World History With Les

Feminism took on different struggles in the 20th century. In the United States, feminism lost some steam after the 1920s. It picked back up again in the 1960s. This time, it was not about voting, but about working outside of the home on a larger scale, better pay, and oppression of expression of sexuality.  In the Global South, women had always had to work out of the home. The idea of being able to work outside the home was not a hot topic for feminists there. In fact, the vast difference between First World and Global South feminists caused a great rift. This is still the case today, except now these women are living in the same societies.  Even in examining the pay gap in the United States between women of color and white women, white women are still better off. The problem is frame of reference. If you grow up in an economically stable home you are more likely to have stable supportive figures throughout your childhood. This means that you are more likely to achieve hig...

The End of Empire:  When speaking about the end of empire, many people think of this as history. It is history in the sense that it already happened. The impacts are still present. In many areas of the world, empires realized that they weren’t reaping the same benefits they had previously in areas, so they left. In some places independence was achieved rapidly, in other places it took many decades. Congo took their independence quickly, and Vietnam arrived more slowly (Stayer, 2016, p.982).  People like to pretend that racism and colonialism is a thing of the past. Sure, official colonial rule ended in the early 1900s in South Africa, but it was regarded as a British colony until the 1960s. Beyond that, apartheid was not ended until 1994. Apartheid was obviously an extension of colonialism. It was a way for “white Africans” to subjugate native Africans. Just because something ends, that doesn’t mean it is over. The impacts of apartheid continue to impact South Africa t...

Why Pride sponsors shouldn’t hit pause during Black Lives Matter protests This article discusses the importance of recognizing the intersection of the LGBTQI ad the BIPOC communities. In essence, the author is promoting the importance of sponsors understanding that people are many things. It’s good to support many causes. Just because a company is celebrating Pride does not mean they are ignoring BLM.  This history class has helped me understand the crossover between important causes. For example Strayer briefly discussed the support of suffragettes and feminists for the abolition of slavery. Strayer also mentions a woman in Indonesia from a wealthy background that had dreams of opening Dutch style schools for Indonesians. She wanted to throw off the chains of oppression for women and for indigenous people. The intersection of causes makes sense because of empathy. Oppressed people see oppressed people. You could argue that when people are int the trenches of their own caus...

Coronavirus: Why Africans should take part in vaccine trials This article discusses the importance of a COVID-19 vaccine trial in various parts of Africa. The author points out the many reasons medical experts depart the continent, as well as the possible factors as to why trials are infrequent. Scientists developing a vaccine for COVID-19 think it is important to conduct trials in Africa, because so many people are without personal protective equipment, access to medical care, and the lifesaving equipment when they can get to a hospital or clinic. Because of the history of colonialism and exploitation, the idea of testing a vaccine on people in Africa was not well received. Add to that what the WHO has dubbed an “Infodemic” spreading misinformation about the pandemic, and you now have a continent of people who are suspicious as to why anyone is trying to help.  Prior to this course, I don’t know that I would have been able to make deep connections between, colonialism, the...

Hagia Sofia Mosque was originally a Catholic Cathedral under the Byzantine Empire. It was later turned into a mosque under the Ottoman Empire. The site subsequently became a UNESCO world heritage site. Recently, it was turned back into a mosque. President Erdogan referenced the listing of the building as a mosque on real estate documents as a reason for the move. The changing of the UNESCO site back into a mosque has been polarizing for people around the world, and highlights the Turkish government’s agenda of changing the country from a more secular state back into a more traditional representation of what was the Ottoman Empire.  “Islam will be elevated, if it will cease to be a political instrument” Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.  Currently, President Erdogan is using the Hagia Sofia Mosque as a political instrument. I don’t know that I would have been able to identify the puppeteering by the Turkish government that is going on in relation to the Hagia Sofia three months ago....

What's up history class! I hope you all had a really great weekend, and I'm looking forward to watching everyone's videos. I've enjoyed all of your blogs so much. Here's the link to my presentation.  Click here for MTV Cribs: Home Office Edition! 

The Cold War is over, but the impacts of it are not. During the Cold War Era, you were with the USSR or you were with The United States. Sure, there were countries like India that tried to remain neutral, and while officially it may have been true, no one really escaped the influence of the Cold War.  During the Cold War, this was the start of large scale proxy wars that are continued today in Syria, Afghanistan, Central and South America. It reflected the lessons learned from World War II about open warfare, but also the continued hostilities between East and West. The Cold War also tied the former USSR and the United States together forever. Look at the Moscow line that still exists between The Kremlin and The White House today.  Another significant topic was the change in the imaginary lines that make up many borders in Europe. The Cold War and subsequently the end changed the maps of Europe in a big way. The fall of the Iron Curtain, and the Berlin Wall were intense events...

Looking at the causes of World War I and II, the big causes were nationalism, imperialism, alliances, and appeasement. There's no simpler way to look at it. World War I largely led to Word War II. So first, let us examine WWI. First, there was the assassination of ArchDuke Franz Ferdinand. This mobilized countries against each other in war, and subsequently their allies. It was horrible; it was trench warfare. Europe hoped that it would never happen again. In the end, it was World War II that changed things though. Europeans were appeasing Hitler, and appeasing him and appeasing him. Obviously, this led to fierce alliances that would look very odd considered todays political climate.  If we are to look at what problems were solved though, imperialism is a great one. People all over the world saw that they could throw the shackles off. They saw that they were important players in this world. Next, I would say the formation of the United Nations was directly influenced by World War I...

              There have been many pandemics throughout history. HIV/AIDS is one that people don't often think about when talking about pandemics. Perhaps because it causes a chronic condition, it is often compared to diseases like cancer. HIV/AIDS is believed to fist have emerged in DRC in the 1920s. This belief stems from the fact that DRC has the most diversity of HIV strains in the world. Also, scientist were able to detect HIV-1M in a man in Kinshasa, DRC from 1956. This was the first confirmed case of HIV.               Chimps and other apes have long been carriers of SIV. The available genetic evidence points to chimps contracting two strains of SIV that became SIV-cpz. This virus is nearly identical to HIV-1 and is highly communicable to humans. Hunters in Central Africa most likely contracted SIV-cpz while hunting and consuming chimps. This type of activity is common even now in more rural area...

                                                   I was cleaning my kitchen on the morning of the fourth thinking about this blog. I have generally clear thoughts about the state of our union. For whatever reason, it felt difficult to articulate for this assignment. Then, Trump went to Mt. Rushmore and it felt much easier. During this pandemic, Americans gathered to see the president speak and watch fireworks over the monument. Sounds pretty great if you don’t think about it at all. That’s not really what these blurbs are all about, so let’s think about it. The U.S. President went to Mt. Rushmore, dragging a storm of MAGA supporters with him. They congregated on land that was taken from the indigenous population, negotiated through treaties to be given back to them, and then never returned. The president then gave a di...