ap comp gov

AP Comp Gov Update

Over the last few days of Comp Gov, students have studied China, specifically the challenges facing the one-party regime.

We began looking at an assortment of challenges facing the government on Monday, when I distributed sections of the attached PPT (April 28 – STATIONS) which I borrowed from Mrs. Evans.

Homework for Monday and Tuesday was to read the following articles, and write discussion questions:

Today we discussed those articles in class, and watched the following video, which provides an interesting perspective on the worldwide perceptions of government:

April 25 – AP Comp Gov – Chinese Government and Fang-Shou

This week, the class looked at the structure of Chinese government, the impact of Communism in China, the influence of Deng Xiaoping and cycle of Fang-Shou.

PPTs from class:

Homework for the weekend is to read the series of articles attached here (China – Special Report) and annotate for the following ideas, and then answer the question below them:

  • Relationship between the people and the government
  • Repression and Dissent
  • Effects of urbanization and migration
  • Existing/developing cleavages

Write a two paragraph response to the following question:

  • Is the “Chinese Dream” attainable under the existing system?

The “Chinese Dream” is in reference to the following:

  • As of 2013, Xi Jinping’s slogan is “The Chinese Dream”
  • Xi described the dream as “national rejuvenation, improvement of people’s livelihoods, prosperity, construction of a better society and military strengthening.” He has stated that young people should “dare to dream, work assiduously to fulfill the dreams and contribute to the revitalization of the nation.”

As a final thought, the following video is a clear explanation of the migration and urbanization that’s taken place in China in recent years:

April 18 – AP Comp Gov – Dynastic History

After a few make-up country brief presentations from students who were absent Wednesday, the class compared the population control policies of Iran and China based on the reading assigned for homework.

Students took notes on a lecture and series of slides regarding the dynastic history of China.

Homework is to begin reading the chapter on China by reading pages 285-296.

April 18 – China History

 

April 16 – Comp Gov – Iran Fishbowl

In class today, students participated in a fishbowl discussion regarding the possibility of democratization in Iran. Many interesting points were raised, and the majority of participants had interesting and helpful points to make. The discussion was based on the reading and assigned questions from yesterday’s class.

Here is the PPT from class today: April 16 – Iran Fishbowl

All participants from the discussion must complete the discussion reflection (part of this worksheet: Fishbowl Discussion Worksheet) and submit it to turnitin.com by class on Friday.

Since we didn’t have time in class today to jigsaw the two articles about birth control in China and Iran (as indicated in the PPT), those two articles, as well as that activity, have been assigned for homework.

Pop Control Article Iran – Beyond 7 Billion

Pop Control Article China

 

April 15 – Cop Gov – Nukes, Oil and Sanctions

Students wrapped up their diagramming of Iranian government by explaining (using evidence of course) where the power resides.

After discussing their answers as a class, we watched the following video, which discusses the impact of oil, nuclear activity, and sanctions on Iranian politics:

The video is presented with a distinct bias, but conveys the main ideas regarding the impact of those main themes.

PPT: April 15 – Iran

Sanctions:

Homework: Theocracy and its Discontents

For homework, prepare for a fishbowl discussion by reading the document above, and typing out answers to the questions on the last page.

April 4 – Comp Gov – Iran

After watching part of the rick Steve’s documentary on Iran, and a brief discussion of life in the country, we transitioned into a lesson about the factions within the Iranian government. I covered the basic elements of the factions during the block period, and followed that up with some more specific aspects of factional divisions in class today.

Check out the PPT’s from the two class periods:

The following reading were also assigned for classwork/homework:

Finally, here are a documentary giving you a window into the world of the Iranian people: