After seeing my father start rehab for his stroke (and thanks to all
who sent their best wishes--it made a difference), it occurred to me
that I have to get going again on my work and what better way than to
ask for your help!
For reasons will soon become clear, I am writing to ask if
anyone can recommend resources for the year in the world 1968 which
students will find useful. The recent post on "Day by Day: The
Sixties" and "Day by Day: The Seventies" was a big help. I have a
CBS cassette on 1968, with MLK speeches etc., the catalog of the
"Decade of Protest" travelling exhibit, books related to 1968 by
Kaiser, Caute, Fraser, Unger, Daniels, Gitlin, and Tischler. Are
there any websites the students might find useful in this regard or
bibliographies your STUDENTS have used successfully or other sources
that underscore the global reach of 1968? My hope is have activities
where students have the opportunity to create a round table with
students taking the roles of Castro, Tom Hayden, Ho Chi Minh, and Pat
Buchanan, and looking at global issues alive at that time with
resonacne to today, from feminism to ecology to Islamic
fundamentalism.
Why? This winter I will have some release time to design an
honors course in modern world history. It is my hope to have the
entire class conduct research, group activities, and campus
activities around a single theme: the Year 1968. I have chosen this
year because, well, lets face it, it was a big horrible year for me!
Err, there must be a better more professional reason. Yes! Because
I just saw a book on the Tet Offensive into print! Ooops! Have to
have a reason more pedogogically sound . . . Well, it was the
year of the Heroic Guerrilla--The Paris Student Revolt and even
Saddam Hussein got his start then, so few years, even 1941,
are as tied into modern world history as 1968. Moreoever, our
students lack much of an understanding of contemporary history, so
that while I would prefer the course focus on the predominance of
China in the World System economy until 1830, this may serve their
needs better as a course focus. Ahh, that's the ticket!!
With thanks,
Marc Gilbert
Professor of History
North Georgia State University