4º British: Did you know…?

Now that we have started the study of Japanese History, what if we learn some curious facts?

For example, did you know that there was a samurai woman? Her name was Tomoe Gozen (1157-1247) and she participated into several feudal wars, such as the famous Battle of Kurikara. She also appears in one of the most well-knows japanese epic books: the Keiki Monogatari. You can learn more about her HERE. Anyway, she was NOT the first case of female warriors... as we have learnt, Amazones were terrible enemies of ancient greeks, there were many brave viking women (origin of the valkyries myth) or, also in Asia, we have the example of a chinese militar commander, Fu Hao. Who said women are not strong enough?

And what about Yasuke, the African-samurai? Sent to Japan as a slave in 1579 as a part of a diplomatic gift, he was released and trained as samurai by his Shogun.

Japan’s emperor finally sent several diplomatic delegations to Europe, such as the Tensho embassy (1582) and the Keicho embassy (1613). Both of them included Spain in their official routes. There are plenty of documents, letters and official recordings about them, if you want to know the details.

Finally, if you want to learn many more things about Japan’s History or its influence on the cinema (do you know that “7 samurais”, filmed in 1954 by Akira Kurosawa, was adapted several times into western and even animation movies?), remember that you can visit previous links in this same blog.

Enjoy!

2ºBritish: Women on Modern Art

Throughout the centuries, women have been involved in making art, whether as creators and innovators of new forms of artistic expression, patrons, collectors, sources of inspiration, or significant contributors as art historians and critics.

But despite being engaged with the art world in every way, many women artists have found opposition in the traditional narrative of art history. They have faced challenges due to gender biases, from finding difficulty in training to selling their work and gaining recognition.

Finally this year, Museo de El Prado is opening a special exhibition about two of the greatest female painters of the Italian Renaissance (Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana) who, despite the historical difficulties, managed to be proudly included into Vasari’s book about the most prominent artist of his time.

But there were not the only ones. And now it is your opportunity of learn more about them: prepare a complete presentation (ppt) about one of the artist from this list: brief biography and complete/detailed study about her art works (3 minimum). You can also visit the artcyclopedia.

This work can be done individually or in groups (maximun 3 people). When finish,  as usual, send it as attached file to acarriles@educa.jcyl.es . After the revision, you will do a public speaking at class. All members of the team have to talk. Cooperation and the use of appropiate vocabulary would be also keep in mind.

As usual, this work is mandatory. If you fail to finish it, send it out of date or just copy&paste from a webpage, your mark will be a 0.

Ready? Steady?... go!  

Reto Lector 2019: En clave femenina

¿Ya os habéis apuntado al Reto Lector 2019: En clave femenina de nuestra biblioteca escolar? ¿Ya habéis escogido a vuestra autora de novela gráfica para esta primera prueba? Si aún no os habéis decidido, en el blog de La Biblio del Vasco podéis encontrar numerosas sugerencias:

• Historias, historietas y autoras de cómic. Un interesante artículo de PikaraMagazine
• 8 mujeres que se ríen del mundo muy en serio. De Sleepydays
• Presentes: autoras de tebeo de ayer y de hoy. Publicado por AECID y disponible en Issuu. 

¡Feliz lectura! :)

4º British: History of Modern Feminism on Twitter

You are about to start the 6^th edition of your favourite historical activity... twitter in class! 

This year it will be all about feminism; you must create a special twitter account as you were one of the leaders of Female vindications (choose your character from this file). With this “historical account” you become follower of @auladeadriana

The application period will start THIS FRIDAY (11^th January), at 16:30. Just send me an email with your chosen character and I will answer you back with the confirmation. Once that you have it, you can start making your character back to life J You will have a couple of days for creating the twitter account; the more “realistic” that you do it (portrait, biographic info, etc.), the better for your final mark.

The debate will start Monday 14^th and finish Monday 28^th.  You have to create a minimum of 20 tweets (12 of them base on real primary sources: texts, photos...) in the name of your chosen character. Try not to be independent, but “talk” with the others.

I would also recommend you to use the hastag #HistoryatVasco in your tweets, to facilitate its reading.

The previous years, this experiment was a total success and your partners really did good performances, so you will have to work hard for leading them...

This work is individual and mandatory and will be part of the score at the end of the term. If you fail to finish it, do it out of date, or just copy&paste from a webpage, the mark will be a 0 for this work.

Be creative and enjoy it! 

Vanguardia de las mujeres en marcha a Versailles 1789

1º British: Who was Fu Hao?

Find out more about this fascinating woman of the Shang Dinasty in Ancient China, via BBC-Bitesize and enjoy! 

4º British: Graphic novels for learning History

As usual, here you have a list of recommendations for your holidays. This year is about graphic novels!. It is only a selection but it includes a wide range of different historical moments and perspectives. Enjoy the reading!

Women

Persépolis, by Marjane Satrapi. Autobiography of a teenager in Teherán, during the difficult years of the Islamic Revolution.

Sally Heathcote, Suffragette, by Mary M. Talbot & Kate Charlesworth. As the growing hunger for change grows within a culture of rigid social mores and class barriers, Sally and thousands like her rise up to break the bonds of oppression at the risk of ostracization and violence. 

Leonor, the Black legend, by Delalande, Mogavino & Gómez. Biography of the brave and powerful Leonor of Aquitania (1122-1204), who brokes the medieval stereotypes fom women and changed History.

Red Rosa, by Kate Evans. A graphic biography of Rosa Luxemburg, a central figure in the early twentieth century socialist movement in Europe, shows how an independent, passionate woman stood fast for her beliefs. 

I World War

¡F***ing War!, by Jacques Tardi. A classic graphic novel about life in the trenches.

Gravrilo Princip, by Henrik Rehr. The story of the man that change the 20th century.

The Harlem Hellfighters, by Max Brooks & Caanan White. It is a fictionalized account of the experiences of the African-American 369th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the "Hell-fighters" by German soldiers.

II World War

Berlin: City of Stones, by Jason Lutes. A good inter-war novel set in the later years of the Weimar Republic. It covers the lives of several people in Berlin in 1928-1929, with as a backdrop the rise of Nazism. 

Normandy, a graphic novel of the D-Day, by Wayne Vansant.

Maus, by Art Spiegelman. The story of a survivor from the concentration camps.

Los surcos del azar, by Paco Roca. The Story of “La Nueve”, the international Regiment, mainly formed by Spanish Republicans, that first enter in Paris,  on the 24th August 1944.

History of Spain

La balada del Norte, by Alfonso Zapico. The story of several characters Turing the difficult times of the II Republic and the rebellion in Asturias.

La guerra civil española, by José Pablo García & Paul Preston

El otro mar, by Alfonso Zapico. Biography of Vasco Núñez de Balboa, one of the explorers/conquerors of America, around the year 1500.

1212. Las Navas de Tolosa, by Jesús Cano de la Iglesia

Las Meninas, by Javier Olivares & Santiago García

Pablo Picasso, by Birmant & Oubrerie

El Cid, by Antonio Hernández Palacios

Post-War conflicts

CHE: a revolutionary life, by Jon Lee Anderson & José Hernández

Pyongyang, by Guy Deslise. The author had the opportunity of visiting North Korea. Altough controlled and chaperoned by his translator and a guide, among the statues and propaganda of Korean leaders (the world's only Communist dynasty), Delisle was able to observe more than was intended of the culture and lives of the few North Koreans he encountered. 

A Chinese Life, by Philippe Otie & Li Kunwu. The creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the rise and reign of Chairman Mao Zedong, and his sweeping, often cataclysmic vision for the most populated country on the planet.

Waltz with Bashir: A Lebanon War, by Ari Folman.

Best enemies, by Jean-Pierre Filiu & David B. A story of USA & Middle East relationships (1783-1953)

Such a lovely little war: Saigon 1961-1963, by Marcelino Truong. This Franco-Vietnamese author recounts his childhood in Saigon (now Ho Chi Mihn City). It is a gentle introduction to the beginning of the Vietnam War seen by a child of a bi-cultural marriage.

The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert & Didier Lefèvre. It recounts the journey of a reporter through Afghanistan while accompanying Doctors Without Borders in a country torn apart by a war pitting Russians against an Afghan resistance supported by the US and other countries.

Safe Area Gorazde, by Joe Sacco. The author, a master of graphic reportage, managed to convey the nuances of politics combined with a deep understanding of what Bosnians were going through in The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-95. Other main titles of Joe Sacco are Palestine and Footnotes in Gaza, both about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Gaza strip.

Miscelánea

Democracy, by Alecos Papadatos, Abraham Kawa & Annii Donna. The story of how democracy started in Ancient Athens, from the perspective of one of its citizens.

Dubliner, by Alfonso Zapico. The tumultuous life of James Joyce, one of the most famous writers of the 20th century.

Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City, by Guy Delisle. Travelogue about life in the Holy City that serves as a cultural roadmap of the city's complexities and relevance while offering insight into the human impact of conflicts on both sides of the wall.

Día de la Mujer

Hoy, 8 de Marzo, es el Día Internacional de la Mujer, un día que se celebra de forma oficial desde 1975. Para aprender algo más sobre mujeres que marcaron un hito en la Historia podéis consultar este estupendo blog con multitud de biografías e historias. 

¡Feliz lectura!

4º British: Women in wartimes

Next Wednesday, 8 March, is the International Women's Day and, as usual, in this blog we commemorate that day by talking about Women on History.

Today we have 5 inspirational stories about women during I World War, thanks to the Imperial War Museum. Do you know who were Elizabeth Knocher and Mairi Chisholm? Or that Mary O'Conell was a driver in the St Omer Ambulance Convoy? Or that Elsie Inglis was a qualified surgeon and supporter of the women's suffrage campaign? 

Discover these and many other amazing stories about brave women in wartimes.

2º British: Medieval lives - Women

As you really like the previous video, here you have another chapter of the BBC documentary series about "Medieval lives": Damsel (aristocratic women). As usual, it is English spoken, without subtitles (28 minutes).

The Medieval damsel is nowadays seen as a beautiful, but helpless woman, forever in need of a knight in shining armor to rescue her. But... were damsels really such passive females, or are the stories we think we know about them, simply not true? Terry Jones travels around Europe in search for an answer to that question.

In the following days, there will be links for more episodes. 

Cover image: 

Ilustration from Codex Mannese (Zurich, 14th century).

4º British: Dorothy Lawrence, a woman in the trenches!

We have recently talked about a boy soldier, today we have another peculiar example of courage: Dorothy Lawrence was a British woman that decided to take active part in the war. She cut her hair, got male clothes, learned to walk and talk as a man, and joined (with the name of Tommy) the army.

She stayed several weeks in a trech during the Battle of the Somme, but she was forced to revealed her identity after a severe illness. 

Back to Britain, Emmeline Pankhurst, leader of the Suffragettes, invited Dorothy to lecture the growing ranks of women desperate to contribute to Britain’s war effort. But Dorothy was banned by the War Office from telling her inspirational story either through newspaper articles or talks until after the Armistice in 1918. You can read her full story in the Daily Mail.

1º British: Women against Rome!

Hoy, 8 de marzo, es el Día Internacional de la Mujer.  Este día fue instituido por la ONU en 1977. En este blog, hoy lo celebraremos desde un punto de vista histórico: haciendo un repaso a la vida de varias mujeres que plantaron cara al poderoso Imperio Romano…

Disfrutad de la lectura!

Today, 8^th March, is the International Women's Day. This day was established by the UN in 1977. Today in this blog, we will celebrate it from an historical point of view: by reviewing the lives of several women who bravely planted facing the powerful Roman Empire...

Enjoy the reading!