hit record, this record starred all the famous people of the 1980’s. This single raised £8 million and was the biggest selling single in the UK at that time.

The idea of the concert stemmed from this single, Bob Geldof encouraged people to perform, for nothing, to raise money for this brilliant cause. The bands took to the stage and history was made, other countries run concerts too, these countries included Germany, Russia, Holland, Yugoslavia, Australia and Japan. The event as a whole contributed 16 hours of music all of which was live, and over 1.5 million people tuned in to watch the events unfold. The proceeds of which exceeded 110 million, which was more than was ever hoped for. Concerts for charity have been hosted since, but not one has lived up to the expectations of Live Aid. It was described as 'The Day Rock and Roll Changed the World'

Billed as 'The Global Jukebox' and hosted by Britain and the USA, Live Aid became the biggest live rock event ever, featuring an amazing line-up of rock stars. Spanning two continents, the concerts were broadcast direct from Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. There were also contributions from countries including Japan, Australia, Holland, Yugoslavia, Russia and Germany . The whole event featured 16 hours of live music and was watched by over 1.5 billion people worldwide. The final amount raised exceeded all hopes and totalled over £110m.

The concert began at midday in London with a fanfare for Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Then Status Quo took to the stage to kick off the event with 'Rocking All Over The World'. Each band was given 17 minutes for their set and they performed for free.

Band Aid was the name of the group which recorded the original single "Do They Know It's Christmas? / Feed The World". Written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, the song was recorded on November 25th 1984 by a group consisting of almost 40 of the UK and Ireland's best-known pop stars of the time. Originally Geldof hoped to raise £72,000 for charities from sales of the single, but that estimate was exceeded almost immediately the record went on sale; it went on to sell over three million copies in the UK, becoming the best-selling record ever (at the time), and to raise over £8 million worldwide.

Some of the Artists who performed at Wembley:

Status Quo, Phil Collins (also with Sting), Sting, U2, Queen, The Who, Elton John, Freddie Mercury, Paul McCartney.

Frequent appeals by Bob Geldof reminded viewers of the motive for the occasion: "Don't go to the pub tonight. Please stay in and give us your money. There are people dying now."

Bob Geldof was given an honorary knighthood in 1986.

U.S.A. for Africa

The U. S. A. For Africa was a very heartwarming project and it affected many people around the world when they heard about it. There are many artists who are involved in different foundations which help such projects in order to stop poverty and help in disasters. It was the name that forty five musicians used when they recorded the hit single, We Are the World., in 1985. The song was a number one hit in the U. S. and in the U. K., in April of that year. The artists were predominantly U. S. musicians and the song was led by Harry Belafonte, Kenny Rogers, Michael Jackson, and Lionel Richie. The recording was a live performance and it was released with the Live Aid DVD set which was released on November 8, 2004. The proceeds of the single were to go to the USA for Africa Foundation and was going to be used for the relief of the famine and disease in Africa. Some critics claimed that the money went to the government of the affected countries instead of to the people so they felt that it was all a waste of effort. Some of the countries affected were governed by a military type of rule and often times this means that any money donated to the government would not go to the people at all. It is not known if the people got any benefit from the donation of this project.

We Are The World/United In Song came as a response to DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?. It was dedicated to the 40 plus artists and musicians, who paved the way 25 years ago for this new release, with special thanks to Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones "producer extraordinaire," whose musical and creative talents have made We Are The World the anthem it has become today. The global artists featured on United In Song represent the next generation of musicians to use their talents to inform and ignite action. Each song presented speaks to an issue or cause valued and supported by the respective artists.

Live 8

A series of free, simultaneous concerts in 10 cities was the climax of ONE's contribution to a global movement resulting in unprecedented commitments to cancel debts, double aid and deliver near universal access to AIDS treatment at the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles. However, these promises mean nothing if they are not delivered and ONE is working hard to ensure they follow through. 2005 was a historic turning point in the fight against poverty and disease rules.In the month leading up to the July 6 to 8, 2005 G8 Summit, ONE mobilized 1.5 million people in the United States to sign the ONE Declaration, wear the white band, and send 500,000 letters to President George W. Bush expressing those demands.

The mass mobilization received strong support from Nelson Mandela, Bono, Bob Geldof and a number of other leading ONE supporters, including Brad Pitt, Beyonce, George Clooney and Djimon Hounsou.

20 years after the historic fundraising Live Aid concerts, Bob Geldof organized Live 8 - this time calling for justice, not charity. The string of concerts on July 2, 2005 in each of the G8 countries and in South Africa was timed to harness the massive momentum of the global movement to maximize pressure on the leaders of the world's most powerful countries. More than 1,000 musicians (including U2, Pink Floyd, Will Smith, Elton John and Madonna) performed at the concerts. More than 2 million people attended Live 8; over 30 million people took action and an estimated 2 billion watched Live 8 on TV.

As a result of a combined effort of thousands of organisations as part of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty with the added boost of Live 8, and the Commission for Africa report (which detailed policy demands), G8 leaders pledged on July 8 to double development assistance to Africa (from 2004 levels), reaching an extra $25 billion per year by 2010. The G8 also agreed to cancel remaining debts for qualified countries, and to strive to provide universal access to life-saving ARVs for AIDS patients and education for children.

Work done by Prado and De Marchi

Apartheid In South Africa

2011-11-03T15:37:00.000-07:00

Work done by Di Loreto, María Eva

Artaza-Martínez, Marianela

Fashion Prototypes

2011-11-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

From June 1941

Rationing was on food as well as on clothing. Details of the rationing were announced in newspapers and women magazines. The message was in in simple language for the masses to understand without any misunderstanding.

Limited Coupons to Spend:

This meant that women were forced to wear clothes that they had in their wardrobes. This scheme ended in 1952. Some families were too poor that having the coupons made no difference on them.

During the Second World War Paris produced restrained clothing to match the economic atmosphere. The general wartime scene was one of drabness and uniformity. People were encouraged “to make do and meant”

1945 Post War Functionalism in Sportswear

After 1945 a whole new range of synthetic fibres often best suited in the early days of production to knitted fabrics were made into pullover dresses, underwear.

The fifties saw revolutionary changes in sports clothes much of due to the earlier invention and new use of synthetic fibres particularly nylon combined with practical techniques developed in military clothing for example hood

pockets in jacket

elastic inserted in the side of the sky pants

anorak

THOUGHTFUL COLOUR COORDINATION ONLY BECAME A NORM IN TH 60s

Functional Clothes for mass production

Functionalism became strongly associated with sports clothes in the 50s .Consumers noticed how useful the features often were in everyday life. Hooded anoraks and parkas for wet were a big feature. The greater availability of goods in the 50s meant that consumers now made choices.

After the War the new look of 1947

After the war the people became resentful and patient when rationing was not relaxed on clothes. People were bitter because clothes were being made, but were exported in an effort to rebuild the British textile and wool economy.

Paris continued to produce exotic fashions, but America was developing a look of its own which was mainly found in Claire McCardell’s designs. The American look was simple and classic.

New Times, new Look

Christian Dior’s New Look of 1947 was frowned upon by both the American and British governments and people were discouraged from wearing clothes that “wasted too much fabric”. The advice was ignored particularly by Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret who were soon wearing it because it had influenced her own designers. People were craving for newness .

The growth of a Media and Consumer Influence on Society

Hollywood Influence

In the 1940s and 1950s American culture became very dominant in Europe. The influence of movies films and the prominence of films starts set the fashion in manners, make up, hair and clothes. Women, Men, and youth all desired look- alike copies of outfits, accessories and jewelry worn by the most popular screen idols. One way to achieve the look was to make your own clothes and customize them to have a similar look.

FOR THE 50s EASY TO MAKE SWEING PATTERS WERE ALSO PROMOTED

Fashion sewing was very popular during the earlier 60s and was a major subject in secondary modern schools in the UK. Night classes abounded in the 60s were women who attended for about 10 sessions had the rudiments of using a sewing machine and cutting a pattern so they could manage to make a dress.

1960s Talent

For the first time ever in any fashion era, the younger became the leaders of fashion. Twiggy . Lesley Lawson née Hornby (born 19 September 1949) known as Twiggy is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early-1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree.

Twiggy was initially known for her androgynous looks, large eyes, long eyelashes, thin build, and short hair.In 1966, she was named “The Face of 1966” by the Daily Express and voted British Woman of the Year.By 1967, Twiggy had modelled in France, Japan, and the U.S., and landed on the covers of Vogue and The Tatler. Her fame had spread worldwide.

Fifties fashion hangs on until 1966

The short skirt was not really worn by many women until 1966 and not nationwide until 1967.

The Unsung Mini Skirt Inventor - John Bates

John Bates was one of the most influential British designers of the 1960s. Ernestine Carter the fashion historian thought him the unsung inventor of the mini skirt. His mini dresses were the shortest, had the barest midriffs and the models wore the least undergarments - he preferred a bra-less silhouette. In 1959 he had set up the Jean Varon label and later a label under his own name. His influence in the sixties was such that he dressed Diana Rigg in The Avengers series. Other celebrities of the day such as Twiggy, Sandie Shaw, Jean Shrimpton and Dusty Springfield all wore his fashion designs. But so did the masses as he also designed for important key department stores in the UK.

John Bates has never been given enough credit for his role in the rise of the mini skirt. The facts are that John Bates was making shorter skirts long before others. But Mary Quant was the facilitator of this novel idea who was really noticed. She got the mini skirt out among trendy young girls about town and it soon became copied and popular everywhere.

article by Pauline Weston Thomas at www.fashion-era.com

Death of Stockings

What made the mini really acceptable was the introduction of pantyhose known mostly today as tights. It was hard to wear a mini dress with stockings and feel confident, but with tights there was protection from the elements and no unsightly glimpse of stocking tops. Stockings died in the mid 1960s and were only revived as leg wear in the 1990s or else kept for the bedroom.

Pantyhose

When tights were first introduced in the 1960s it liberated women from girdles, roll-ons and suspender belts. It's difficult to know which came first the skirt or the tights, but the introduction of seamless stockings had started the tights revolution. What is certain it is unlikely the one could have existed without the other as no groomed young lady ever went out bare legged then.

Tights in the late 60s were often patterned with arrangements of diamonds or other motifs and a favourite colour of the era was a golden brown called American Tan. Fishnet tights were also popular briefly. Lurex glitter tights in gold or silver were a hit for the Christmas period.

New Synthetic Yarns in the 1960s

Many of the fashions of the 1960s existed because of the fabrics. They introduced new fabric properties and when synthetics were mixed with natural fibres there was improved performance in wear. Some had been invented years earlier in the 1930s and 1940s, but it was only in the 60s that huge production plants for synthetic fibres sprang up globally.

In the UK in the 1960s Marks and Spencer was instrumental in bringing Elastomerics from America to their range of bras, corsetry and bathing wear. Other manufacturers and fashion retailers soon followed.

Global Marketing and Shopping

Ordinary people shop all over the world today. They take a bucket shop air ticket or limited stay ticket and jet to a major city like London, Paris, Hong Kong, Barcelona, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Florence or Milan simply to shop until they drop. Every tourist office in the world will have day trips that make shopping its main purpose and cruise ships stop at ports for guests to stock up on even more local goodies than are already available onboard.

In England you are never more than twenty or thirty minutes from a town with shops or factory outlet shops a few miles further. In more remote parts of Britain you might have to travel up to an hour. And if you are immobile, shopping TV will probably solve your need for a shopping fix.

American Designers

In the late 20^thcentury no other country marketed fashion like the Americans. The best known designers in America and known by all, are Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren.

Influence of Television Soap Series 'Dynasty' and 'Dallas'

'Dynasty' the 1980s television fantasy soap series promoted fashions which enlarged the shoulder. One of the main characters was played by the naturally broad shouldered film star Linda Evans. In the 1980s 'Dynasty' was watched by a global audience of over 250 million viewers. Many who watched did so for a look at the 80's fashions which were always over the top and frankly camp. Throughout the 80s styles

Levi Strauss the Inventor of Trousers called Denim Jeans

Jeans history would be nothing without Levi Strauss. Levi Strauss is credited with inventing jeans. Levi Strauss emigrated with his family to New York in 1847. His family sold dry goods such as canvas tenting and Manchester drapery goods. He moved to San Francisco in the early 1850s because he thought the same dry goods business would be brisk, because of the California gold rush.

About 20 years later, a solvent Levi Strauss and a Nevada tailor joined forces to patent an idea the tailor had for putting rivets on stress points of workman's waist high overalls, commonly known as jeans. Levi Strauss chose to use the stronger denim fabric and cotton duck, putting his own name on the product. Later the duck fabric was dropped as consumers found denim more comfortable, particularly after washing. Washing creates the faded bloom on the indigo blue dyeing that we all love.

Eventually in the 1950s people asked for denim jeans or just as often - Levi's jeans, rather than waist overalls. Other manufacturers began to produce jeans. Other brand names such as Lee Coopers and Wranglers also became famous. Each brand is renowned for having a particular cut.

Work done by Varsalona and Candelon

Beat Generation and Hippie Movement Summary

2011-10-27T06:17:00.000-07:00

Beat Generation : Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg.

Beat Generation refers to a group of American post World War II writers, that became prominence in the 1960´s.

They saw runaway capitalism as destructive to the human spirit and opposed to social equality. In addition to their disappointment with consumer culture, they were against the repressive generation of their parents.

By the time, the taboos against frank discussions of sexuality were seen as unhealthy and damaging to the mind.

According to Literature and Art the Beats stood in opposition to the clean and almost antiseptic formalism (as they used to name it) of the early twentieth century modernists.

They fashioned a literature that was more bold, courageous, straightforward and expressive than anything had come before.

Underground music styles like Jazz were especially evocative for Beat writers.

The word “Beat” was primarily used after World War II by Jazz musicians and workers, as a slang term meaning “Down and out” or “Poor and exhausted” . But Jack Kerouac twisted the meaning of the term, explaining that “Beat” means “Beatitude” not beat up, Beat generation writers also used the term in connection with music, Kerouac often said; “You feel this, you feel it in a beat, in jazz real cool jazz”.

Other central elements of Beat culture included, experimentation with drugs, alternative forms of sexuality, an interest in Eastern Religion and the rejection to materialism.

The Beat Generation was a Literature and Cultural movement and the best known writers were; Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, these authors are considered the producers of the best work of the time.

Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) was an American poet that opposed Militarism, Materialism and Sexual repression. Ginsberg is best known for his epic poem “Howl” where he severely denounced what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States. Howl is one of the classic poems of this period and was dedicated to his friend Carl Solomon. As all of the controversial Beat Generation writings, the conservative people saw it as dirty, vulgar and with obscene language. It seemed especially outrageous or shocking in 1950´s America because it represent both heterosexual and homosexual sex, at a time when sodomy laws made homosexual acts a crime in every US state.

He used phrases such as “fucked in the ass” “cocksucker” and “cunt” as part of the poem’s depiction of different aspects of American culture, he used sex to criticize the emptiness and constant hunger that could exist in the lives of Americans.Ginsberg’s willingness to talk about taboo subjects made him a controversial figure during the conservative 1950´s and a significant figure in the 1960´s.According to his writing technique, he developed and individual style that was identifies as Ginsbergian. His choice to brake away from traditional poetic structure was fiercely criticized as chaotic and unpoetic, but for him it was an open excited expression of thoughts and feeling that were naturally poetic.

William Burroughs (1914 – 1997) was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. Much of his works are semi-autobiographical mainly drawn for his experience as a heroin addict. He write 18 novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collection of essays, but perhaps his best known novel in “Naked Lunch”, a work that along with the poem “Howl”, went to the court for being cases under sodomy laws. He was an analyst and a critic of the moral, politic and economic system of American Society.

His major works can be divided into four different periods:

- Early Work (early 1950´s)

- The cut-up period (mid 1950`s to mid 1960`s)

- Experiment and Subversion (mid 1960`s to mid 1970`s)

- The red night trilogy (mid 1970`s to mid 1980`s)

(The dates refer to the time of writing, not publication).

Drugs, homosexuality and death are the most common themes, along with Ginsberg helped made homosexuality cool and highbrow, providing a gay liberation.

Jack Kerouac (1922 – 1969) was an American novelist and poet. He is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as, Catholic Spirituality, Jazz, promiscuity, Buddhism, drugs, poverty and travel. Some critics have labeled his work as “slapdash” “grossly sentimental” and “immoral”.

He became an underground celebrity and with other beats, the progenitor of the Hippie Movement.

In 1969 at age of 47 Kerouac died from internal bleeding caused by cirrhosis, the result of a lifetime of heavy drinking.

Since his dead, his literary prestige has grown and several unseen work have been published, such as; “On the road” “Doctor SAX” “The Dharma bums” “ Mexico City Blues” “The Subterraneans” “Desolation Angels” and many others.

In the 1960´s elements of the expanding Beat movement were the legacy for Hippie Counterculture, which was a movement that arouse in the United States during the mid 1960´s and spread almost all over the world.

The Hippie culture spread worldwide through a fusion of Rock, Folk, Blues and Psychedelic Rock, it also found expression in Literature, dramatic arts, fashion, and visual arts including films, posters advertising rock concerts and album covers.

Hippies rejected established institutions, criticized middle class values, opposed nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War, embrace aspects of Eastern Philosophy and sexual liberation, they promote the used of many drugs, they create international communes or communities and firmly believe in Peace, Love and Personal Freedom.

The peace symbol was developed in the UK as a logo for the “Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament” and was adopedt by US Anti-War protestors during de 1960´s.

Hippies were often pacifist and participated in non-violent political demonstrations such as; Civil Right Movement, The Marches on Washington D.C, and Anti-Vietnam war demonstrations.

The degree of political involvement varied widely among Hippies, the Yippies were the most politically active Hippie sub-group.

In addition to the non.-violent political demonstrations, Hippie opposition to the Vietnam War including organizing political action groups to oppose the war, they refused to serve in the military and conducting “teach-ins” on college campuses, because that covered Vietnamese history and the political context of the war.

The Flower Power is a Slogan used by American counterculture as a symbol of passive resistance and non-violence ideology. It was implanted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War.

The expression was first coined by the Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in 1965, as a means to transform the protest into peaceful affirmative representations.

Hippies included the symbol wearing clothes with many flowers and vibrant colors, wearing flowers in their hairs and distributing flowers to the public, becoming known as flower children. The term later became a strong reference to the Hippie Movement.

The political ideals of the Hippies influenced other movements such as; Anarcho-Punk,

Rave Culture, Green Politics, Stoner Culture and The New Age.

Some of the most noticeable musicians and bands of the era were: Janis Joplin, Creedence, Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and many others.

Text: Natalia Gatica

Link to same topic in our blog:
http://profesoresyalumnosisfd97.blogspot.com/search/label/Beat%20Generation

Looking for Modern Art in London

2011-10-20T07:34:00.001-07:00

I´d like to share with all of you a video I made with pictures of great modern Art works I took last July, 2011 in Tate Modern, London. Hope you like it!!!

Pop Art & Opt Art

2011-10-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

by Urquiza and Peña

Pop Art
The term Pop Art originated in the middle 1950`s in Britain ,and in the late 1950`s in The United States. It’s an international movement in painting, sculpture and printmaking.
It was the first pos-war art movement to embrace mass media, photography, imagery,popular culture ,consumer products, and photos of media stars.
Artists of this movement were looking for a more playful and ironic strategy.
Unlike abstract expressionism, pop art incorporated a wide range of media, imagery and subject matter that up to this moment it was excluded.
Pop artists cared a little about creating unique art object; they preferred to borrow their subject matter and techniques from mass media, photographs, icons and style into visual artefacts.

There are lots of artist such as Eduardo Paolozzi, Roy Kingenstein, Richard Hamilton. And the most important was Andrew Warhola (1928-1987) known as Andy Warhol. He was an American painter, print maker, and a film maker, record producer, author. He was a leading figure in this visual art movement known as Pop ART.
He applied the technique called "silkscreen”. Silkscreen is a technique that uses " woven mesh " to support an ink blocking stencil, the attach stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable material which can be presented through the mesh as a sharp -edged image onto a substrate. A roller is moved across the screen stencil ,forcing or pumping ink past of the woven mesh in the open areas. Through this technique we can transfer the same image.
Andy Warhol started doing silkscreens in 1962.One of his well-known painting using this technique is the one called " Marilyn Monroe”, it contains fifty images of the actress, which are all based on a single publicity photograph from the actress film " Niagara" (1953), twenty-five pictures on the left side are brightly colored while twenty five on the right side are black and white and also blurred or faded. The juxtaposition of the cold images with those in black and white is thought to symbolize to Monroe`s life and mortality.

Op art.

Op art or Optical art derives from the constructivist practices of the Bauhaus. When the Bauhaus was forced to close in 1933, many of its artists went to United States where the movement appeared between 1950 and 1960.

Op art is a branch of geometric abstraction movement and includes paintings related with surface kinetics. It is a movement which exploits the fallibility of the eye through the use of optical illusion. The viewer gets the impression of movement by flashing and vibration or alternatively swelling and warping. Another characteristic of op art is the illusion of depth, relief, and motion through the elements such as colours, lines and shapes. Op art becomes popular and images were used in a number of commercial contexts as fashion.

There are important artists such as Bridget Riley, Jesus Sotto, and the most important was Victor Vasarely, who is considered the “father of op art”. He was born in Hungary and produced art and sculpture focused on optical illusion and geometric works, including zebra shapes.

Links to other posts in this blog on the subject :

Pop Art & Opt Art
Andy Warhol in Argentina

The Press

2011-10-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

by S. Paulenko and D. Bellingeri

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

2011-10-08T10:31:00.001-07:00

Not to forget!!!

Civil Rights Movement

2011-10-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

US Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights Movements

Civil rights are personal liberties that belong to an individual, owing to his or her status as a citizen.

The civil rights movements aimed to eliminate slavery, racism, and social and religious discrimination. These movements had great, courageous leaders and participants who risked, and in some cases lost their lives for the sake of equality and racial justice. Leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela planned and led non-violent campaigns in pursuit of liberty and equality.

The pioneer of these movements was Mahatma Gandhi. His name means “great soul” in Sanskrit. He was born in India in 1869, when this country was part of the commonwealth ruled by the British Empire. Indian population was divided due to geographical, racial, social, cultural, linguistic, and religious reasons, but also it was divided into rich and poor

He knew about racial discrimination in South Africa, where he moved after graduating as a lawyer in London. It was then the idea of truth and firmness what inspired him “inflicting oneself the suffering one would impose to the enemy”. It demands great control, every insult, beating, imprisonment should be born patiently, make the opponent see their wrongdoing.

True to his belief in peaceful and non-violent civil resistance, Gandhi devoted his life to make India an independent country. By the time he died at 78 years old, India had already celebrated its independence.

Quotes from Gandhi: “They may torture my body, break my bones, and even kill me. Then they will have my dead-body not my obedience; “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind”.

Deeply influenced by the works of Gandhi, King made the struggle for civil liberty for African-American in the U.S.A. his sole motto. Although King became involved in the civil rights movement from his university days, his first major success came only in 1955 in Alabama. That year a black woman named Rosa Parks was arrested by refusing to surrender her seat to a white passenger. In protest, African-American activists boycotted the state’s transport system and chose King as their leader. The boycott continued 383 days until the U.S.A. Supreme Court declared Alabama’s racial segregation laws unconstitutional. In December 1964, King was awarded the Nobel Peace prize. Delivering his Nobel lecture he said: “Non violence is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it”. Four years later, he was shot dead.

As regard Nelson Mandela, he was a son of an African’s tribal chief, and he became leader of the African National congress, political party that called for racial equality. In 1964, after sabotaging the government many times, he was sent to prison; there he became a symbol of

South Africa

’s struggle against apartheid.

Civil rights movements were successful at least by some measures. The movements were also an inspiration; they evoked and embodied high moral ideas of racial equality and justice. Technology played a key role in these movements by making the struggles of protesters highly visible. The world could not help but recognize the righteousness of the protesters cause and the evil, violent repression necessary to subdue the wish for justice.

Students:

Cuello, Ana

Orieta Bertolotti, M. Cecilia

Other posts on the subject: Pioneer in India; A bird in a cage; America also needs equality; Human Rights.

Women´s rights. Women and young people as objects of consumerism.

2011-10-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

WOMEN´S RIGHTS

Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.

In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behavior, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed.

Issues commonly associated with notions of women's rights include, though are not limited to, the right: to bodily integrity and autonomy; to vote (suffrage); to hold public office; to work; to fair wages or equal pay; to own property; to education; to serve in the military or be conscripted; to enter into legal contracts; and to have marital, parental and religious rights.

During the whole 19th century, women had no political rights though there had been some movement in other areas to advance the right of women. In 1839 a law was passed which stated that if a marriage broke down and the parents separated, children less than 7 years old should stay with their mother. In 1857 women could divorce husbands who were cruel to them. In 1870 women were allowed to keep money they had earned. In 1891 women could not be forced to live with husbands unless they wished to. These were very important laws which advanced the rights of women.

The First World War provided the first opportunity for women to take on traditional male jobs so it isn't surprising that in 1918 women over 30 were given the same political rights as men. But this change was not just a result of war - women had been campaigning for decades to be given the right to vote. During the 19^th century the right to vote was gradually extended in many countries and women started to campaign for their right to vote. In 1893 New Zealand became the first country to give women the right to vote on a national level.

In the U. K., The National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies - the Suffragists - was formed in 1897 and led by Millicent Fawcett. The group was made up of mainly middle-class women and campaigned peacefully. The organization built up supporters in Parliament, but private members' bills to give women the vote all failed.

The Women's Social and Political Union - the Suffragettes - was formed in 1903 and led by Emmeline Pankhurst. Although this group was also middle class, it heckled politicians, held marches; members chained themselves to railings, attacked policemen, broke windows, slashed paintings, set fire to buildings, threw bombs and went on hunger strike when they were sent to prison. One suffragette, Emily Davison, ran out in front of the king's horse during the Derby of 1913 and was killed.

The East London Federation of Suffragettes - formed in 1914 by Sylvia Pankhurst - was made up of working-class women. This group concentrated on social reform, and rejected the violence of the WSPU.

Women were not given the vote before the war. At the end of the war, in 1918, however, the Representation of the People Act gave women over 30 the vote, and in 1928 this was extended to all women over the age of 21.

The arguments for and against women's suffrage

For	Against
Women are equal before God.	A woman's place is in the home; going out into the rough world of politics will change her caring nature.
Women already have the vote in local elections.	Many women do not want the vote, and would not use it if they got it.
Women pay taxes.	Women do not fight in wars.
Some women (eg doctors and mayors) are far better than some men (eg convicts and lunatics) who have the vote.	The vast mass of women is too ignorant of politics to be able to use their vote properly.
Other countries have given women the vote.	If women are given the vote, it will not be the gentle intelligent women who will stand for Parliament, but the violent Suffragettes. Parliament will be ruined.

Why did women get the vote?

The Suffragettes

At the time, the Suffragettes caused a lot of anger and it has been argued that they lost support for the cause. Certainly, women had not been given the vote by 1914, even after a lot of Suffragette violence. However, some historians argue that, although they could not be seen to give in to Suffragette violence, politicians could not face a return to Suffragette violence after the war, and that is why they gave women the vote.

The War

During the war, women served the nation and did men's work in many ways. When they were given the vote in 1918, almost every person who supported the motion in Parliament said that they deserved it because of their conduct during the war - they had proved that they could go to war' with the men.

The Suffragists

Some historians argue that the long-term persuasion of the Suffragists won the vote. In 1916, Lloyd George, who supported women's suffrage, replaced Asquith as prime minister, and many pro-suffrage MPs who had been young men before 1914 now held influential places in the government. So the women won by patient persuasion, after all.

During the 19th century some women in the United States and Britain began to challenge laws that denied them the right to their property once they married. Beginning in the 1840s, state legislatures in the United States and the British Parliamentbegan passing statutes that protected women's property from their husbands and their husbands' creditors. These laws were known as the Married Women's Property Acts.

In the subsequent decades women's rights again became an important issue in the English speaking world. By the 1960s the movement was called "feminism" or "women's liberation." Reformers wanted the same pay as men, equal rights in law, and the freedom to plan their families or not have children at all.

The history of the modern western feminist movements is divided into three "waves". Each is described as dealing with different aspects of the same feminist issues. The first wave refers mainly to women's suffrage movements of the nineteenth and early twentieth century (mainly concerned with women's right to vote). The second wave refers to the ideas and actions associated with the women's liberation movement beginning in the 1960s (which campaigned for legal and social equality for women). The third wave refers to a continuation of, and a reaction to, the perceived failures of second-wave feminism, beginning in the 1990s.

WOMEN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AS OBJECTS OF CONSUMERISM

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The United States emerged from World War II as the most powerful country. The economies of Europe and the rest of the world were in ruins and people around the world struggled to recover from the injuries of the war. As a consequence, USA created a plan to help the rebuilding of Europe economies. This was the Marshall Plan. As a result, European countries became the biggest consumers or users of US goods.

As opposed to the Communist system installed in The Soviet Union and China, Americans had a Capitalist multiparty democracy. This meant that people had the opportunity to seek out economic gain for themselves and that all citizens had the rights to elect their representatives. So, Americans were free people in those years and helping others helped the USA and its economy boomed. This condition led to American citizens to the so called CONSUMERISM.

People had enough money to spend in a range of goods beyond the necessities. For instance: televisions, automobiles, homes land and clothes. Advertising industry developed different kinds of publicities to convince people to buy their products. Radio, television and magazines were used for that purpose.

After the WWII, in 1945, soldiers returned from the war eager to get back to normal life, I mean, to buy a house, to start a family and have a regular job. In the whole country, there was a national enthusiasm for a return to normality and that created pressure for people to conform to standards of life, dress and behaviour

CONSUMERISM conducted people to enhance their social status through material possessions. The more you owned, the happier you were and the greater social status you acquired.

Life in the fifties was simple. Citizens trusted the government and believed in politicians. Society was growing economically and families were living the ideal of the American Dream. Those who lived in the suburbs had the opportunity to get a comfortable house with two bedrooms, a toilet, a garage and a small backyard.

FAMILIES

Families in the fifties were very strict and conservative. It was a time where the father was the supreme authority and the role of the woman was as a mother and a housewife. The middle class housewives living in the suburbs stayed at home to rear children clean the house and cook.

In 1950, was the year of the BABY BOOM. That means that families were growing up as well as economy in the country. In 1957, one baby was born every seven second in USA.

For the families in the fifties, premarital sex was not accepted. If a girl was pregnant with no husband, immediately she was sent to live with some relative.

WOMEN

After the WWII, women had to stay into their homes doing the traditional duties that mothers and housewives have. For that reason, women knew what their families needed. They were the primary consumers in supermarkets and shopping centres, because they were the ones who had to buy food, clothes, and different things for the family. Otherwise, women were the primary goals in magazines, television programmes, books and some other media.

As regards LADIES FASHION, for women, the look was neat and polished. They wore dresses or skirts with accessories to give them a soft feminine look. Pearls and jackets were also common.

MAN

In the fifties most men worked in blue collar jobs. They were the main breadwinners in the family. they were considered the head of the family.

As regards MEN FASHION, it was clean and conservative. Men used to wear suits, sweater, cardigan, button down shirts, tie, etc. Men´s hair was kept short and neat.

CHILDREN

Children still obeyed parents. Girls were expected to act as a LADY, and Boys were expected to act like gentlemen.

TEENAGERS

Until 1950 the term TEENAGER was non-existent. Children were known as youth until they reached adulthood. These little boys and girls were treated like small adults in many ways: Teenagers dressed like their parents, went to the same places and listened to the same music. Before that, probably because of new technology and media, things changed and a new generation of young people appeared. These teenagers with money in their pockets from a paid work soon had their own fashions, music, etc. Rising prosperity meant teenagers had more money to spend.

By the mid-1950, teens in US and Europe began to reject the values and conventions of their parents. They liked a new form of music, Rock and Roll and they adopted a new rebellion clothing style.

CONSUMERISM

During 1950 TELEVISION and RADIO were part of everyday life in the families. MUSIC was expanded through the help of these mass media between teenagers. They experienced more independence and freedom that what their parents had as teenagers.

In addition, changes in CLOTHING STYLE and MUSIC BANDS, started to appear in the fifties.

Guys started to wear jeans, leather jackets, cut off shirt, and slicked back hair which allowed them to appeared COOL.

Girls wore ponytails and poodle skirts. For them, skirts were comfortable to dance, because it was loose and free and it means a sign of freedom.

For the first time, clothing was designed especially with teenagers in mind.

New technologies like television, influenced in this change. The ROCK AND ROLL culture was spread. It included music, a style, a philosophy and a set of ideals in that time.

ROCK AND ROLL was not accepted by parents, clergy and conservative people, because they argued that this kind of music was the cause of nation´s social ills and youthful rebellion.

In the fifties if you had a television, you would be the neatest kid on the block. Kids watched six hours of television day which was equal to how long they went to school every day. Television was groovy.

The era of television, everything was black and white. In UK people buy one to watch the Queen´s coronation in 1953.

ANTI CONSUMERISM

The 1950s was also a time of great criticism over the mindless spending of Americans and the rising tide of greed and selfishness. Various social problems resulted from this one trend of consumerism and juvenile delinquents arose from this era due to their disapproval of the blandness and conformity of the 1950s. The television, radio, and other forms of media also contributed to the brain washing of the American population. Mass media turned into a mass culture where false needs, negative values, and escapist fantasies were fostered. Many people became attached to their materialistic possessions and lost sight of their traditional family morals.

TEEN idol ELVIS PRESLEY

Teenagers in the fifties wanted to be different and alike at the same time. They wanted to be cool, but different. This is why Elvis was perfect for them. Rock and Roll was brought into the world at this time and most parents thought it was unsuitable for a family audience. The teenagers loved him though; they thought he was the greatest thing on earth.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

· www.historylearningsite.co.uk

· en.wikipedia.org/wiki/women’s rights

· www.bbc.co.uk/search/?q=women%20rights

· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950s

· http://www.loti.com/fifties_history/Teenage_Life_in_the_1950s.htm

· http://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/fifties.htm

· http://www.history-of-rock.com/teenagers.htm

· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_in_the_1950s

· http://www.cypressbayhigh.com/GLIDES/1950s/50_history_consumerism.html

· http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/1305/American-Consumer-RISE-CONSUMER-CULTURE.html

Work presented by Andrade, Valeria &y Falcone, Florencia

Cold War

2011-09-24T16:10:00.000-07:00

Watch this video made by students about the Cold War and make a comment.

The Unforgettable Fire

2011-09-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

World War II

2011-09-22T17:03:00.001-07:00

World War II Power Point

Older post on the subject: Click here

The Great Depression and America in the 1930`s

2011-08-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

Great site of the University of Virginia, US to study and research on these two topics.Click here.

The Jazz Age: The American 1920s

2011-06-25T15:04:00.000-07:00

The Jazz Age was a movement that took place during the 1920s or the Roaring Twenties from which jazz music and dance emerged. The movement came about with the introduction of mainstream radio and the end of the war. This era ended in the 1930s with the beginning of The Great Depression but has lived on in American pop culture for decades. With the introduction of jazz came an entirely new cultural movement in places like the United States, France and England. The birth of jazz music is often accredited to African Americans but expanded and modified to become socially acceptable to middle-class white Americans. White performers were used as a vehicle for the popularization of jazz music in America. Even though the jazz movement was taken over by the middle class white population, it facilitated the mesh of African American traditions and ideals with the white middle class society.Areas like New York and Chicago were cultural centers for jazz, and especially for African American artists. In urban areas, African American jazz was played on the radio more often than in the suburbs. 1920s youth used the influence of jazz to rebel against the traditional culture of previous generations. This youth rebellion of the 1920s went hand-in-hand with fads like bold fashion statements (flappers) and new radio concerts. As jazz flourished, American elites who preferred classical music sought to expand the listenership of their favored genre, hoping that jazz wouldn't become mainstream.

Women in the Jazz Age

With the women’s suffrage at its peak in the 1920s and the entrance of the flapper women began to make a statement within society and the Jazz Age was not immune to these new ideals. With women now taking part in the work force after the end of the First World War there were many more possibilities for women in terms of social life and entertainment. Ideas like equality and free sexuality were very popular during the time and women seemed to capitalize during this period. The 1920s saw the emergence of many famous women musicians including Bessie Smith. Bessie Smith also gained attention because she was not only a great singer but also an African American woman. She has grown through the ages to be one of the most well respected singers of all time. Another exception to the common stereotype of women at this time was piano player Hardin Armstrong. She was given the piano part in her husband's big band radio performance series called Hot Five and then his next series called the Hot Seven It was not until the 1930s and 1940s that many women jazz singers, such as Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday were recognized as successful artists in the music world.Women such as pianist Billy Tipton dressed up like a man to gain acceptance into society as an artist. These women were persistent in striving to make their names known in the music industry and lead the way for many more women artists to come.

The Jazz Age

The Great Gatsby takes place during the summer of 1922. Fitzgerald coined the phrase, "the Jazz Age" that same year to describe the flamboyant—"anything goes"—era that emerged in America after World War.
Visit these websites for more reliable information:

http://reading.cornell.edu/reading_project_06/gatsby/jazz_age.htm

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=437

http://www1.assumption.edu/ahc/1920s/default.html

Ireland: The Road to Partition

2011-06-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

"Easter Rising scene from the film Michael Collins and Easter, 1916 a poem by William Butler Yeats"

Read the complete poem:

I HAVE met them at close of day
Coming with vivid faces
From counter or desk among grey
Eighteenth-century houses.
I have passed with a nod of the head
Or polite meaningless words,
Or have lingered awhile and said
Polite meaningless words,
And thought before I had done
Of a mocking tale or a gibe
To please a companion
Around the fire at the club,
Being certain that they and I
But lived where motley is worn:
All changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.

That woman's days were spent
In ignorant good-will,
Her nights in argument
Until her voice grew shrill.
What voice more sweet than hers
When, young and beautiful,
She rode to harriers?
This man had kept a school
And rode our winged horse;
This other his helper and friend
Was coming into his force;
He might have won fame in the end,
So sensitive his nature seemed,
So daring and sweet his thought.
This other man I had dreamed
A drunken, vainglorious lout.
He had done most bitter wrong
To some who are near my heart,
Yet I number him in the song;
He, too, has resigned his part
In the casual comedy;
He, too, has been changed in his turn,
Transformed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.

Hearts with one purpose alone
Through summer and winter seem
Enchanted to a stone
To trouble the living stream.
The horse that comes from the road.
The rider, the birds that range
From cloud to tumbling cloud,
Minute by minute they change;
A shadow of cloud on the stream
Changes minute by minute;
A horse-hoof slides on the brim,
And a horse plashes within it;
The long-legged moor-hens dive,
And hens to moor-cocks call;
Minute by minute they live:
The stone's in the midst of all.

Too long a sacrifice
Can make a stone of the heart.
O when may it suffice?
That is Heaven's part, our part
To murmur name upon name,
As a mother names her child
When sleep at last has come
On limbs that had run wild.
What is it but nightfall?
No, no, not night but death;
Was it needless death after all?
For England may keep faith
For all that is done and said.
We know their dream; enough
To know they dreamed and are dead;
And what if excess of love
Bewildered them till they died?
I write it out in a verse -
MacDonagh and MacBride
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

Abstract Formalism

2011-06-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

Ø It was an art movement during Second World War in Europe (1939-1945)
Ø It was based on Existentialism (a philosophical theory based on human existence)
Ø In America it received the name of Abstract Expressionism
Ø It changed the conception of the world and the man
Ø Artists needed to express their feelings on their works
Ø Pollock was an influential painter and the mayor figure. His techniques pouring and dripping paint is thought to be one of the origins of ACTION PAINTING.
Ø Dorothy Parker was an American writer and poet. He was a defender of human rights
Ø Mark Rothko created multiform paintings
Ø Lucio Fontana was an Argentinian painter. He represented violence and aggression on his works
Ø Francis Bacon was an European painter. He painted about people’s screams and pain.

Leticia Urquiza

Impressionism

2011-06-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

Impressionism

View more presentations

Work presented by Eva Di Loreto and Marianela Artaza

World War I and Art

2011-05-09T07:15:00.000-07:00

Look at the two pieces connected withWWI.One is a video from the famous British singer and song writer Paul Mc Cartney and the other is a poem by poet and soldier Wilfred Owen. How would you relate them to the events in the world? Did they ,in any way, change your view of the war?

Politically Correct?

2011-05-07T05:05:00.000-07:00

Humour is also part of newspapers and many have reflected the latest news. Look at some of the political cartoons about the latest event that involves the USA:

Any comments?

www.politicalcartoons.com/

World War I

2011-05-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

Some visual aids to help us with the subject:

Older posts on the subject: War Poets and the relation with the War (audio of poems)

UK, Great Britain et all: Easily confused terms

2011-04-29T06:58:00.000-07:00

This Venn diagramme explains the differences as well.Click on the image to enlarge

And last but not least, a video explaining the differences...

And to be updated, another view on the monarchy and the Royal Family, here. If you have any comments on this, you`re welcome!!!!

http://blog.cgpgrey.com/

High and Low

2011-04-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

Watch this video on differences between High and Low Culture and in view of what you have read, make a comment.

Presentation Skills

2011-02-01T15:41:00.000-08:00

Material for our classes: assignments in our subject will be written and oral.
When you are giving a presentation, you usually talk in front of a group of people in a clear, structured way (about a certain topic). Presentations are a very useful tool for teachers to make students develop different skills and study strategies.
How to succeed in giving presentations?

Must-remember tips:
Before the presentation, be sure you have all your materials ready.
Introduce yourself and the topic of your presentation. The audience needs to know who is talking and what is he/she talking about.
Be ready not to read all the time, people will get bored!
Keep the presentation simple, giving new and significant content. Remember that your audience can read the full paper later, and look for information on the net.
Show your knowledge of the topic: be ready to answer any question that may arise!
Always remember that the end of the presentation is as important as the beginning!
Tips, useful language and tons of ideas:
http://www.waylink-english.co.uk/?page=28040
http://www.tefl.net/esl-articles/speaking-practice-presentations.htm
http://www.englishclub.com/speaking/presentations.htm
http://www.englishclub.com/speaking/presentations-lang.htm
http://www.learn-english-today.com/business-english/presentations-phrases.htm

Time / Image

2011-01-29T15:37:00.000-08:00

This is a fascinating collection of films from the British Council archives, which have been digitised and made available on-line for the first time. Starting from the 1930s, they are beautifully shot, and include themes such as cricket and the history of the English language.

This is just an example , London in1942, in the middle of the Second World War:

London 1942 (1943) from British Council Film Archive on Vimeo.

TIME/IMAGE engages the public in the past, the present and the future by inviting them to explore and discuss the films of the British Council. A number of films are already available to watch through our Vimeo or YouTube channels.

From the early nineteen thirties, for a period of about twenty years, the British Council was an enthusiastic commissioner and distributor of documentaries, designed to showcase Britain to the outside world at a time when fascism was becoming evermore prevalent across Europe. Made by some of the finest filmmakers of the time - such as cinematographer Jack Cardiff (of Powell and Pressburger fame) and director Ken Annakin (Battle of the Bulge) - these films are today held in the BFI archives, almost entirely unused.

The aim of TIME/IMAGE is to catalogue and digitise as many films as possible, and to provide the general public ACCESS to this valuable resource through the TIME/IMAGE website. We want to invite the public to EXPLORE these films and to actively ENGAGE with them through the collection oral histories and artistic responses. In so doing, we want to encourage social debate geared towards how we perceive the present – and hopefully the future – through the interpretation of our own historical narratives.

Working closely with Counterpoint, the British Council and the BFI, the TIME/IMAGE project will contribute to the digitisation and narrativisation of the UK’s cultural heritage; a flagship of New Deal of the Mind’s Digital Domesday.

Happy Christmas!!!

2010-12-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" is a song written by John Lennon, released as a single in 1971 by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and the Plastic Ono Band. Although ostensibly a protest song about the Vietnam War, it has become a Christmas standard and has appeared on several Christmas albums.

Remeber the message...War is over if you want it!!

Rock 80-90s and Solidarity

2010-11-02T05:43:00.000-07:00

Word done by Pagnotta and Maldonado

Northern Ireland: The Troubles

2010-10-31T07:32:00.000-07:00

Work prepared by Careri and Anovassi

Older post on the same subject,here.

The Beat Generation

2010-10-26T09:58:00.001-07:00

The Beat Generation

The Beat Generation, also known as the Beat Movement were a group of American writers who emerged in the 1950’s.The most influential members were Neal Cassady, Gary Snyder, William Borroughs, the poet Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac.

The phrase Beat Generation was invented by Jack Kerouac, the leader and spokesman of the Beat Generation. The phrase was introduced to the general public in 1952 when John Holmes, a friend of Kerouac wrote an article for the New York Times Magazine called `This is the Beat Generation´.

The underlying philosophy was Zen Buddhism, visionary enlightenment and Amerindian CultureThe Beat Generation rejected the prevailing American middle class values and the academic attitude to poetry, feeling that poetry should be brought to people.A common theme that linked the Beat Generation was the need for withdrawal and protest.The Beats sought immediate expression in multiple, intense experience and beatific illumination like that of some Eastern religions like Zen Buddhism.The major Beat´s writings were Jack Kerouac´s On the road, Allen Ginsberg´s Howl, and William Borroughs´ Naked Lunch

Dadaism and Surrealism had a direct impact on the Beats. Dadaism with its attack on the elitism of the high culture and the celebration of spontaneity. Surrealism with its focus on revelations from the subconscious.

Ginsberg said that some essential effects of the Beat Generation could be characterized in the following terms:

Spiritual liberation, sexual liberation, women´s liberation.

.Liberation of the word from censorship,

.Decriminalization of marijuana and other drugs,

.The evolution of rhythm and blues into rock and roll as a high art form,

.The spread of ecological consciousness,the notion of Fresh Planet,

.Opposition to the military-industrial machine civilization,

.Return to an appreciation of idiosyncrasy as against state regimentation,

.Attention to a second religiousness developing within an advanced civilization,

.Respect for land, indigenous people and creatures.

To conclude, The Beat Generation influenced a lot of artists such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez ,Jim Morrison,etc. The Beat movement were followed by the hippies, an anti-war movement which led to the environmental movement, Deep Ecology and Earth First.

You tube: “Howl” part 1

“Howl” part 2

“Howl” part 3

Hippie movement (1960’s)

The Hippie movement appeared in the 60’s and it was related to their liberal attitude and lifestyle.

They questioned authority and traditional values and they did a cultural revolution.

The hippie culture did not want to conform to society and created their own world trying to escape from reality with drugs.

The hippie generation had influences on music, television and film. It made marks on practices, fashion, hairstyles, the arts, religion and meditation.

The hippies stood for peace, love and freedom and the only way to reached these was though love and tolerance.

It was important to bring virtue, humanity and brotherhood, so they approved the Civil Right movement and protested against Vietnam War.

They developed a close relationship to nature and concerned as environmental pollution, recycling and organic food.

The movement has peaked near the end of the 1960’s with Woodstock.

Woodstock

It was the most important music festival held in 1969 in White lake, New York. It had celebrated from August 15 to August 17 and there were 3 days of “Peace and Music”

That musical festival included different genres such as: Rock and folk, including blues-rock, folk rock, jazz fusion, Hard rock, Latin rock, and psychedelic rock styles.

At first organizers (Michael Lang, John P. Roberts, Joel Rosenman and Artie Kornfeld) decided to sell tickets, but a half million of people travelled to New York, the traffic was stuck and it was not enough secure and fence in the zone. So organisers decided that Woodstock would be free.

The field was covered in mud because of the raining weather, and the audience too. There were not enough bathrooms and comforts.

“Although the festival was remarkably peaceful given the number of people and the conditions involved, there were two recorded fatalities: one from what was believed to be a heroin overdose and another caused in an accident when a tractor ran over an attendee sleeping in a nearby hayfield. There also were two births recorded at the event (one in a car caught in traffic and another in a hospital after an airlift by helicopter) and four miscarriages” said the news.

Besides if we talk about liberal attitude, sex free and drugs in the 1960’s a medicine change the world.

Oral Contraceptives (the Pill) were allowed to be sold by FDA (Food and Drug Administration).

This medicine Helped empower woman to control her pregnancies and prevented illnesses (uterine and ovarian cancers).

Women were free to enjoy spontaneous sex without fear of pregnancy.

This medicine allowed women to decide when she got pregnant.

But when the Pill was introduced in 1960 only married women could buy it. In 1967 single women started to get this pill.

You tube: John Lennon “give a peace of chance” (interview)

Work prepared by Savoy and Bunym

Pop and Opt Art

2010-10-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

Work prepared by Monjes and Aceto

Andy Warhol with Argentinian artist, Marta Minujin

"El dìa que me encontré con Andy Warhol en la Municipalidad de La Plata", oil on linen, 2007 by La Plata´s Artist Andrés Compagnucci

Older posts on the subject, here
Other related artists, here.

Human Rights

2010-10-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

Work presented by Wendt Barrios and Grassino

Other posts in this blog from previous years: Gandhi,Luther King, Mandela

A view of South Africa

2010-10-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

The following power point presentation is a letter written by a South African woman who grew up in the Apartheid era...she wrote it for us.

Growing up during the apartheid era

South Africa and Apartheid

2010-10-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

Apartheid

Afrikáans words meaning separateness.
It was a system of legal racial segregation enforced by the National Party government in South Africa between 1948 and 1994
Apartheid classified inhabitants into 4 racial groups “Black", “White", “Coloured", and "Indian“.

Precursor of Apartheid

The British colonial rulers introduced a system of Pass Laws during the 19th century. This stemmed from the regulation of black people's movement from the tribal regions to those occupied by white and coloured people, ruled by the British.
These laws prohibit the black people’s movement from one district to another without a signed pass.

Election of 1948

Racial segregation in South Africa began in colonial times, but apartheid as an official policy was introduced following the general election of 1948.

The Reunited National Party under the leadership of Daniel Francois Malan campaigned on its policy of apartheid. They won the election and Malan became the first apartheid prime minister.

Apartheid Legislation

The first grand apartheid law was the Population Registration Act (1950), which formalized racial classification and introduced an identity card for all persons over the age of eighteen, specifying their racial group.
The second pillar of grand apartheid was the Group Areas Act (1950). It determined where one lived according to race. Each race was allotted its own area.
The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act of 1949 prohibited marriage between persons of different races.
Immorality Act of 1950 made sexual relations with a person of a different race a criminal offence
The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act (1953) established the separation of municipal grounds, transport and civil facilities for the different races.

Homeland System

Under the homeland system, the South African government attempted to divide South Africa into a number of separate states, each of which was supposed to develop into a separate nation-state for a different ethnic group. The Prime Minister Verwoerd came to believe in the granting of independence to these homelands -Bantustans-
Ten homelands were ultimately allocated to different black ethnic groups. Four of them accepted so-called independence
The Black Homeland Citizenship Act of 1970 changed the status of black people living in South Africa so that they were no longer citizens of South Africa, but became citizens of one of the ten autonomous territories.

Forced Removals

During Apartheid time, the government implemented a policy of 'resettlement', to force people to move to their designated "group areas“. Armed police and Army were used to force people move.
Sophiatown, one of the few black urban areas, was removed and destroyed. Residents were forced out of their homes and taken to Meadowlands.Sophiatown was destroyed and in its place was built a white suburb, Triumph.

Petty Apartheid

It describes the era of the 1950s when laws prohibited inter-racial sex and marriage and strictly segregated residential areas, schools, trains, buses, beaches, toilets, parks, stadiums, ambulances, hospitals, and cemeteries
Blacks were excluded from living or working in white areas, unless they have a pass “dompass”. Without it, the person could be being arrested and trial for being an illegal migrant.

Coloured Classification

The Population Registration Act was implemented to determine the 4 different racial groups but the system of classification was not reliable. For example, members of the same family found themselves in different race groups.
The Coloured group included people of mixed Bantu, Khoisan, and European descent. They were forced to live in separate townships.
They played an important role in the anti-apartheid movement.

Women under apartheid and Other minorities

Women suffered racial and gender discrimination. They had few or no legal rights, no access to education and no right to own property. African women can only work as agricultural or domestic workers.
East Asian population didn’t belong to any of the 4 racial groups. Chinese people were classified as non white, whereas immigrants from Japan and Taiwan were considered “honorary white” and they have the same privileges as normal whites.

Conservatism.

The government alongside apartheid implemented a conservative social programme:

- Vices, like gambling and pornography, were banned.

- Most of businesses, shops selling alcohol couldn’t operate on Sundays.

- Abortion, homosexuality and sex education were restricted.

- Television wasn’t introduced until 1976 because the government viewed as dangerous.

Internal Resistance

The government responded to a series of popular uprisings and protests with police brutality, which in turn increased local support for the armed resistance struggle. Internal resistance to the apartheid system in South Africa came from several sectors of society and saw the creation of organizations dedicated variously to peaceful protests, passive resistance and armed insurrection, such as:

ANC (African National Congress) 1949

PAC (Pan Africanist Congress) 1950 formed by a group of disenchanted members of ANC.

Black Consciousness Movement in 1970. It was created by tertiary students influenced by the American Black Power movement. Its leader was Steve Biko.

In parallel, there were uprisings (Soweto) and protests (students, labour unions, and workers).

International relations

Commonwealth: In 1960 Verwoerd announced a referendum on whether the country should become a republic. 52 percent of population voted “yes”. As a consequence of this change of status, South Africa needed to reapply for continued membership of the Commonwealth. African and Asian member states of Commonwealth opposed South Africa due to its apartheid policies. As a result, South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth on 31 May 1961, the day that the Republic came into existence.

United Nations: On 6 November 1962, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 1761, condemning South African apartheid policies. In 1966, the UN held the first of many colloquiums on apartheid. On 7 August 1963 the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 181 calling for a voluntary arms embargo against South Africa, and in the same year, a Special Committee against Apartheid was established to encourage and oversee plans of action against the regime. In 1973, the United Nations adopted the Apartheid Convention which defines apartheid and even qualifies it as a crime against humanity which might lead to international criminal prosecution of the individuals responsible for perpetrating it. Besides, economic sanctions against South Africa were also frequently debated as an effective way of putting pressure on the apartheid government.

Organization for African Unity (OAU): In 1966, Prime Minister, Vorster, tried to redress South Africa's isolation and to revitalise the country's global reputation by the “Outward-looking” policy. The buzzwords for his strategy were "dialogue" and "détente", signifying a reduction of tension. In 1967, Vorster offered technological and financial aid to any African state prepared to receive it, asserting that no political strings were attached.

Western Influences

Nordic countries provided moral and financial support for the ANC. Countries like Sweden pronounced against the Apartheid: Olof Palme, Sweden’s Prime Minister declared: "Apartheid cannot be reformed; it has to be eliminated."

Other Western nations adopted a different position. Thatcher and Reagan followed a 'constructive engagement' policy with the apartheid government. Then Thatcher declared the ANC s terrorist organization. But by 1989, US favoured economic sanctions against South Africa, the release of Nelson Mandela and a negotiated settlement involving the ANC.

Total onslaught

By 1980, international opinions turned decisively against the apartheid regime. Then, considerable effort was put into circumventing sanctions, and the government even went so far as to develop nuclear weapons, with the help of Israel. In 2010, The Guardian Newspaper released South African government documents that revealed an Israeli offer to sell Apartheid South Africa nuclear weapons. Shimon Peres denied it.

Cross-border Raids

South Africa had a policy of attacking guerrilla-bases and safe houses of the ANC, PAC and SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organization) in neighboring countries beginning in the early 1980s. These attacks were in retaliation for acts of terror such as bomb explosions, massacres and guerrilla actions (like sabotage) by ANC, PAC and SWAPO guerrillas in South Africa and Namibia.

State Security

Black townships became the focus of the struggle between anti-apartheid organisations and the Botha government. The focus of much of this resistance was against the local authorities and their leaders, who were seen to be supporting the government. By 1985, it had become the ANC's aim to make black townships "ungovernable" (a term later replaced by "people's power") by means of rent boycotts and other militant action.

On 20 July 1985, State President P.W. Botha declared a State of Emergency in 36 magisterial districts. During this state of emergency about 2,436 people were detained under the Internal Security Act. This act gave police and the military sweeping powers. On 12 June 1986, the state of emergency was extended to cover the whole country. In 1987, the State of Emergency was extended for another two years. Much of the violence in the late 1980s and early 1990s was directed at the government, but a substantial amount was between the residents themselves.

The state of emergency continued until 1990, when it was lifted by State President F.W. de Klerk.

Final years of Apartheid

In 1978 the defense minister of the Nationalist Party, Pieter Willem Botha, became Prime Minister. The new government noted that it was spending too much money trying to maintain the segregated homelands that had been created for blacks and the homelands were proving to be uneconomic. In the early 1980s, Botha's National Party government started to recognise the inevitability of the need to reform apartheid. In 1983, a new constitution was passed implementing a so-called Tricameral Parliament, giving Coloureds and Indians voting rights and parliamentary representation in separate houses – the House of Assembly (178 members) for whites, the House of Representatives (85 members) for Coloureds and the House of Delegates (45 members) for Indians.

Black homelands were declared nation-states and pass laws were abolished. Black labor unions were legitimized; the government recognized the right of blacks to live in urban areas permanently and gave blacks property rights there.

Early in 1989, Botha suffered a stroke. He was succeeded as president by F. W. de Klerk. He moved decisively towards negotiations to end the political stalemate in the country and announced that he would repeal discriminatory laws and lift the 30-year ban on leading anti-apartheid groups.

De Klerk also promised to release ANC leader, Nelson Mandela, from jail. On 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison after more than 27 years in prison.

Apartheid was dismantled in a series of negotiations from 1990 to 1993, culminating in elections in 1994, the first in South Africa with universal suffrage.

In 1993, de Klerk and Mandela were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa".

Finally, on 27 April 1994 an election was held and went off peacefully throughout the country as 20,000,000 South Africans cast their votes. The ANC obtained 62.65% and Nelson Mandela became the President of South Africa.

Work presented by Martínez and Paulenko

Bosnia civil war (1991-1995)

2010-10-22T18:53:00.001-07:00

Bosnia civil war (1991-1995) final version

Work presented by Buey and Priore

Vietnam War

2010-10-21T05:25:00.000-07:00

WAR IN VIETNAM

The involvement of the United States in Vietnam stemmed from its Cold War containment policy .After World War II, stopping the spread of communism was the principal goal of U.S. foreign policy.

TheRoad to war. In the early 1900s, France controlled most of resource-rich Southeast Asia. (French Indochina included what are now Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.) But nationalist independence movements had begun to develop. A young Vietnamese Nationalist, Ho Chi Min, turned to the communist for help in his struggle. During the 1930s, Ho´s Indochinese Communist party led revolts and strikes against the French.

The French responded by jailing Vietnamese protesters. They also sentenced Ho to death. He fled into exile, but returned to Vietnam in 1941,a year after the Japanese seized control of his country during World War II. Ho and other nationalists founded the Vietminh (independence) League. The Japanese were forced out of Vietnam after their defeat in 1945.Ho Chi Minh believed that independence would follow, but France intendend to regain its colony.

The Fighting Begins Vietnamese Nationalists and Communists joined to fight the French armies. The French held most major cities, but the Vietminh had widespread support in the countryside. In France the people began to doubt that their colony was worth the lives and money the struggle cost. In 1954, the French suffered a major military defeat at Dien Bien Phu. They surrendered to Ho.

The United States had supported France in Vietnam. With the defeat of the French, The United States saw a rising threat to the rest of Asia. President Eisenhower described this threat in terms of the domino theory. The Southeast Asian nations were like a row of dominos, he said. The fall of one to communism would lead to the fall of its neighbors. This theory became a major justification for U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War era.

Vietnam- A Divided Country After France´s defeat, an international peace conference met in Geneva to discuss the future of Indochina. Based on these talks, Vietnam was divided at 17º north latitude. North of that line, Ho Chi Minh´s Communist forces governed. To the south, the United States and France set up an anti-Communist government under the leadership of Ngo Dinh diem.

Diem ruled the south as a dictator. Opposition to his government grew.

Communist guerrillas, called Vietcong, began to gain strength in the south. Gradually, the Vietcong won control of large areas of the countryside. In 1963, a group of South Vietnamese generals had Diem assassinated. But the new leaders were no more popular than he had been. It appeared that a takeover by the Communist Vietcong, backed by North Vietnam, was inevitable.

The United States Gets Involved

Faced with the possibility of a Communist victory, The United States decided to escalate, or increase, its involvement.

United States Troops Enter the fight In August 1964, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson told Congress that North Vietnamese patrol boats had attacked two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. As a result, Congress authorized the president to send U.S .troops to fight in Vietnam.

The United Stated had the best-equipped, most advanced army in the world. Yet it faced two major difficulties. First, U.S. soldiers were fighting a guerrilla war in unfamiliar jungle terrain. Second, the South Vietnamese government that they were defending was becoming more unpopular .At the same time, support for the Vietcong grew, with help and supplies from Ho Chi Minh, the Soviet Union, and China. Unable to win a decisive victory on the ground, the United States turned to air power. U.S. forces bombed farmland and forest.

The United States Withdraws during the late 1960s, the war grew increasingly unpopular in the United States. President Richard Nixon began withdrawing U.S. troops from Vietnam in 1969.

Nixon had a plan called vietnamization. It allowed for U.S. troops to gradually pull out, while the South Vietnamese increased their combat role. To pursue Vietnamization while preserving the South Vietnamese government, Nixon Authorized a massive bombing campaign against North Vietnamese bases and supply routes.

He also authorized bombings in neighboring Laos and Cambodia to destry Vietcong hiding places.

The last troops left in 1973.Two years later, the North Vietnamese overran South Vietnam. The war ended, but more than 1.5 million Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans lost their lives.

Adapted from "World History" by C. de Ortúzar.

Link to other older post in this blog of the same subject.

Nice work by David Lodge

2010-10-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

David John Lodge CBE, (born 28 January 1935 at Brockley, London, England) is a British author.In his novels, Lodge often satirises academia in general and the humanities in particular. He was brought up Catholic and has described himself as an "agnostic Catholic". Many of his characters are Catholic and their Catholicism is a major theme. Examples include his novels The British Museum Is Falling Down (1965), How Far Can You Go? (1980; published in the U.S. as Souls and Bodies) and Paradise News (1991).

In Nice Work (1989) a British government program designed to foster mutual understanding between the academy and the outside world ends up doing (strangely enough) exactly what it intends. Robyn Penrose, a temporary lecturer in English literature at the university, is assigned to "shadow" Vic Wilcox, who runs a factory. Robyn's temporary status makes her at once vulnerable to receiving such an undesirable assignment and consumed by the quest for a tenured position somewhere – "nice work if you can get it," as they say, and hence the title. Her fashionable leftist world view leaves her completely unprepared for the everyday realities of Vic's occupation. The clash of ideologies and lifestyles is deftly drawn and delightful to read.

for some more information on David Lodge and his work ,go to older post of this blog:

http://profesoresyalumnosisfd97.blogspot.com/2009/01/david-lodge-nice-work.html

http://profesoresyalumnosisfd97.blogspot.com/search/label/Margaret%20Thatcher

http://profesoresyalumnosisfd97.blogspot.com/2009/11/david-lodge-nice-work.html?showComment=1265681205424#c9037897017332849194

Philip Larkin(9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985)

2010-10-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

Philip Larkin is widely regarded as one of the great English poets of the latter half of the twentieth century. His first book of poetry, The N

Larkin's poetry has been characterized as combining "an ordinary, colloquial style", "clarity", a "quiet, reflective tone", "ironic understatement" and a "direct" engagement with "commonplace experiences",while Jean Hartley summed his style up as a "piquant mixture of lyricism and discontent".

In 2010, a number of cultural events marked the quarter century since Larkin's death in 1985. Larkin's adopted home City of Kingston upon Hull is marking the anniversary with the Larkin 25 Festival including the public art event Larkin with Toads. The festival will culminate with the unveiling of a statue to Larkin inspired by the poem, 'The Whitsun Weddings'. Larkin's poems are appearing on Hull buses and a bus has been named 'Philip Larkin' in his honour by his biographer Sir Andrew Motion, a former English Lecturer at Larkin's workplace, the University of Hull. A compilation of Larkin's favourite jazz recordings has been released to mark the 25th anniversary of his death.

Larkin's earliest work showed the influence of Eliot, Auden and Yeats, and the development of his mature poetic identity in the early 1950s coincided with the growing influence on him of Thomas Hardy. The "mature" Larkin style, first evident in The Less Deceived, is "that of the detached, sometimes lugubrious, sometimes tender observer", who, in Hartley's phrase, looks at "ordinary people doing ordinary things". Larkin's mature poetic persona is notable for its "plainness and scepticism". Other recurrent features of his mature work are sudden openings and "highly-structured but flexible verse forms".

High Windows” consists of five quatrains; it has a variable metrical pattern and an irregular but discernible rhyme scheme (basically abab). Like many of Philip Larkin’s poems, “High Windows” is written in the first person with no attempt to separate himself from the speaker. “I write poems,” Larkin has said, “to preserve things I have seen/thought/felt (if I may so indicate a composite and complex experience) both for myself and others.”

History of Journalism

2010-10-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

The development of journalism wasn’t possible without the invention of the movable type printing press, attributed to Gutenberg in 1456, which purpose has always been the spread of communication in different cultural contexts.

The Industrial Revolution also enabled the growth of technology and trade, marked by new specialized techniques.

Ø The first regularly published newspaper in English was The Oxford Gazette in 1665.

Ø In the U.S, the first colonial newspaper was the New England Courant, published by Printer James Franklin, Benjamin Franklin’s brother.

Journalism in the U.S

As American cities like New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington grew with the rise of Industrial Revolution, so did newspapers. Technological innovations allowed newspapers to print thousands of copies, boost circulation and increase revenue.

Ø In 1851 the New York Times was founded and establishes the principle of balanced reporting in high-quality writing.

Ø By the latter half of the 1880s the print media has grown in importance around the world to a social status that rivaled even government institutions.

Journalism had risen to become the Fourth Power, commonly known as the Fourth Estate, a non-governmental private group of independent companies that had the ability to sway the general public in almost any direction they chose.

Around the world, the power of the media had become as important as the greatest heads of states of any nation.

Besides, in the U.S the constitution itself established the journalistic reporting free, independent and unregulated which allowed the rise of Yellow Journalism.

Yellow Journalism

The birth of yellow journalism was led by Joseph Pulitzer and William Hearst. They owned two of the most widely read and influential newspapers in New York. Both of them competed to increase their newspaper’s circulation. Joseph Pulitzer also had to live with the fact that his chief competitor was his brother, Albert Pulitzer.

Ø Yellow Journalism is a type of journalism that presents no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques may include exaggerations of events, sensationalism, scandal-mongering and so on.

Ø In 1948, Frank Wisner the director of the CIA’s office of special projects created the Operation Mockingbird which was a Central Intelligence Agency operation to influence domestic and foreign media.

Ø The CIA had ensured the Americans could hear only those stories their government wished them to hear. As a result, the American public was being fed more and more propaganda meant to steer them in a particular direction rather than providing them with the information that they needed to make up their own minds.

Ø During the Vietnam War false information was reported back to the Americans as well as we received in our Malvina´s war. In Argentina’s case that information was controlled by the military government that had given the Press Power to the owners of Clarín, La Nación and La Razón. Besides, that military government censored information that they believed threatening to their positions.

Ø In 1983 fifty corporations controlled the majority of all news media in U.S. Ben Bagdikian wrote in his book called The Media Monopoly that in 1992 fewer than two dozens corporations owned and operated 90% of the mass media.

Ø A few years later, in 2000, in his sixth edition of the same book, the number fell to six and since them there have been more mergers and the scope has extended to include the Internet Market.

Ø Finally, in 2004 Bagdikian revised and expanded his book, The New Media Monopoly, showed that five huge corporations now control most of the media industry in U.S, they are Disney, Murdoch’s News corporation, Bertelsmann of Germany and Viacom. However, as we know in Argentina this phenomenon is even worse, as the number of corporations that operate the mass media is more reduced.

Watergate

Ø June 18, 1972: There was a burglary of documents and confidential material at a Watergate office in Washington, during election time. Five men (Edward Martin, Frank Sturgis, Eugenio Martinez, Virguilo Gonzalez and Bernard Barker) were arrested inside the office of the Democratic National Committee. It was supposed that those men were helped by Hunt (CIA) and Liddy (FBI).

Ø Carl Berstein and Bob Woodward were called by the Washington Post to work on the story.

Ø They discovered that Edward Martin was a salaried security coordinator of Nixon (Republican) and that Barker had received a $25,000 check.

Ø John Mitchell was thought to have paid for the burglary and other Nixon's men were accused of sabotage, too.

Ø By 1973 there were two official investigations led by the Prosecutor Archibald Cox and Sam Erwin, from the Senate Watergate Committee.

Ø In July 1973 Alexander Butterfield, a White House aide, told the Senate Committee that Nixon had a secret taping system which recorded his phone calls and conversations in the Oval Office.

Ø There was big struggle: while Nixon was determined not to give up executive documents, the Senate Committee was determined to get them.

Ø After some months of negotiation, the White House agreed to provide written summaries of taped conversations. Erwin accepted this treat, but Cox didn't. So, Nixon ordered to fire Cox but his aides Richardson and Ruckelshows refused to and resigned. Finally Bork was the one who dismissed Cox.

Ø On November 20th, Nixon's lawyers informed a federal judge that one of the key tapes was erased.

Ø For the time Nixon declared "I'm not a crook", nobody believed him.

Ø On April 1974 Nixon announced he release of 1200 pages transcripts (they were public). The Judiciary Committe ordered the White House to hand over the tapes. A week later, Nixon did it and it was prooved that the president had played a leading role in the cover-up from the very beginnig.

Ø Before the Judiciary Committee could vote the articles of impeachment, Nixon resigned on August 8th.

Ø The journalists presented a best seller 'All the President's Men', and after that, a movie with the same name.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/06/14/VI2007061401076.html

WH Auden 1907-1973

2010-10-04T05:54:00.000-07:00

Anglo-American poet, born in England, later an American citizen, regarded by many as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. His work is noted for its stylistic and technical achievements, its engagement with moral and political issues, and its variety of tone, form and content. The central themes of his poetry are love, politics and citizenship, religion and morals, and the relationship between unique human beings and the anonymous, impersonal world of nature.

"Funeral Blues" or "Stop all the clocks" is a poem by W. H. Auden, first published in London 1936, with the revised version published in The Year's Poetry, 1938, compiled by Denys Kilham Roberts and Geoffrey Grigson (London, 1938).

The poem was set to music by Benjamin Britten and later included in a collection of settings of Auden poems under the title Cabaret Songs.

But "Funeral Blues" became popular when it appeared in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral. It was read by Matthew (John Hannah) at the funeral of his partner Gareth (Simon Callow).

The poem was not written about the death of a real person. None of Auden's lovers would fit chronologically. It's one of Twelve Songs. There was a previous five stanza version, part of "The Ascent of F6" which is still copyright.

This version was written as a cabaret song for the soprano Hedli Anderson to music by Benjamin Britten. The speaker is a woman. Like the rest of the twelve songs it was satire, not pathos.

Vertigo Ensemble - "Funeral Blues" by Benjamin Britten

In the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral...

WH Auden interview

Speaking on the BBC's Sunday Night programme in 1965, Auden talks about the moment he became a poet and the purpose of poetry. Taken from Poems on the Box: Re-verse, first shown on BBC Two in 1993.

Click here to watch the interview.

T.S.Eliot´s "Rhapsody on a Windy Night"

2010-10-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

Recently we have analysed this poem by T.S. Eliot. Here´s a reading and some explanation.This is a declaration of the Eliot's disaffection from society like Prufrock, and it written at about the same time in his life, published in 1917. He was still a virgin at the time of writing, as with Prufrock.

The narrative is Eliot's familiar "stream-of-consciousness", commonplace in writing now but at that time it was a true novelty.

La lune ne garde aucune rancune, means "The moon does not hold any resentments".

Here's some notes, you can make up your own mind what value they have:
http://everything2.com/title/rhapsody...

Andrew Lloyd Webber, who borrowed so much from T. S. Eliot, borrowed lyrics from this poem for "Memories"(song of the famous musical "Cats")

We Didn`t Start the Fire!!!

2010-09-28T04:11:00.000-07:00

Talking about the Cold War, we analysed three songs of the 80's that represent different aspects of those times. Not only did we enjoy the music and the lyrics but we also saw how rock musicians could write music for us to dance and lyrics that make us think.

First song we talked about: "Russians" by Sting (1985) from The Dream of the Blue Turtle. As from the title we are able to guess what he will sing about.

Sting cautions about the repercussions of the Cold War including the mutually assured destruction doctrine ("there's no such thing as a winnable war/It's a lie we don't believe anymore"). Hence he hopes that the "Russians love their children too", since he sees this as the only thing that would save the world from a holocaust brought on by nuclear weapons ("Oppenheimer's deadly toy")

Our next song was "Guns in the Sky" by Australian band INXS. According to his frontman and songlyricist, Michael Hutchence, he wrote the bruising "Guns in the Sky", the opening track on "Kick"(1988), as a protest against nuclear weapons in space. The video for the song specifically flashes the letters S.D.I. - for the Strategic Defense Initiative, or Star Wars system - in case viewers might otherwise misunderstand the song's intent.
Hutchence says the inspiration for "Guns in the Sky" was "pure anger". "I wouldn't call it a political song," he says. "I'd call it an anger song. I was reading that they spent $2 million a minute on arms in the world in 1987. Two million dollars a minute. How much money did Live Aid raise? Seventy million dollars? So in an hour... That's when I started getting angry!"

To watch the video, click here.

Last song we dealt with in class was "We didn´t start the fire" by Billy Joel (1989, from Storm Front).In this song, Joel makes reference to a catalogue of headline events during his lifetime, from March 1949 (Joel was born on May 9 of that year) to 1989. The events are mixed with a refrain asserting "we didn't start the fire".
The song and music video have been interpreted as a rebuttal to criticism of Joel's Baby Boomer generation. The song's title and refrain reference "the fire", which refers to conflict and societal turmoil; Joel asserts that the existence of these issues can't be blamed on his generation alone, as it has been "always burning since the world's been turning".

Poetry

2010-09-27T06:13:00.000-07:00

OK, I admit for many poetry is "boring, unintelligible, nonsense"...yes, and you might be right! Partly this has been caused by us teachers with our mania for looking for the"MEANING" or worse still..."THE POET´S INTENTION"(intention that sometimes not even the poet knows!) We are such killjoys! Because that is what poetry is about...joy! The joy of reading something that we would have liked to say, the joy of discovering someone akin to us, or just the joy of the miracle of words, the same words that we use everyday can produce magic by a skilled/gifted/inspired pen. So how can we go about poetry? First, relax, read with your mind and all the senses open, forget about meanings, look for the"punch"...What is that? The assault to your mind and senses...the way a word or two keeps coming to your mind...the awareness that you would have wanted to say that...the recognition of words that make you happy, even if it`s for a moment or sympathy for a feeling you share. I invite you to listen to two poems by one of the most important and influential poets of the 20th century, the Irish William Butler Yeats, Nobel prize winner and recognised figure of the times...His poems are everlasting...

Two versions of "Second Coming" from Michael Robartes and the Dancer, 1920

And a modern one with exquisite music...

Or a surprising version of "Mother of God", from The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1933)recited by Bono from Irish band U2:

Looking at 20th Century Art through the Eyes of a Physicist

2010-08-21T05:56:00.000-07:00

Physicist and art collector Walter Lewin (MIT) shares his personal insights into major works of art from the first quarter of the 20th century.

Lewin begins by providing a framework to understand pioneering art, by dispelling the myth of “beauty” in the artwork. An excerpt follows:

“At the turn of the century we’ve reached a point that beauty is no longer an issue. Now you may find some of these works beautiful, but the intention of the artists that you’ve just seen, was definitely not to paint something that was beautiful. They wanted to introduce a new way of looking at the world, and they did that in different ways. The reason why you may now find many of these works beautiful is that their new way of seeing—their new way of looking at the world which they invented has become your world—your way of seeing. Our ideas of beauty evolve. What is plain ugly a hundred years ago can now be beautiful.

Click here

Absolutely great!!!!

20th Century Art Part 1

2010-08-19T11:29:00.001-07:00

This is a good summary and revision of art movements in the first half of the 20th century.

20th Century Art Part 1

View more presentations from Mid-Pacific Institute.

Cubism

2010-06-23T06:16:00.001-07:00

Work done by Germán Wendt Barrios and Eleonora Grassino

2010-06-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

American gothic

Work presented by Monjes and Aceto

The Simpson' s version of Edgar Allan Poe' s poet, "The Raven"

Watch The Simpsons Version of Poe's "The Raven" on Fanpop

Fauvism

2010-06-19T12:14:00.000-07:00

Fauvism and the 20th Century thoughts

Fauvism is the first 20th Century pictorial movement . I think, it introduces the spirit of the new era. It doesn’t only starts a new way of expressing but also a new way of thinking and viewing reality.

No more “cold”, external “reality”, no more just empty lines and shapes. What each person sees is so hard to describe and so particular that is not possible anymore to express conventionally. I mean, we can’t, for example, agree that the sun in a specific situation, is just yellow, others may think it should be red or orange, or any other colour that expresses our particular and unique view.

Fauvist painters decided to express their feelings towards reality and their subjective view of the world. Matisse is its main figure. He wrote in his “Notes of a painter”:

“There are two ways of expressing things; one is to show them crudely, the other is to evoke them through art.” Matisse

The 20^th century people don’t feel delighted by the exact representation of a landscape or a human body. The advances in technology made possible the photograph which catches the exact shape of things. Art needs to show the truth behind that “apparently real image”. It needs to express the most important aspect of reality: the soul, the feelings and thoughts which make the singularity, the unrepeatable of every human being appear. Matisse narrated about one of his paintings:

“…I looked at it, and then a feeling came over me that it was not I, that it did not express me or express what I feel."Matisse

Fauvism developed through 1905-1908 but its representatives lived during the most terrible wars of the century. Deep and strong emotions needed to be expressed. The sensibility of the moment changed. Many feelings needed to come out and they couldn’t be represented by the traditional ways, which showed a perfect image of the world: a perfect body, a perfect natural order.

It is also true that the advance in technology was so huge that it developed at high speed. The value of art changed so. The photograph, the television then, new artistic materials close to more people, the movies, etc. all these advances and surely a lot of more, gave innumerable new ways of creating and expressing. The fauves started using colour as the main means to express but lately, different artists of other movements will use unconceivable materials as newspapers, plastic objects or whatever was needed to express these new feelings.

Fauvism starts revealing a new way of thinking. It starts making conscious about that new reality of the human being. This new human being that now cares about different issues which need to find a way of expressing in accordance with it. The world will provide with the new materials, feelings and thoughts.

Work by Bellingerri, Paulenko and Destefani

Surrealism

2010-06-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

Surrealism

View more presentations from guzpat.

Work presented by Andrea Careri, Vanesa Goñi and Erica Van Boven

Dadaism

2010-06-15T04:55:00.000-07:00

Work presented by Emiliana Barreiro and Julieta Sampaoli

Expressionism

2010-06-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

Work done by Mónica Buey and Matías Priore

2010-06-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

Impresionism

Work presented by Eliana Rozzi

Ernest Hemingway

2010-05-28T08:20:00.001-07:00

Ernest Hemingway in Milan 1918

This year one of our set books is the famous novel by Ernest Hemingway "A Farewell to Arms", the novel set in WWI.

This is a short biography of the author:

Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American writer and journalist. His distinctive writing style—known as theiceberg theory—characterized by economy and understatement, influenced 20th-century fiction, as did his apparent life of adventure and the public image he cultivated. He produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and his career peaked in 1954 when he won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Hemingway's fiction was successful because the characters he presented exhibited authenticity that reverberated with his audience. Many of his works are classics of American literature. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works during his lifetime, with a further three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works published after his death.

Hemingway was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After leaving high school he worked for a few months as a reporter, before leaving for the Italian front to become an ambulance driver during World War I, which became the basis for his novel A Farewell to Arms. He was seriously wounded and returned home within the year. In 1922 Hemingway married Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives, and the couple moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent. During his time there he met and was influenced by modernist writers and artists of the 1920s expatriate community known as the "Lost Generation". His first novel, The Sun Also Rises, was written in 1924.

After divorcing Hadley Richardson in 1927 Hemingway married Pauline Pfeiffer; they divorced following Hemingway's return from covering theSpanish Civil War, after which he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940, but he left her for Mary Welsh Hemingway after World War II, during which he was present at D-Day and the liberation of Paris.

Shortly after the publication of The Old Man and the Sea in 1952 Hemingway went on safari to Africa, where he was almost killed in a plane crash that left him in pain or ill-health for much of the rest of his life. Hemingway had permanent residences in Key West, Florida, and Cubaduring the 1930s and 40s, but in 1959 he moved from Cuba to Idaho, where he committed suicide in the summer of 1961.
For more info on this great American writer, follow this link:

http://profesoresyalumnosisfd97.blogspot.com/2009/05/soldiers-home-by-ernest-hemingway.html

The Russian Revolution

2010-05-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

War and Revolution in Russia 1914 - 1921

By Dr Jonathan Smele

The BBC Website on history www.bbc.co.uk has interesting and accurate articles on history and social studies. Click on the title of this article and you ´ll find a great amount of information about the Russian Revolution.

The Road to Northern Ireland:Partition of Ireland

2010-05-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

In this link you will find complete information about the situation and conflict in Ireland:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/troubles/overview_ni_article_04.shtml

Also in last year entry in this blog.

or this one:http://www.scribd.com/doc/491081/Ireland-From-Rising-to-Partition-191621

Treaty of Versailles

2010-05-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

The Treaty of Versailles (click here for text and explanations) was the peace settlement signed after World War One had ended in 1918 and in the shadow of the Russian Revolution and other events in Russia. The treaty was signed at the vast Versailles Palace near Paris - hence its title - between Germany and the Allies. The three most important politicians there were David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau and Woodrow Wilson. The Versailles Palace was considered the most appropriate venue simply because of its size - many hundreds of people were involved in the process and the final signing ceremony in the Hall of Mirrors could accommodate hundreds of dignitaries. Many wanted Germany, now led by Friedrich Ebert, smashed - others, like Lloyd George, were privately more cautious.
The treaty was signed on June 28th 1919 after months of argument and negotiation amongst the so-called "Big Three" as to what the treaty should contain.

Who were the "Big Three" and where did they clash over Germany and her treatment after the war ?

The "Big Three" were David Lloyd George of Britain, Clemenceau of France and Woodrow Wilson of America.

The terms of the Treaty of Versailles

The treaty can be divided into a number of sections; territorial, military, financial and general.

Territorial

The following land was taken away from Germany :

Alsace-Lorraine (given to France)

Eupen and Malmedy (given to Belgium)

Northern Schleswig (given to Denmark)

Hultschin (given to Czechoslovakia)

West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia (given to Poland)

The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the League of Nations and the people of these regions would be allowed to vote to stay in Germany or not in a future referendum.

The League of Nations also took control of Germany's overseas colonies.
Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Some of this land was made into new states : Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. An enlarged Poland also received some of this land.

Military

Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men; the army was not allowed tanks
She was not allowed an airforce She was allowed only 6 capital naval ships and no submarines The west of the Rhineland and 50 kms east of the River Rhine was made into a demilitarised zone (DMZ). No German soldier or weapon was allowed into this zone. The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years.

Financial

The loss of vital industrial territory would be a severe blow to any attempts by Germany to rebuild her economy. Coal from the Saar and Upper Silesia in particular was a vital economic loss. Combined with the financial penalties linked to reparations, it seemed clear to Germany that the Allies wanted nothing else but to bankrupt her.
Germany was also forbidden to unite with Austria to form one superstate, in an attempt to keep her economic potential to a minimum.

General

There are three vital clauses here:

1. Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war. This was Clause 231 - the infamous "War Guilt Clause".

2. Germany, as she was responsible for starting the war as stated in clause 231, was, therefore responsible for all the war damage caused by the First World War. Therefore, she had to pay reparations, the bulk of which would go to France and Belgium to pay for the damage done to the infrastructure of both countries by the war. Quite literally, reparations would be used to pay for the damage to be repaired. Payment could be in kind or cash. The figure was not set at Versailles - it was to be determined later. The Germans were told to write a blank cheque which the Allies would cash when it suited them. The figure was eventually put at £6,600 million - a huge sum of money well beyond Germany’s ability to pay.

3. A League of Nations was set up to keep world peace.

In fact, the first 26 clauses of the treaty dealt with the League's organisation.

The German reaction to the Treaty of Versailles

After agreeing to the Armistice in November 1918, the Germans had been convinced that they would be consulted by the Allies on the contents of the Treaty. This did not happen and the Germans were in no position to continue the war as her army had all but disintegrated. Though this lack of consultation angered them, there was nothing they could do about it. Therefore, the first time that the German representatives saw the terms of the Treaty was just weeks before they were due to sign it in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles on June 28th 1919.

There was anger throughout Germany when the terms were made public. The Treaty became known as a Diktat - as it was being forced on them and the Germans had no choice but to sign it. Many in Germany did not want the Treaty signed, but the representatives there knew that they had no choice as German was incapable of restarting the war again.

In one last gesture of defiance, the captured German naval force held at Scapa Flow (north of Scotland) scuttled itself i.e. deliberately sank itself.

Germany was given two choices:

1) sign the Treaty or
2) be invaded by the Allies.

They signed the Treaty as in reality they had no choice. When the ceremony was over, Clemenceau went out into the gardens of Versailles and said "It is a beautiful day".

The consequences of Versailles

The Treaty seemed to satisfy the "Big Three" as in their eyes it was a just peace as it kept Germany weak yet strong enough to stop the spread of communism; kept the French border with Germany safe from another German attack and created the organisation, the League of Nations, that would end warfare throughout the world.
However, it left a mood of anger throughout Germany as it was felt that as a nation Germany had been unfairly treated.
Above all else, Germany hated the clause blaming her for the cause of the war and the resultant financial penalties the treaty was bound to impose on Germany. Those who signed it (though effectively they had no choice) became known as the "November Criminals".
Many German citizens felt that they were being punished for the mistakes of the German government in August 1914 as it was the government that had declared war not the people.

World War I & The War Poets

2010-05-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

The Web provides us with good resources to study about WWI.

PPPs about the WWI: Reality of war,WWI,WWI(2),WWI(3).

Photo Archives: WWI Image Archives; Trenches on the Web

WWI timeline

About the War Poets:

PPP , click here to download: Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke

Manuscript of "Dulce et Decorum est"

About Owen´s poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" and here. Audio of the poem, here.

Jessie Pope´s "The Call"

A slideshow with audio of the poem

Another Presentation by Alice

2010-05-01T12:52:00.000-07:00

Alice made a great presentation on Multicultural and Contemporary and Post colonial Literature for Lengua y Cultura I but it is a subject we´ll be dealing next term so here is the link to her PPP.

Alice in La Plata

2010-04-14T06:49:00.000-07:00

Alice Roughton, Language Assistant with the British Council has visited our class. She introduced us to her country and the cultural diversity that means living in modern UK. She also made some key concepts very clear. Her natural warm ways and the good will she showed for our questions and curiosity made it an excellent moment to share knowledge and friendship.
Here is the PPP she made for us with key concepts to understand UK´s culture better.
Luckily for us, next week she will visit us with a talk on the "War Poets".
Thanks, Alice!!!

Welcome!!!

2010-04-14T02:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome students of 2nd Year!! Here you´ll find material or extra material of our subject or suggestions for further reading. Search the archives and you´ll find material we´ve been working with.