Watch Mao Biography + Essay Plan homework

In class tomorrow, you will watch the following documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqyqokb3FkI&list=PL87BF166ED8BDAD1E It’s 45 minutes long.

It’s an American biography of Mao’s life. This will give you information about Mao in general. The first half of the biography is about the pre 1949 years, then after that, his rule, including Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. It skims over a lot of details but this is a good overall narrative of Mao’s role in China between 1921 and 1976.  

Here are some of the key dates mentioned in the biography. You can use these as a framework for your notes:

+ Revolution 1911
+ Chiang Kai-shek, 1927
+ 1930: The 1st Extermination Campaign
+ 1936, Yan’an years.
+ 1937 Japan invades, + Second United Front
+ 1949: Mao wins civil war
+ 1956: 100 flowers campaign
+ Great Leap Forward (1958 – 1961)
+ 1959 - 1961, millions died in the worst man made famine in history
+ Liu Shaoqi 1958
+ 1966 Mao's Swim in the Yangtze (He’s 72!)
+ Cultural Revolution (1966 – 1976)
+ Red Guards are disbanded in 1968
+ 1972 Nixon
+ Mao dies Sept 1976

Could one of you please connect their computer to the whiteboard and play the doco? It’s possible that the replacement teacher does not have a computer.

Homework for MONDAY

Make an essay plan. Do not write the essay.

·         Create your thesis = state your opinion in response to the statement.

·         Plan your paragraph topics

·         Topic sentences

·         Dot pointed info only

·         No more than about 1 to 1.5  max, A4, typed.

“Ideological differences were the most important reasons for both the outbreak of, and outside intervention in, civil wars.” Assess the validity of this claim with reference to the Chinese Civil War.

Assess: Asks candidates to measure and judge the merits and quality of an argument or concept.

Candidates must clearly identify and explain the evidence for the assessment they make.

Markscheme

(Original question asks you to choose between the Russian, Chinese or Spanish Civil War)

Whichever war is chosen any competing ideologies or beliefs should be identified clearly – both in relation to the domestic circumstances that produced conflict and in the case of external interests which intervened and may have influenced the nature and duration of the conflict.  If there is a challenge to either part of the statement it needs to be supported by detailed information: it is not enough to dismiss the claim – either partly or wholly – without offering a well-substantiated argument indicating other factors.  Apart from ideology, themes such as strategic considerations, economic gain etc. could be emphasized for “outside intervention” depending on the conflict chosen.  For “reasons for outbreak”, depending again on the conflict chosen, these could include: religion;  economic and social inequality; desire for national unity; resentment of vested interests politically  dominating the state; (mis)treatment of groups in political life; chaos instituted by the existence of a  power vacuum etc. 

• [0 to 7 marks] for poorly substantiated generalizations.
• [8 to 10 marks]for narrative/descriptive coverage with implicit assessment.
• [11 to 13 marks] for adequate knowledge, explicit comment on ideology’s role – though unbalanced  in treatment of the two parts.
• [14 to 16 marks] for analytical, balanced responses which deal explicitly with both parts of the question, providing appropriate and accurate factual knowledge.
• [17+ marks] for answers which reveal a clearly structured argument in relation to both parts of the question and a high level of analysis. May successfully challenge assumptions implied in the  question or show good conceptual ability.