As our class shifts our focus from the domestic issues that enveloped the United States in its young history to America's role in the world from 1898 to the present, it is important for us to have a sense of the major foreign policy concerns facing the United States today. Ultimately, we will be using the history that we learn to understand, judge, and recommend the choices and decisions for the government to follow in its relationships today.
Three important current foreign policy considerations for the United States are the ongoing war in Afghanistan, Iran's potential nuclear programs, nuclear missile tests by North Korea and the civil unrest in Syria. As we move ahead in this unit you will be asked to make specific connections between these events and the events of the past.
In order to set the context for these connections, today your task will be to form a basic understanding of the current status of two of the three events. For each event, you should have a separate blog post. Each post should not just contain reactions to the event but additionally notes and specific details from the stories, articles and videos you see. Further, you should keep track of any questions that you have about that event. Click the links below to be taken to the NY TIMES TOPICS site containing current information and updates about each event. We suggest that you begin by reading the overviews that appear at the start of the page and then browse the different articles, videos, graphics, or other multimedia presentations.
The War in Afghanistan
Syria
Iran
North Korea
When you are finished posting on these topics, you should begin your reading for the weekend. Calendar is posted here on the blog and in the Imperialism/WWI folder on the website. If you do not have the new binder, the readings are also posted on the website. Note the journal/notetaking that is required and defined in the footnotes on the calendar. You do NOT have to complete the corresponding study guides that are also included in the PDF file for the Imperialism reading.
