SJS2 - "Public Health and Global Interventions in Africa"

Source: Prince, Ruth J. “Public Health and Global Interventions in Africa.” Current History, vol. 115, no. 781, May 2016, pp. 163-68.

Author Credentials: Ruth Prince is a qualified person to discuss the issue of Africa's public health. She works at the University of Oslo's Institute of Health and Society as an associate professor.

Summary: Prince discusses the topic of Africa's public health and how the world around it is affecting the people of African countries. She discusses HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Cancer, the hospitals in some African countries, and what Africa is doing in order to change the negatives of their public health. The problem in Africa is that they do not have the abundant amount of affordable materials to help all their citizens and cure them of their diseases. The main focuses are on HIV/AIDS and cancer. If one has HIV/AIDS they can receive a better health care plan than others who are sick with different serious illnesses. In order for this to change the US has been creating foundations to help the health system become more stable and lessen the costs that all peoples of Africa have to spend in order to receive proper health care. Africa is trying to get a will of all people for a better health care program so that trust can be enabled and assist the health care programs in making them more suitable for the people.

Analysis: Ruth Prince does have a strong argument that supports her topic about the public health issues that are currently occurring in Africa and how other countries like the US are trying to assist the continent of Africa in this current issue. Ruth has a ton of information that supports her explanation of what is currently taking place and she has facts from groups and people that are experts in the health field in Africa. Prince includes both facts and opinions in her piece however it is more subjective rather than objective because it focuses on the reality of what is occurring today. Her opinions are clear in the way she presents them and the facts are backed up by true evidence. Ruth Prince is indeed a reliable source because she has done research that she proves with the facts she incorporates in her piece and is a well educated woman who capitalizes in the health field.

SJS

Mkandawire, Thandika. "Can Africa Turn from Recovery to Development?" Current
     History, vol. 113, no. 763, May 2014, pp. 171-77.

The author is a professor of African Development at the London School of Economics.

The article talks about how Africa which was once cast as hopeless and a risky investment is mow making a turnaround. The author talks about how many incumbent politicians make claims as to bringing Africa into the financial state it is currently in. He then goes on to talk about what lead to Africas recovery financially. The author talks about investments that could be made to improve the situation and explains opportunities that could have been taken that would have left Africa in a better state. Finally the author explains that people should be hopeful as to the future of Africa.

The author makes a. String argument as he goes over the policies that explain what occurred for Africa to be in its current economic state. The author also uses graphs and numbers to make his point.

SJS2 - The Kenya Africa Union is Not the Mau Mau

SJS2 - The Kenya Africa Union is Not the Mau Mau

Source: Munene, Ishmael Irungu. "The Boy is Gone: Conversation with a Mau Mau General by Laura Lee Huttenbach (Review)." Africa Today Vol. 63: Issue 1. Fall 2016. Pages 109-112.

Author Credentials: Ishmael Irungu Munene is a professor at Northern Arizona University. He specializes in research and leadership in higher education. He has published several articles about Kenya, most of which concern Kenya's education sector. He has written these articles for publishers and universities both in Kenya and in the United States. He evidently has studied Kenya for a long time and seems qualified to write this article.

Summary: This article is a review of Laura Lee Huttenbach's book The Boy is Gone: Conversation with a Mau Mau General. This book, according to the review, details the life of Japhlet Thambu, who was a Kenyan military general at the time of the Mau Mau revolt. The books connects Thambu's life with the events that were happening around him, and focuses on the theme of betrayal, within the Mau Maus as well as between the Mau Maus and the British.

Analysis: The author does a good job of explaining the premise of the book in depth. Munene's review of the book is primarily positive, and he describes the book as unique and different from most other existing accounts of the Mau Mau revolt. He explains that this biography recounts the events that occurred from the firsthand perspective of Thambu, and how these events impacted Thambu's personal life, which is certainly different from many objective accounts of the revolt. Munene keeps his opinions separated from his facts, and the quality of the article reflects his substantial experience with Kenya.

PDP2- The Question of South Africa

Author Bio- Desmond Tutu was elected the first black Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986. He wanted racial justice in South Africa. He won a noble peace prize for his leadership in seeking racial justice. He gave this speech to attack the racial policies.

Data/Context- This speech relates to the apartheid we learned about in class. The Apartheid separated people, killed them, and kidnapped people. South Africa's racial policy

Summary- This speech spoken by Desmond Tutu was spoken by a man that loved Africa. He wrote this speech to attack South Africa's racial policies. He explains how South Africas's society is deeply polarized. He talks about how police have been taking people, killing them, and separating them racially.  Students are boycotting because they are out of school. 80 of them already died. The government of South Africa is under reform. Their constitution now is no way a capable way of running a country. At the end of the speech he says he wants freedom for all races in South America but in the most peaceful way.

Key question- Help us, that this freedom comes for all of us in South Africa, black and white, but that comes with the least possible violence, that it comes peacefully, that it comes too.

PDP2 - All African People's Conference: Resolution on Imperialism and Colonialism, Accra, 1958

Author Bio: The resolution written by the African People's Conference was made by over 300 delegates from all over Africa, and this would represent over 200 million Africans. This resolution was created in Accra, Ghana from the 5th to the 13th of December in 1958. Most of these African nations were under imperialist control and they came together to find a solution.

Data/Context: This document fits into our understanding of history and culture because this describes the problems that many Africans Nations had with imperialism. This document was created around the time most African countries were gaining freedom from the imperial powers. This document ultimately would unify the people of Africa to unite against the imperialist powers and individual nations would begin to gain independence from them.

Summary: The main idea of this document was to state the problems that imperial powers imposed on Africa asks that imperialism comes to an end in Africa. This document begins by discussing the problems that most Africans had with imperialism. First by discussing the arbitrary boundaries put in place by the imperial powers, and the nations that were being controlled by people living there such as South Africa and the ones that were being controlled from a foreign land such as Nigeria. It then goes on to discuss the exploitation of the Africans by the colonial powers for the minerals in Africa. Also how the imperial powers had taken freedom of speech away from the people of Africa, and developed organizations such as NATO in order to to strengthen their imperialist activities in Africa as well as other places. The document then goes on to condemn any practice of imperialism as well as calling for an end to the exploitation of Africans. It also says that each nation should be able to make its own international decisions which will expedite independence in African colonial territories. In addition, they asked that all Africans be given their full rights, and gave full support to freedom fighters in Africa regardless if those fighters were using violence to gain independence.

Key Quotation: "That the All-African People's Conference vehemently condemns colonialism and imperialism in whatever shape or form these evils are perpetuated."

PDP1 - The Cartographer's Mirror

Author Bio: The author of "The Cartographer's Mirror," Arthur Jay Klinghoffer, make a point throughout the document that maps are biased. He says repeatedly that the way a map looks depends on its creator, and that there is no exact science to cartography.

Data/Context: This document fits into our understanding of history and culture because it gives a history of maps, which lets us know how much early people knew about the world. The first cartographers drew only Europe, parts of Asia, and parts of Africa because that was all that they knew. As exploration increased, so did their knowledge, and so did the land that was shown on the maps. Because many people hadn't been to the new world, cartographers' understanding of it was uncertain at first, so the maps were vague.

Summary: Generally speaking, the document "The Cartographer's Mirror" by Arthur Jay Klinghoffer gives a history of maps and provides insight about mapmakers' thoughts. Greeks were the first ones to make advancements in cartography, such as calculating the circumference of the earth, while other things progressed slowly, such as the creation of the magnetic compass. Maps may seem objective, but are in fact very subjective. Cartographers use as much information as they have to create maps, but they use their imagination, too. More often then not, mapmakers create maps of places they've never seen, which means that country borders, landmarks, and the physical parts of the land could all be inaccurate. Geography can also change over time. Also, cartographers could purposely make a country's border larger or smaller on a map to try and benefit that country. In short, maps can be very unreliable, and an essential part to comprehending them is to know what the cartographer wants the reader to see.

Key Quotation: "Discerning the cartographer's vision is therefore the key to analyzing maps."

PDP1 - Why Study History?

Author Bio: The authors name is William H. McNeil and at the time had a PhD from Cornell and was an esteemed historian. He was elected the American Historical Association president the same year he wrote this essay. McNeil had the perspective of a highly educated and intelligent history buff who sees the faults in the American history system as well as seeing a emerging pattern in history repeating itself. For the author, the very core of his profession is at stake as children are less and less informed on the past. As well, I feel that he believes that the US should reference past events in making war-room decisions. The author is without a doubt credible and reliable as he attended a competitive school and is the president of the leading organization in history.

Data/ Context: This document was created to convince and make a case for studying history to understand the future. It was written in the United States of America in 1985, during the height of the Cold War where nuclear attacks were an omnipresent threat in American life. It slots into a place where the education system was becoming fractured with the massive variety of history courses available and a dramatic refocusing was necessary. 

Summary: McNeil's essay can be summarized to one sentence; history is necessary and important in creating worthy and intelligent citizens who can contribute to a positive future. He supports his argument by associating history with personal memories and the importance of having them to be a person. In addition, he also claims that experts should not be the only way of relaying history to the people and the lawmakers. This shows that at the time, there was limited public knowledge of history in America and the interest was also decreasing. This is document elaborates on secondary sources which do not provide the same insight and view of McNeil.

Key Quotation: "History, our collective memory, carefully codified and critically revised, makes us social, sharing ideas and ideals with others so as to form all sorts of different human groups. Each such group acts as it does largely because of shared ideas and beliefs about the past and about what the past, as understood and interpreted by the group in question, tells about the present and probable future".

PDP1 - History's Unmarked Grave of Discarded Lies, September 20, 2001

PDP1 - History's Unmarked Grave of Discarded Lies, September 20, 2001

Author Bio: This speech spoken by President George W. Bush occurred nine days after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. There were large amounts of damage added to the United States which angered and frightened the President and the country. Over 7000 lives were lost on this day that the speech is about.

Date/Context: This announcement was spoken to the country of the United States by George W. Bush on September 20, 2001. This speech included the thanks as well as the condolences to the country's citizens for sticking together through the rough times. Also, it includes the expectations and goals of the United States' Homeland Security.

Summary: George W. Bush speaks about Al Qaeda and his goals for the United States to go into Afghanistan and put a stop to this terrorist group and anyone who supports it no matter what it takes. He also mentions the grief that the United States was going through together with the helping hand of Great Britain's Prime Minister and other world leaders. The President reiterates the terms, "Freedom and fear" towards the end of the speech to express how they coincide in the sense that a person can only possess either freedom or fear.

Key Quotation: "Perhaps the NATO charter reflects best the attitude of the world: an attack on one is an attack on all. The civilized world is rallying to America's side."

PDP1 - Universal Declaration of Human Rights

PDP1 - Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Author Bio:  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted by the UN General Assembly of 1948, including Eleanor Roosevelt (US), Charles Dukes (UK), Rene Cassin (France), and representatives from the USSR, Lebanon, Australia, China, Chile, and Canada. A recently-widowed Eleanor Roosevelt chaired the committee for the drafting of the declaration.

Date/Context: The United Nations was formed after World War II to prevent another conflict on such a large scale with the atrocities seen in the second World War. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted on December 10, 1948. The final draft was handed to the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva and the draft sent out to all UN members was called the Geneva Draft. This is now used as the basis for the human rights to be protected in all countries.

Summary: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a collection of 30 articles that lay out the rights of "all members of the human family." The articles lay out the rights of individuals to be a part of a community, a right to education, employment, leisure, freedom of religion, freedom to leave and re-enter your country, the injustices of slavery and forced marriages.

Key Quotation:  "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." (Article 1, Universal Declaration of Human Rights.)

Format for PDP & SJS

Format for Primary Document Posts (PDPs)

The TITLE for each PDP must include the unit # and the title of the source.  See the sample below:

PDP1 - Yalta Conference

Each post should be set up in the following format (including labels):

Author Bio:  Provide a brief biography of the author focusing on his/her bias.

Date/Context:  Describe the socio-historical, geopolitical, and cultural context of the document. (I.e. Where/how does this document fit into our understanding of history & culture?)

Summary:  Summarize the document.  Be sure to identify the main idea and supporting details in your summary.

Key Quotation:  Select one phrase, sentence, or statement that epitomizes the document.

Format for Scholarly Journal Summaries (SJSs)

The TITLE for each SJS must include the unit # and the title of the article.  See the sample below:

SJS1 - "History Upside Down"

Source:  Provide a citation of your journal article.  The citation must include:  Author. "Article Title."  Journal Title Vol. #: Issue #.  Date. Page #s.

Author Credentials:  Explain why this author is qualified to discuss this issue.

Summary:   A concise but thorough summary of the author's argument.  The summary should include key vocabulary terms from the course and explain the socio-historical, geo-political, and/or cultural context.

Analysis:  Does the author make a strong argument?  Does the author provide sufficient evidence to support his/her argument?  Does the author distinguish between fact and opinion?  Is the author a reliable source?