Review of Week One

As we came back to school, we picked up in the early 20th century.  Our first unit will be over World War I, and we began our study by reading a selection from Tim O'Brien's "How to Tell a True War Story", a chapter from his book, The Things They Carried.  Mr. O'Brien served as an infantryman in Vietnam, and his book is part memoir, part fictional charade.  The Great War is the most important war in the 20th century, because the effects will be felt throughout the rest of the century in many ways.  O'Brien's reading is an attempt to understand both narrative in history, as well as the concept micro history, or personal history.  Every human being has a story to tell, and together, those stories form the tapestry of macro history, or the big picture we read about in our text books.  As we move into our study of World War I, we will begin by looking at European conflicts of the 19th century, European imperialism, and the rise of nationalistic pride that will prove so promising and so devastating.  We will explore primary source material (diaries, photos, equipment) and relate that to our own experiences.  How would the world be different if Great War soldiers had Facebook?  We will look at the soldier's experience through poetry and song.  We will move from macro to micro history, and hopefully gain a greater understanding of both.