Elective 2: History and Memory

The syllabus says…“This module requires students to explore various

representations of events, personalities or situations. They evaluate how medium of production, textual form, perspective and choice of language influence meaning. The study develops students’ understanding of the relationships between representation and meaning.”

http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/english-syllabus-from2010.pdf

Fine… ok… great… What does all this actually mean?

Explore ? =

Representations ? =

Events ? =

Personalities ? =

Situations ? =

• search / investigate / open up / go into / delve into / pull apart and see how something (a text) works / discover the details of something and see how it’s “built”

• interpretations / images / illustrations / points-of-view / demonstrations / accounts of / versions / descriptions / depictions

• proceedings / actions / individual experiences / local incidents / national occasions / international processes / global events / personal celebrations and/or tragedies

• diffferent people / characters / traits / natures / behaviours / individualities / personas / temperaments / dispositions / VIPs / public figures / famous person / celebrities

• circumstances / states of mind / state of affairs / positions / settings / locations / status quo

Hero or villain?

Evaluate ? = assess / estimate / judge the value of / calculate / weigh up / appraise / gauge

Medium ? = method / mode / / type of material / form / vehicle (eg: hard copy – paper – digital – interactive – static image – visual – multi media)

Production ? = construction / creation / invention / assembly / manufacture

Textual form ? = how a text is composed / text-type

Perspective ? = viewpoint / standpoint / point of view / perception / angle / take / outlook

Influence ? = change / effect / control / manipulate / persuade / impel / talk into / win over / sway

Meaning ? = ideas / understanding / what the composer really means / what the responder understands the text really means (for different audiences) / intended purpose

evaluate how medium of production, textual form, perspective and choice of language influence meaning.

Weigh-up How the techniques / processes of

Film, print, digital, audio

Documentary? Animation? Youtube vid? Article? novel? Website?TV show? Poster?

Dominant? Resistant? Subversive? Marginalised? Disenfranchised? Popular? Cultural? Christian? Non-Christian? Post-modern? Feminist? Capitalist? Marxist?

Formal? Colloquial? Idioms – simile – metaphor – modality – dialogue – imagery – symbols – motifs – audio effects – camera angles, shot types and movement – contrast – irony – satire – persuasive – positive or negative tone – emotive language – factual language – stereotypes – cliches – catch phrases – journalese -

Show specific ideas, events, people, values, attitudes about history and memory.

Students are also required to supplement this study with texts of their own choosing which provide a variety of representations of that event, personality or situation. These texts are to be drawn from a variety of sources, in a range of genres and media.

These texts are to be drawn from avariety of sources, in a range of genres and media.

By Don Tagala, ABS-CBN North America Bureau

Posted at 05/09/2011 10:17 PM | Updated as of 05/09/2011 10:17 PM

NEW YORK - Joe Valdez is a Financial Advisor who worked at the Stanley Morgan Company located on the 73rd floor of the World Trade Center Tower 2 in the early 2000’s. He recounted his ordeal on the day terror attacked New York City a decade ago.The Filipino-American financial advisor was at the foot of the World Trade Center when one of the twin towers collapsed right before his eyes on September 11, 2001.“I heard this loud crack, when I looked up, the building was literally collapsing on top of me and at that moment I had no idea what to do, I just stared up straight into the air, looking at the building falling down on me and that was the only time I had ever accepted death.”

Valdez was one of people covered in dust running away from the epicenter of the terror attack, now an unforgettable image in U.S. history.“I ran as far away as the Brooklyn Bridge, and as I was running away, I heard one of the buildings come crashing down and when I turned around, I saw the second building had already gone down.” ….

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PREFACE

We present the narrative of this report and the recommendations that flow from it to the President of the United States, the United States Congress, and the American people for their consideration. Ten Commissioners—five Republicans and five Democrats chosen by elected leaders from our nation’s capital at a time of great partisan division—have come together to present this report without dissent.

We have come together with a unity of purpose because our nation demands it. September 11, 2001,was a day of unprecedented shock and suffering in the history of the United States.The nation was unprepared. How did this happen, and how can we avoid such tragedy again?

To answer these questions, the Congress and the President created the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (Public Law 107-306, November 27, 2002).

2.

Our mandate was sweeping.The law directed us to investigate “facts and circumstances relating to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,” including those relating to intelligence agencies, law enforcement agencies, diplomacy, immigration issues and border control, the flow of assets to terrorist organizations, commercial aviation, the role of congressional oversight and resource allocation, and other areas determined relevant by the Commission. In pursuing our mandate, we have reviewed more than 2.5 million pages of documents and interviewed more than 1,200 individuals in ten countries. This included nearly every senior official from the current and previous administrations who had responsibility for topics covered in our mandate. We have sought to be independent, impartial, thorough, and nonpartisan. From the outset, we have been committed to share as much of our investigation as we can with the American people.To that end,we held 19 days of hearings and took public testimony from 160 witnesses. …

THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT

http://pdfhacks.com/911Report/911Report.pdf#page=12

Elective 2: History and MemoryIn their responding and composing, students consider their prescribed text and other texts which explore the relationships between individual memory and documented events. Students analyse and evaluate the interplay of personal experience, memory and documented evidence to broaden their understanding of how history and personal history are shaped and represented.

In your answer you will be assessed on how well you:_________________________________________________demonstrate understanding of and evaluate the relationship between representation and meaning organise, develop and express ideas using language appropriate to audience, purpose and form _________________________________________________

In your answer you will be assessed on how well you: ___________________________________________________________________■ demonstrate understanding of and evaluate the relationship between representation and meaning ■ organise, develop and express ideas using language appropriate to audience, purpose and form ___________________________________________________________________Question 11 — Elective 2: History and Memory (20 marks) To what extent has textual form shaped your understanding of history and memory? In your response, make detailed reference to your prescribed text and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing.

The prescribed texts are: • Multimedia – Smithsonian National Museum of American History September 11 website, http://americanhistory.si.edu/september11/

Section III – Module C: Representation and Text General comments Many stronger responses demonstrated an awareness of the constructedness of texts and

how the choice of form and its associated language features connected with the composer’s purpose and context. A carefully constructed thesis was developed through skilful analysis and seamless integration of the prescribed text and well-chosen text or texts of own choosing. Judiciously selected textual evidence was used to support the evaluation of the form and its distinctive features.

Weaker responses were largely descriptive and limited in scope. Some understanding of the act of representation through form was evident; however, the treatment of the prescribed text and the text or texts of own choosing was superficial and inconsistent. Some of these responses did present a simple line of argument, but it was not developed further through the textual references. Generally, the text or texts of own choosing were not used to make connections with the prescribed text and to demonstrate understanding of conflicting perspectives or history and memory.

In stronger responses, candidates concentrated on the concepts of ‘History and Memory’ and communicated a judgement about how effective particular texts were in representing these concepts through their textual form, contributing to their illumination. They then justified these judgements through effective comparison of textual features and ideas.

1.History and Political ContextFew fundamentalist movements in the Islamic world gained lasting political power. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, fundamentalists helped articulate anticolonial grievances but played little role in the o struggles for independence after World War I. Western-educated lawyers, soldiers, and officials led most independence movements, and clerical influence and traditional culture were seen as obstacles to national progress. After gaining independence from Western powers following World War II, the Arab Middle East followed an arc from initial pride and optimism to today’s mix of indifference, cynicism, and despair. In several countries, a dynastic state already existed or was quickly established under a paramount tribal family. Monarchies in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Jordan still survive today. Those in Egypt, Libya, Iraq, and Yemen were eventually overthrown by secular nationalist revolutionaries.

2.

The secular regimes promised a glowing future, often tied to sweeping ideologies (such as those promoted by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s Arab Socialism or the Ba’ath Party of Syria and Iraq) that called for a single, secular Arab state. However, what emerged were almost invariably autocratic regimes that were usually unwilling to tolerate any opposition—even in countries, such as Egypt, that had a parliamentary tradition. Over time, their policies— repression, rewards, emigration, and the displacement of popular anger onto scapegoats (generally foreign)—were shaped by the desire to cling to power.

The bankruptcy of secular, autocratic nationalism was evident across the Muslim world by the late 1970s.At the same time, these regimes had closed off nearly all paths for peaceful opposition, forcing their critics to choose silence, exile, or violent opposition. Iran’s 1979 revolution swept a Shia theocracy into power. Its success encouraged Sunni fundamentalists elsewhere.