Strayer 22, the Periphery

25/3/2018

I apologize for my delay in putting up this forum. I don't really have an excuse, Izzy reminded me yesterday. So I'll give you one for free.

10 Comments

Bingham

25/3/2018 14:26:45

Let me show how you could answer one of these questions, or any of them in a narrative style, as opposed to bullet points. When you read my answer, look for the key words in the narrative that would count for points on a test. Ask yourself, in what ways is this the same as writing an essay?

What was distinctive about the end of Europe’s African and Asian
empires compared to other cases of imperial disintegration?

Up to this point, the end of empire had never been so
associated with the mobilization of the masses around a nationalist ideology, nor had earlier cases of imperial dissolution generated such a range and quantity of nation-states, each claiming an equal place in the world.

How many points/facts/evidence?

Ella Bernstein

26/3/2018 16:41:55

MQ 2: What international circumstances and social changes contributed to the end of colonial empires?

- Christian rhetoric, Enlightenment values, and material progress contradicted the racism, exploitation, and poverty of colonialism
- European democratic values contradicted dictatorial colonial rule
- colonialism contradicted the value of national self-determination
- rising nationalism in colonies
- world wars weakened Europe and discredited their claims of moral superiority
- the superpowers of the US and USSR opposed European colonialism
- the UN raised agitation against colonialism
- rising wave of western-educated, mostly male elites within the colonies who:
- were familiar with European culture and aware of the difference between their values and practices
- no longer viewed colonialism as a vehicle for progress
- increasingly demanded independence
- more people in the colonies were receptive to demands for independence:
- world war veterans
- educated young people unable to find good jobs
- small class of exploited urban workers
- small-scale female traders resentful of European privileges
- rural dwellers who had lost land or suffered from forced labor
- impoverished newcomers to cities

Izze Chavez

26/3/2018 18:17:38

So I am having a lot of trouble with this question, and i NEED help!

MQ9: What led to the erosion of democracy and the establishment of military governments in Africa and Latin America?

Africa:
1. The parties that led African countries to independence were soon rejected as military coups swept them away, lacking any public repercussion while doing so.
2. Africans traditional cultures, based on commercial rather than individualistic values and concern to achieve consensus rather than majority rule, were not compatible with competitive party politics.
3. Western style democracy was inadequate for the task of development confronting the new states.
4. Allowing national unity was difficult when competing political parties identified primarily with particular ethnic or tribal groups.
5. The problems that accompanied the initial stages of economic establishment were worsened by the need for a political system that emphasized global suffrage.
6. The economic disappointments of independence also contributes to the discrediting of democracy.
7. Economic disappointment, class resentments, and ethnic conflicts allowed numerous military takeovers.

Latin America:
In Latin America, military force had long intervened in political life, allowing it to be done readily and fraught with little tension.

Because I only have one point for Latin america, I'm sure I'm missing something, so any help is appreciated:)

Bingham

27/3/2018 15:11:14

This looks pretty good Izze.

Bingham

27/3/2018 15:08:57

To what extent did the struggle for independence and the postcolonial
experience of African and Asian peoples in the twentieth century parallel or diverge from that of earlier “new nations” in the Americas in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries?

In terms of parallels, all sought to define their states following periods of dominance by European powers.
They claimed international status equivalent to that of their former rulers.
They often secured freedom through revolutionary struggle.
Race played a significant role in some, but not all, movements.
They sought to develop their economies, which were heavily influenced by their past and continued interactions with the industrial nations of the West.
In terms of divergence, some African and Asian peoples drew on communist ideas to reorganize their societies after independence.
In India they developed the new approach of aggressive nonviolence to force change. Indigenous populations were much larger in Asia and Africa, and they frequently played larger roles in liberation movements.

Alison Wang

27/3/2018 19:55:29

3. What obstacles confronted the leaders of movements for independence?

- leaders had to organize political parties, recruit members, plot strategy, develop an ideology, and negotiate with each other and the colonial power to secure the transition to independence
- leaders, who were often upper-class, educated men, had a hard time relating to the common people
- areas that were unwilling to change their views about colonialism provided a challenge in mobilizing movements
- in some regions, leaders directed military operations and administered liberated areas
- anticolonial groups struggled over questions of leadership, power, strategy, ideology, and the distribution of material benefits

I'm probably missing something so please add!

Eleena

28/3/2018 19:22:35

I would also add that
1. Fragile alliances of conflicting groups and parties of different ethnic groups and classes made it hard to appeal to the whole population

Ella Bernstein

27/3/2018 22:19:34

MQ 12: In what ways did cultural revolutions in Turkey and Iran reflect different understandings of the role of Islam?

This question seemed like it demanded only a broad answer, but I included specific evidence to be safe.

Turkey:
- total removal of Islam from public, limiting it to the private realm
- Ataturk largely ended the use of Islam as a "political instrument"
Evidence:
- widened access to religion by translating the Quran into Turkish and issuing the call to prayer in Turkish instead of Arabic
- as Turkey became a republic, the old sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who claimed a holy place in Islamic tradition, was deposed
- the caliphate, where Ottoman sultans claimed to lead the Islamic world, was abolished
- secular law codes replaced sharia law
- Sufi organizations, sacred tombs, and religious schools were closed
- Islamic courts were abolished
- pre-Islamic Turkey was celebrated as a foundation for ancient civilizations
- exchanged Arabic script for Western-style alphabet for writing Turkish
- valued the "emancipation of women": public beaches opened to women; women granted equal rights in divorce, inheritance, and child custody; polygamy was abolished; women gained right to vote in 1934
- Western dress: men abandoned the traditional fez for Western style and brimmed hats; elite women often didn't wear their veils

Iran:
Khomeini's government defined itself as an Islamic republic, with conservative clerics holding most power. They believed that the role of government was to express Allah through sharia law, and sought to bring Islam back into prominence in public life. Iran even sought to export its Islamic message to other countries in the Middle East.
- used Islam to justify harshly crushing opposition, including thousands of executions
- all judges had to be knowledgeable of Islamic law
- discarded secular law codes for those based in Islam
- spent two years purging textbooks, curricula, and faculty of un-Islamic influences, closing some 200 universities and colleges for that time
- prioritized religious teaching and learning Arabic in elementary and secondary schools
- fired about 40,000 teachers for insufficient Islamic piety
- purged Western loan words from Farsi
- discouraged teaching of Pre-Islamic Persian history and literature, instead idolizing the history of Islam and Iran's Islamic revolution
- women required to wear head-to-toe hijabs, and if they did not meet the requirements they were harshly punished by militant "revolutionary guards"
- schools, parks, beaches, and public transport were segregated by sex
- at its youngest point, legal marriage age for girls was lowered to nine
- still many women supported the revolution, remained prominent in the workforce and higher education, and kept the right to vote
- called for the replacement of insufficiently Islamic regimes and offered training for their opponents
- Iran became a model for Islamic radicalism, especially among Shi'ite minorities and other disaffected people in many surrounding Arab countries
- this caused a destructive eight-year war with Hussein's secular Iraq

Ella Bernstein

28/3/2018 10:51:01

What conflicts and differences divided India's nationalist movement?

-Gandhi wanted to return to simpler lifestyles, while others like Nehru supported modernization and industrialization.
-Not everyone accepted Gandhi's nonviolent and inclusive approach
-divisive issue of whether or not to participate in British-sponsored legislative bodies without complete independence
-some Congress Party members opposed advocacy for rights of women and lower classes because they believed it distracted from independence struggle
-smaller parties often appealed to specific regions or castes
-some viewed concept of India as a fully Hindu nation
-some revolutionaries cast their struggle in Hindu terms, isolating Muslims
-some Congress Party governments started teaching only Hindi in schools and protecting cows, which antagonized Muslims
-The All-India Muslim League appeared as an alternate to the mostly Hindu Congress Party

Josie Nunn

28/3/2018 17:18:54

MQ7
Why was African majority rule in South Africa delayed until 1994, whereas the overthrow of European colonialism had occurred much earlier in the rest of Africa and Asia?

-The black South African's struggle for freedom was against the white settler minority in the country, not against a European colonial power
-The refusal of the large and threatened settler community to change their views added to the delay
-Most Africans highly depended on the white-controlled economy, which left them vulnerable to repression. Although, the threat of the Africans removing their needed labor was a powerful weapon
-Race was a big issue, shown by the policy of apartheid, which tried to separate blacks from whites as much as possible while maintaining a white-controlled economy

I think I hit everything, tell me if I missed something or if an answer could be worded better.

Bingham

Welcome class of 2020. Some years students collaborate in this space effectively, some years not so much. One thing I know, collaboration significantly enhances learning. If you want access to my thoughts, this is the collaboration space to use. Most people propose an answer to margin questions, big picture question, or anything else related to managing Strayer. Other people can then comment leading to a stronger answer. I'll keep an eye on these pages, and pop in when I think you need me.

Strayer 22, the Periphery

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