The last summer of 1914....

Everywhere in Europe in June, 1914, there was talk of tensions among the alliances.  This time was also known as the "last summer" before World War I began.

It would be remembered with great nostalgia and sadness by those who survived World War I.  Let's check in on what was happening during that time:

Coco Chanel had just opened up a second store in Paris, on the Rue Cambon...where there is a Chanel store even today.

 Oskar Kokoschka, the painter, was finishing up his masterpiece, Bride of the Wind.

Sigmund Freud was writing his paper, "On Narcissim."

It was a beautiful June--but little did the peoples of Europe realize that by the end of the summer, over half a million Europeans would be dead and wounded in the opening month of the Great War.

The British Museum Reading Room....

Shush! Someone is there among the books, and he reads from a large stack of books on the desk, feverishly taking notes.

Who is it?--well, if one was living in London, England in the 1860's, that person might be Karl Marx.  After Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto, he spent years toiling on his magnum opus, the monumental Das Kapital.   Das Kapital (in English:  Capital--or money used for investment) was a book outlining the history of the economic world as a  titanic class struggle.

Though Marx will always be closely identified with  Communist ideology, there are many historical truths in Das Kapital.  The idea of exploitation by the capitalist class is very real today...but history also abounds with rag to riches stories of inventiveness.  Still...Marx would identify very closely with the management of money, the big banks, the role of government bailouts.  If he were alive today, he would also be able to witness the epic failure of his ideology in Russia and China.

Millions died in the Communist regimes of Russia and China (mainly due to food production and collectivization), some were persecuted, displaced, and murdered.  Today, communism is seen as a failed ideology whose main premises continue to sing a siren's song against the backdrop of struggling capitalism.

Passages and Arcades...and 19th century Paris

What a lovely picture--and believe it or not--that is downtown Salem, Oregon, not Paris, France! AP European History students will be learning about the remodeling of Paris during the 19th century.  During this time, the ancient city of Paris almost entirely disappeared and streets were torn up for sewers and new buildings were put up under strict building codes.

Mrs. Olsen seriously walked the city of Paris this summer.  She passed through many arcades and secret passages.  They reminded her of some of the secret passages in Salem, Oregon, where, during the summer there are wisteria vines that cover the tops, or another passage which is topped by metal sculptures of Chinook Salmon.  The idea of "hidden" passages has appealed to many.  However, as cities modernize, many of  these  passages have been torn down.   Secret passages have their role in literature--when Harry Potter goes to shop for his magic kit and wand, he fades into a hidden passage.

Perhaps the most famous book about arcades is by Walter Benjamin, a German Jew who wrote about the Arcades of Paris.  Walter Benjamin's work was a fascinating hodgepodge of his own ideas, observations and snippets about past lives and history. 

Medicine and Imperialism....

Ninth grade students are learning about Imperialism during the last few weeks of the semester.   They will be learning about old imperialism vs. new imperialism:

Old Imperialism:  God (religion), glory, and greed....

New Imperialism:  Humanitarian reasons, Strategic areas, New Markets

There were differences between the New Imperialism and Old Imperialism.  New Imperialism was in many ways more intrusive and harmful to native cultures.  However, not all of Imperialism was bad....for many who lived in less developed countries, medicine was available that was life saving.  Here is a picture that shows both a religious and medical influence.  It depicts an idealized picture of how Western societies view medical help to the "primitives" in the societies they sought to dominate.

Ragtime and the lost art of piano playing

In 9th grade, students have been learning about advances during the Progressive Movement.  They also listened to the piano music of Scott Joplin that captured the "Ragtime" era.  The music was catchy and interesting, and many students had heard it before.  The music of Scott Joplin is featured in a famous film from the 1970's--THE STING.

Learning to play the piano and piano lessons were considered a mark of class during this era.  To have your student in piano lessons meant that the family had enough money to spare....and a piano in their house.  A piano was considered an equalizer, just as a nice car is considered that today.  For many, piano playing ability meant that they were enjoying the popular music of the day.

There are some wonderful ragtime tunes that one can listen to on youtube.  There are also simple versions and more complicated versions of Scott Joplin's music.  His music represented an emerging middle class that had access to pianos and victrolas (early record playings).

Bone China and the Buffalo

Students in 9th grade history have just finished their essay on Settling the West.  They have learned about the reservation system and the Indian Schools.  They also learned about the role the Federal Government plays in administering the Indian School system, including Chemawa Indian School, here in Salem, Oregon.

They read many primary documents about the extermination and decline of the buffalo.  After the buffalo was hunted and eliminated from the plains...the gathering of the bones began.

Huge cartloads of bones were shipped back east...by pickers who now replaced the buffalo hunters of only a few years earlier.  The bones were then shipped overseas to factories where they were crushed and processed into delicate china, that would be labeled "bone china."  It is particularly disheartening to think of the wild buffalo, the majestic creature of the plains, ending its days this way.

Students will also revisit the end of the West when we learn about Ernest Thompson Seton, and his complicated relationship with the wolves of New Mexico as a Bounty Hunter/Artist.

Elizabeth the Great

Students in European History are learning about the life of Elizabeth I---or the queen who should be termed Elizabeth the Great.

As the daughter of Anne Boleyn, who was executed by her father, she sought to maintain order in a kingdom that was undergoing great tension with the reformation/counter reformation.

When she died in 1603, England was wealthy, prosperous, and powerful....

The figure who surrounded her are themselves legends, and have numerous books written about their lives, too...

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester,
Sir Francis Walsingham
Sir Walter Raleigh
Sir Francis Drake
Lord Cecil
The Earl of Essex

All are part of the glorious Elizabethan Age.  Elizabeth was crowned in Westminster Abbey, and her coronation portrait is an iconic portrait of the English Renaissance.