Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Mao and Single Party States




I am posting the outline of single party states that is issued by IBO. I have also added some possible questions below the outline. The questions you will be asked on the test will come from the following bullet points. Always be prepared to compare Mao and Stalin on EVERY question.



Origins-
- Conditions that produced authoritarian and single-party states
- Emergence of leaders: aims, ideology, support
- Totalitarianism: the aim and the extent to which it was achieved

Establishment-
- Methods: force, legal
- Form of government, (left-and right-wing) ideology
- Nature, extent and treatment of opposition

Domestic Policy-
- Structure and organization of government and administration
- Political, economic, social and religious policies
- Role of education, the arts, the media, propaganda
-Status of women, treatment of religious groups and minorities

1. To what extent did Stalin and Mao follow their stated ideologies?
2. In what ways did Stalin and Mao use and misuse education and arts?
3. Compare and Contrast Stalin and Mao's use of media and propaganda.
4. Compare and Contrast the domestic policies of Mao and Stalin.
5. Analyze the methods used and conditions which helped in the rise to power of Stalin and Mao.
6. Evaluate the successes and failures of Stalin and Mao.
7. Compare and contrast the status of women during Stalin's and Mao's reign.
8. Compare and contrast the methods used to maintain the regimes of Mao and Stalin.
9. How did Mao and Stalin gain power?
10. How did Mao's ideology differ from Stalin's ideology?
11. To what extent did China and the Soviet Union become totalitarian nations?
12. To what extent and by what methods were Mao and Stalin able to eliminate opposition?

Saturday, August 15, 2009

What adventures did you have this summer?


It has been a wonderful summer for the O'Donnell family. We spent a week in Washington D.C. and then a week in Colonial Williamsburg. The area around Williamsburg was a brand new experience for me. On the 4th of July, we listened as the Declaration of Independence was read from the veranda at the old Virginia Statehouse. However, my favorite moment was going to the archeological dig at Jamestown. Standing above the archeological team as they began to unearth the remains of a 16th century kitchen was amazing. All in all, it was a wonderful trip. So that was the big adventure of my summer, what did you do during summer vacation?

Monday, June 8, 2009

IA topics

Hope you are having a wonderful summer. If you have any questions or concerns about the IA's, please feel free to post here. I check the blog fairly regularly and will try to get back to you as soon as possible. Just in case you forget what your topic was, I have placed the entire list on docushare.

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task." ~William James