Wikipedia Assignment Part ll

The article I contributed to Wikpedia was the Black Cabinet.  I expanded on the stub article which was already on Wikipedia.  Over the past several weeks only a few people made some changes to the article, which were minor changes to the grammar and certain words were changed.  I noticed that no made any major changes to the article or added anything to it.  I am not sure if this is because there is only limited information available online about the Black Cabinet or this Article did not attract enough attention from the readers to have them add to the article.   I also did not receive any warnings about the article and no one has recommended this article for deletion.  I could not contribute to the discussion page because as of right now there are no postings, but I am interested in seeing what people have to say about the article so I will keep checking it for any comments or questions. 

Working with Wikipeida was very interesting and after writing an article on it I feel more comfortable with the information that is provided by the articles already on it.  I did not know that Wikipedia has people working for them to eliminate articles that are not useful or have the wrong information.  I had no idea that Wikipedia even existed before this class I guess that could be because teachers do not want their students to know about Wikipedia.  I spoke with other people about Wikipedia to see if they use it and mostly everyone has used it one time or another for their research or personal knowledge.  What I like about Wikipedia is that it not only has articles on important topics but also random articles about almost anything a person would want to know about.  Having all the information in one place is a great idea because there are not too many websites on the web that cover everything.  Also a lot of information provided on the web about a certain topic are personal opinions and the good thing about Wikipedia is that there is bibliography to back the information provided.  Writing the article was a little difficult at first because of all the tags that the writer must use.  Once I did the tutorial I felt more comfortable and by the end of the article I was using the tags without any reference.  It was also helpful to be able to look at the tags from other websites to see how they for example posted a picture.  It would be helpful to have a format that is not so complicated, possibly the same format as if a person were to write an article using Microsoft Word. 

Post # 4 Women and Postwar Film.

Views about women have changed over time in the eyes of society from post World War II to now.  The two videos “Cooking Terms” and “Women in Society” show some of the differences and many of the similarities but in a different setting as our society has changed.

The video Cooking Terms show a women named Margie and her husband Tim who are newly married and starting a new life.  As soon as the entrance is made in to the house Margie is shown in what is said to be her bright new kitchen.  She is already wearing an apron and ready to make a meal for her husband as if this is her primary duty.  The whole time she is only thinking about Tim and thinks to herself “what would he like” as if the world revolves around him and her choice does not really matter as long as Tim is happy.  Such as when she burns her cake, the only thing she can think of is baking another cake instead of telling Tim that she burned the cake.  It makes sense for her to think this and that’s because if household chores is her primary duty and she has done nothing to prove that she has done her chores, then what will Tim think.  I noticed the thick cook book unlike I have ever seen and it suddenly made me think of a bible as if this book has all the answers to her problems.  She is not shown as very clever, with no ideas of her own and she is shown learning new terms such as “boil” and what it really means as if she does not know what that means, a term that is very simple.  The other very interesting comment made by the narrator was when he refered to her career as being a cook. 

Women in Society video was chosen to show how women still feel about themselves as compared to the past but in a different manner.  This is a music video with different clips in the background.  It starts out by showing young girls putting makeup on and looking at themselves in the mirror.  It shows that women only see themselves getting ahead by using their looks and bodies.  It shows a girl walking in to a store running in to a glass door not realizing it was there showing women as dumb and ditsy.  It goes into show two blonde’s who are unable to solve a puzzle which a first grader could solve and then shows them holding a remote backwards trying to turn the TV off.  At the end of the video it shows a barbie doll and then it shows a picture of a real woman who looks similar to the barbie doll after surgery, stating that this is what makes women fell good about themselves and this is what pleases men.  It also shows a photo of Paris Hilton and it has a meaning because someone such as Paris Hilton who comes from a wealthy family and will at one point inherit more then 300 million only became known and somewhat famous because of her sex tape and not because she did something great for society. 

The two videos are similar in nature because it shows women at different times one in the 1950s showing a women trying to please her husband in anyway possible, and this in her mind is getting ahead in society.  Where now women are using their bodies to get ahead and get noticed and I don’t believe that its only true in the Hollywood industry but many times also true in the professional business industry.  The differences are that the women currently are more independent now then in the past but with a price to pay.  With the current divorce rate at its highest and children having major problems socially and mentally, in many cases because now both the mother and father are not around.  Women being independent also brings equality between men and women and the down side to that is that women are more easily able to walk out of a marriage instead of trying to fix the problem which I believe is the cause of our high divorce rate.  Equality is wonderful until you see the damage it has caused. 

 

History 120 Class Reflection # 10

I enjoyed watching Fog of War even though it was a documentary.  Documentaries are a good way to learn because were else can a person get so many facts and different videos about one subject with in a few hours.  The movie provided some great insight in to war and what goes in to really deciding what actions are going to be taken next.  It was interesting to see how small decisions and miscommunication could lead to a war where thousands will be killed.  It was also sad to see how so many Japanese civilians were killed during the war.  I had thought that during war the main targets are not civilians but other locations that would stop the enemy.  Considering the size of Japan to the damage it sustained was unbelievable and that was even before the Atomic bomb. 

History 120 Classs Reflection # 9

It was interesting to see how things have changed over time with such items as mass production and items we reuse now.  Most people don’t think about such small changes over time but when viewed it shows a huge change in society we live in now.  I do believe that in third world countries people reuse more items because they have less money, so it only makes sense to reuse.  I am sure that even in the united states people reuse items from rich to poor areas, because there are certain things you can get by without throwing it out.  I noticed new clever ways of marketing were used and it not only targeted the adults but also the kids.  As we see now marketing towards kids is a huge billion dollar industry.  Some of the things I did notice are the changes in the ads, the older ads had a lot more writing and explained the item for sale very well.  As of today there is not much writing which may be due to the television where people can observe the item in action before it is bought.   

History 120 Class reflection #8

In class we talked about how the internet has changed the way teaching is done in schools.  I believe the internet has changed how teaching is done through out many schools in the United States.  This is the first class that I have taken at Mason where I used and learned from the internet almost 90 percent of the time.  Internet is a great tool which usually gives a lot of up to date information but I don’t feel that it will ever replace teachers.  Teachers as talked in class have the experience and in depth knowledge to be able to direct students as to what is most important because not every thing can be learned in once class and most students are required to take only a certain number of classes as electives and it is important that they learn the most important things in them. Reading about the second industrial revolution was interesting and I had never heard of it before.   It promoted advancement in technology and different types of engines.  The second industrial revolution led up to a depression.  The gilded age provided growth for the cities and towns but also made certain individuals extremely wealthy, which allowed these individuals to use their power in the wrong way. 

 

Post #3 The New Outlaws.

          

 

The above images look very similar in nature with individuals not acting in a manner as they should.  I have chosen to compare how the Irish were perceived as compared to how the immigrant Hispanic’s are perceived at the current moment.  The Irish above were viewed as outlaws and uncontrollable as compared to the public view at this time for the Hispanic immigrants. The current picture was obtained from Google images, which was originally obtained from a site called Help Save Herndon, and the cartoon was obtained from the assignment module.  After going through several hundred pictures, the above picture was chosen because it does not in any way represent the actual culture or actions of most Hispanics. 

Viewed in the cartoon above and many pictures seen in class of the Irish, one would believe if they had not encountered an Irish individual in person to be ignorant, ugly, obnoxious, really poor not very smart and a heavy drinker.  At that time in history cartoons such at this and many other could be published without any type of accountability or lawsuits.  I do believe that African Americans were treated much poorly then the Irish, but the Irish may have been viewed as being similar to them because they immigrated to this country.  I believe the Irish were able to fit in to the American culture better then the African Americans due to their skin color.  As with anything when there is change people will try to stop it and be scared of it.  People viewed the Irish a certain way only because they were immigrants and very poor.  Now with the Hispanics immigrants, the well established American citizens want nothing to do with them and want them out of the country.  When a culture does not understand and is not willing to understand another culture, everything is left to the imagination. The above cartoon with many others from that time reveal how the American citizens viewed the Irish and slowly became accustomed to them to the point were we are at today. 

Today the Hispanics are treated in a similar way, primarily by whites which most likely include the Irish as well.  Many people forget that they came to this country just like the Hispanic immigrants and are now well established after several decades.  The Hispanic immigrants at this time are seen as ignorant, really poor and drunks.  The Hispanic immigrants will eventually be accepted after several decades and they will be looked upon just like any other race.  As with anything there may always be discrimination but not to the point that it is right now.  As for the picture it was taken in Herndon and the subjects in the picture are standing in a parking lot looking for work.  I work closely with many of the citizens in Herndon and I am usually in the area where this occurred. Many of the pictures where the subjects are acting in the manner seen above were provoked by camera crews from different news stations and the Minuteman group.  The web site save Help Save Herndon which posted this article chose the above picture out of hundreds of other available pictures which show another view of the Hispanic population.

 

 

History 120 Class Reflection # 7

It was interesting to read that even the Irish who had white skin were treated badly as much as the black slaves.  At this time in history it would be compared to the rising Hispanic population in the united states and the peoples views on their race and culture.  Even thought it is not to the point as the African American or Irish who were treated really bad, it appears that we could be headed in that direction.  Looking at all the immigration laws going in to affect trying to deport all the Hispanics will just not work.  In time the Hispanics will be looked as any other race in this country. 

It appears that United States is looking for any reason to start a war.  With the Spanish-American war it was the USS Maine which no one really knows how it sank.  With the current war I don’t really believe it is for the freedom of citizens of another country, it probably has to do with oil, which appears that things got worse then better at least in the short run.

Bibliography: The Black Cabinet.

“Black Cabinet.” Wikipedia.  19 February. 2008.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cabinet

I chose this small article because it provides a quick over view about the black cabinet and some of its important members. 

“Mary McLeod Bethune” Wikipdeia.  11 March. 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Jane_McLeod_Bethune

 This article talk about Mary Bethune a member of the Black Cabinet and her important role in communicating with the black community.  The article also touches on her relationship with Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt. 

Fleming, Thomas C. “The Black Cabinet.” The Free Press. 8 September 1999.  http://www.freepress.org/fleming/flemng83.html

This online article talks about the role black cabinet played when it was created and the black members appointed to it.  The article also provides an insight on Mary Bethune a female member of the cabinet. 

Barron, James.  Robert C. Weaver 89, First Black Cabinet Member, Dies. 19 July, 1997. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00EED6163BF93AA25754C0A961958260

This article goes in to detail about Robert C. Weaver and his accomplishments as the first member in the Black Cabinet.

Yetman, Norman.  “The Black Presence in the Writers Project.” An introduction to the WPA Slave Narratives. 23 March, 2001.  http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snintro08.html

 The article speaks about how the need for the Black Cabinet came about and how it helped relay the views of poor blacks and their needs.  

Horton, James O.  “African American Histroy.”  Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2007. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761595158_11/African_American_History.html#howtocite

 The article talks about some of the benefits that the African Americans received because of the Black Cabinet. 

Walton, Hanes.  “Invisible Politics- Black Political Behavior.” State University of New York Press, 1985.

The book speaks about how president Franklin Roosevelt changed the part of history by appointing so many African Americans that they were eventually called the Black Cabinet. 

Weiss, Nancy J.  “Farewell to the Party of Lincoln: Black Politics in the Age of FDR.”  Princeton University Press, 1983.

The books talks about the different styles of leadership that some of the Black Cabinet members had.   

History 120 Class Reflection#6

Reconstruction was a good start after the war and as with anything, things would just not get better immediately.  Jim Crow Laws was another step put in place to slow down the progress but without this, it may not be were we are today.  If changes were made instantly the whites may have put up a bigger fight because a quick change is hard for anyone to understand and comply with.  I don’t believe Jim Crow laws were right but it was a step in the right direction.  The blacks fought for their rights after the Jim Crow laws and slowly worked their way to having equality.  As for the act to preserve racial integrity it was just another barrier put up by the white which they knew or should have known would not work.  Having no way to really distinguish who is black or white other then by color is all they had. 

History 120 Class Reflection # 5

Three movies were seen in class, Cold Mountain, Soldiers and Generals, and Glory.  The three movies showed views of the war in different ways.  Cold Mountain showed the views of soldiers and the tactics they used and no specific person was in charge.  All three were entertaining and it was interesting to know that one of them used a local professor as a guide.  Even thought I have seen civil war movies before I was still surprised to see the way fighting began face to face and not by using any tactics.  I wonder if the war would have ended differenty if one side decided to use a different way of approach rather then walking in a straight line and knowing the people in the front are going to die.  It just makes no sense to think that the officials in charge were using this technique.