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TOPICS FOR the 2^nd PAPER ASSIGNMENT

Remember to refer to the Guidelines to the Paper Assignments; also, refer to the Syllabus for the due date

1). In 1999 NATO expanded into Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, and in 2004 it added Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovakia.  The possibility for further expansion remains, specifically into Ukraine and/or Georgia.  View these various opinions on the issue: NATO Enlargement: Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 1) 2003 by Marc Grossman and 2) 2008 by Daniel Fried; a Report by William D. Hartung; “Next Threat to NATO: the Baltics are Knocking on the Door, Don’t Let Them in,” by Jeffrey Tayler; and “N.A.T.O.: A Cold War Relic” from the John Galt Press; “Georgia on the Mind” by Conn Hallinan; and “NATO Ups the Ante in the Ukraine Crisis” by James Carden in The Nation’s June 26, 2015 issue.  Do you think the expansion of NATO is a good idea and would you support its further expansion?  Optional source: a Report by Paul Gallis. Feel free to surf the Internet for additional sources and opinions.  A good reference point is the Federation of American Scientists Military Analysis Network.

2). View the 1994 film “Schindler’s List” and read these reviews of the film.  Feel free to identify other reviews of the film as well.  Write your own review of the film responding to the issues of historical debate raised in these readings (identify 2-3 criticisms in the reviews and tell why you agree or disagree with them).

3). View the 1983 film “Gandhi” and read these reviews of the film and these brief online reviews.  Feel free to identify other reviews of the film as well.  Write your own review of the film responding to the issues of historical debate raised in the reading (identify 2-3 criticisms raised in the reviews and tell why you agree or disagree with them).

4). View the controversial 1994 Indian film “Bandit Queen” and visit these web sites with reviews and discussion of the film: Reviews of the film “Bandit Queen”; “India’s Bandit Queen” from The Atlantic Monthly by Mary Anne Weaver; “The Bandit Queen” by William Pinch in the American Historical Review; and The “Bandit Queen” Phoolan Devi.  Read through several of the reviews and articles about the film, then write your own review of the film responding to the issues of historical debate raised in this material (identify 2-3 key points made in the readings and tell why you agree or disagree with them).

5). What were the main factors behind US intervention in Southeast Asia and in your opinion was US intervention justified? Sources: Martin Luther King’s “Declaration of Independence from the War in Vietnam”; Hendrik Hertzberg, “Why the War Was Immoral,” and David Horowitz, “My Vietnam Lessons,” and a speech by Lyndon Johnson. Additional Source: unit readings on Vietnam.

6). In your opinion, what were the main factors behind the 1991 Gulf War?  Do you think the US-led military solution to the crisis was justified?  Why or why not?  Sources: “The Liberation of Kuwait Has Begun,” speech by US President George Bush, January 16, 1991; “Is This Any Way to Wage Peace,” by John Mack and Jeff Rubin; and the Greenpeace article “Blood, Oil, and Ecology,”; and the brief Supplement to the Notes on the 1^st Gulf war.  Optional Source: The Gulf War Reader, a large volume that you can scan for additional information.

7). In your opinion, what were the main factors behind the current war in Iraq?  Do you think the US-led military intervention was justified?  Why or why not?  {Note: the war began on March 20, 2003, and the main fighting lasted for about three weeks; on April 9 Saddam Hussein fled Baghdad and his regime crumbled, though of course the conflict has continued.  These readings are listed in chronological order, with the exception of the before-and-after views of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and are limited to the early stages of the war}.  Sources: A Conservative Against the War—“Don’t Start the Second Gulf War” by Doug Bandow; Remarks by President George W. Bush on Iraq; A Liberal's Case for Bush’s War by Michael J. Totten; Iraq & the Arabs’ Future by Fouad Ajami; “The Case Against the War” by Jonathan Schell in The Nation; Top Ten Reasons Why the US Should Not Invade Iraq from Global Exchange; Ten Reasons Why America Should Invade Iraq by William Sjostrom; “Reason for War?” from ABC News; Tony Blair Defends the War--Before and After;  The Case for War--Revisited from The Economist; and Iraq & War: A Comparison of Views; Excerpts from the 9/11 National Commission Report on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States; U.S. Report Finds No Evidence of Iraqi WMD by Ken Guggenheim; Optional: excerpts from Vanity Fair’s interview with Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz on May 9, 2003; and Iraq Body Count.

8). In your opinion, which side in the Arab-Israeli conflict do you think is most justified in its claims to a homeland in the region (Israel/Palestine) and why?  Do you see any possible peace solution for this conflict?  Sources: The Arab Office: the Arab Case for Palestine; State of Israel: Proclamation of Independence; Information from the Palestinian National Authority Official Website; Information from the Israeli Government; “The One-State Solution” by Virginia Tilley; Additional Source: unit readings on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

9). View the film “Paradise Now” and read these reports and commentaries about the film. Do you agree with the petition against the nomination of the film for an Oscar that “Paradise Now” “glorifies murderers”—suicide bombers—and portrays them as victims? Why or why not? Which petition would you sign—the one against its nomination or the counter petition in support of the film—and why, on what grounds?

10). View the film “Manufacturing Consent” and the documentary “Fear and Favor in the Newsroom.”  How do you understand the critique of American media offered by these sources? Do you agree with the contention of Noam Chomsky and others that the media has a conservative, pro-corporate bias?  Why or why not?

11). View the documentary film “Panama Deception” (or here) and read these reviews of the film, as well as this brief update on Manuel Noriega from the BBC.  What were the main factors behind US intervention in Panama in 1989?  Do you think US military intervention in Panama was justified?  Why or why not?

12). In your opinion, do World Bank and IMF policies and practices help or hinder developing countries?  Sources: peruse the web pages of the IMF and World Bank and/or read two-three editorials about the IMF from business papers, i.e. The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Business Review, New York Times (Business Section), etc. that you identify.  Then compare the views therein to at least three-four of these reports and sites that are highly critical of IMF and World Bank policies: “Debt, Drugs, and Democracy: an Interview with Noam Chomsky”; “Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the IMF”; “Welcome to Kenya: the IMF’s Little Colony” by Mutuma Mathiu; “The Whirled Bank Group: A World Full of Poverty”; and “The Policy Roots of Economic Crisis and Poverty: A Multi-Country Participatory Assessment of Structural Adjustment” {NOTE: this is a very long report so feel free to skim/peruse, focus on one or two of the countries listed as case studies, rather than all of them, and/or just read the final Chapter that offers a broad overview of the study’s findings}; and view the video clips A Brief History of the International Monetary Fund (3:27), The IMF in Brazil (4:35), and The IMF in Ghana (4:39) from the 1995 documentary film Banking on Life and Debt; Indonesia and the Asian Economic Crisis (2:05) from PBS’ The News Hour with Jim Lehrer (May 1998) and The Global Economic Crisis in Brazil (13:19) from PBS’ The News Hour with Jim Lehrer (July 1999). Feel free to identify other sources (online or otherwise) as well, but make sure to provide citations for them.

13). View the 2002 film “Black Hawk Down” and The History Channel’s program “The True Story of Black Hawk Down” (in several parts). Read Somalia: A Brief History, this brief background article on the history of Somalia, and these reviews of the film (feel free to identify other reviews of the film as well).  Finally, read the newspaper article “The Oil Factor in Somalia” (Los Angeles Times, January 18, 1993) discussed by some of the reviewers.  Write your own review of the film responding to the issues of historical debate raised in these readings (identify 2-3 criticisms in the reviews and tell why you agree or disagree with them).

14). Do you agree with the criticisms of Shell Oil because of the company’s alleged actions in Nigeria? Why or why not? Sources: “Shell Nigeria” (Shell Oil’s page on this issue); peruse “Shell in Nigeria: Oil, Gas, Development & Corporate Responsibility” by Andrew Burger; “Big Guns, big oil collide in Nigeria” by Jeff Koinange (CNN); “Factsheet on the Ogoni Struggle”; “Shell in Nigeria: What are the Issues?”; “Comment: Shell’s corrupt shell game in Nigeria” by Ike Okonta; “Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Power of Resistance” by Ken Henshaw; and view the video clip “Nigeria and Shell Oil” (3:45) from the 1995 documentary “The Drilling Fields”. Feel free to identify other sources (online or otherwise) as well, but make sure to provide citations for them.

Note: you can choose your own topic as long as it is about a historic issue relevant to this part of the course, but you must get approval beforehand and you must identify relevant readings on the Internet or elsewhere.

Essays should be double-spaced with a 12-point font and 3-4 pages in length (refer to the Paper Guidelines for more information).