A2 SEMINAR 5 History VOCABULARY – Task 1: Describe the timeline with the following terms: Middle, bronze, invasion, neolithic, treaty, ancient, dynasty, modern, war, prehistorical, crusade, built, era, empire, act, pharaoh, age Textové pole: --------- Age Textové pole: ------ Akhenaton died (1336 BC) Textové pole: Peloponnesian --- (431-404 BC) Textové pole: Qin ------- rule (226-201 BC) Textové pole: 4 ------- initiated (AD 1202) Textové pole: Machu Picchu ----- (1438–1472) Textové pole: Ottoman --- Expansion (1522-66) Textové pole: ------ of Westphalia (1648) Textové pole: German ------- of Belgium (1914) Textové pole: Indian Independence Act--- (1947) READING TECHNIQUES: Task 2: Match the pieces of texts below with the names of the following people in history. 1. Vladimir Lenin (1870 - 1924) 2. Joan of Arc (1412-1431) 3. Catherine the Great (1729-1796) 4. Francisco Pizarro (1470 - 1541) 5. Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC) 6. Mbande Nzinga (1582-1663) 7. Winston Churchill (1874- 1965) a) Born into a peasant family, she became a French heroine by leading the army of Charles VII against the English at Orleans. Captured by the Burgundians, and held by the English, she was put on trial on charges of witchcraft and fraud. She was charged only for wearing male clothes, an offence against the Church, and was burned at the stake. Her legend grew and she was canonized in 1920. b) After unifying China, he and his chief advisor Li Si passed a series of major economic and political reforms. He undertook gigantic projects, including the first version of the Great Wall of China, the now famous city-sized mausoleum guarded by a life-sized Terracotta Army, and a massive national road system, all at the expense of numerous lives. To ensure stability, Qin Shi Huang outlawed and burned many books.^ c) He was the illegitimate son of a prominent soldier in the army of the great captain Gonsalvo de Córdoba, and was born at Trujillo, in Estremadura, Spain. He sailed for America and formed a partnership with Diego de Almagro to explore the country discovered by Andagoya to the south of the Isthmus. His conquest of Peru is a drama, in every act of which there is bloodshed; but the drama is at least consistent to the end. He lived a life of violence, and died a violent and bloody death. d) As the queen of the Ndongo and Matamba kingdoms she was honoured for her resistance against the Portuguese occupying these parts of Africa. She organized a powerful guerrilla army, conquered the Matamba, developed alliances to control the slave routes, and even formed an alliance with the Dutch, who helped her stop the Portuguese. She eventually negotiated a peace treaty with the Portuguese, but still refused to pay tribute to their king. e) She arrived in Russia from Germany in 1744 to marry the 16-year-old Grand Duke Peter. His unpopularity allowed her to remove him from power, plan his death, and declare herself the ruler of Russia. She supported progressive ideas, such as reforms in law, education, and administration. However, she ruled as an autocrat, suppressed Polish nationalists (which led to Poland's partition), and took the Crimea and parts of the Black Sea coast from Turkey. f) His father was a prominent politician, he attended the Royal Military College. While working as a journalist during the Boer War he was captured and made a prisoner-of-war before escaping. In 1904 he joined the Liberal Party, becoming home secretary in 1910. He held this post in the first months of World War One, but later he resigned and joined the army. The following decade were his 'wilderness years', he became unpopular and his warnings about the rise of Nazi Germany were ignored. g) Born into a well-educated family, he went to study law. At university, he was exposed to radical thinking. Expelled, he completed his law degree as an external student. He became a professional revolutionary and like many of his contemporaries, got arrested and exiled to Siberia. He spent most of the subsequent decade and a half in Western Europe. In 1917, assisted by the Germans, he returned home and started working against the provisional government that had overthrown the tsarist regime. Task 3: Find the answers. 1. When did Lenin return home? 2. Where was Francisco Pizarro born? 3. Who did Mbande Nzinga ally with? 4. When was Joan of Arc canonized? 5. Why did Qin Shi Huang burn books? Discussion questions 1 Why are these people remembered? 2 Did you learn about them in history lessons? 3 How is their historical record interpreted? 4 Who were the most impressive and most damnable people in the global history? 5 Can you name any controversial figures in world / European / Czech history? CRITICAL READING: Winston Churchill and the bombing of Dresden INF 13/213; Churchill In February 1945, Britain sent 300 Lancaster bombers to attack the crowded German city of Dresden. This attack was not the precision bombing of specific military targets. It was deliberate bombing of a whole area. The bombs destroyed city buildings and started tremendous fires. The German armies were in retreat at this time and the war was nearly over. Some historians have argued that this attack was not justifiable on military grounds, that it was nothing more than a slaughter of civilians. But others say it helped to shorten the war in Europe. Ultimate responsibility for this attack lay with the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. Was the bombing of Dresden a justifiable act during wartime? Does this cast a shadow upon Churchill's reputation as the heroic icon of twentieth century British history? Task 4: Compare the two drafts of a letter from Churchill on area bombing and answer the following questions: 1. What is Churchill's view of the bombing of Dresden, according to these drafts? 2. What does Churchill feel should be the target of bombing raids? 3. What reasons might Churchill have had for his opposition to the bombing? 4. What is different in the wording of the two drafts? 5. The first draft of the letter was never sent. Why do you think Churchill rewrote this letter? It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of bombing of German cities simply for the sake of increasing the terror, though under other pretexts, should be reviewed. Otherwise we shall come into control of an utterly ruined land. We shall not, for instance, be able to get housing materials out of Germany for our own needs because some temporary provision would have to be made for the Germans themselves. The destruction of Dresden remains a serious query against the conduct of Allied bombing. I am of the opinion that military objectives must henceforth be more strictly studied in our own interests rather than that of the enemy. The Foreign Secretary has spoken to me on this subject, and I feel the need for more precise concentration upon military objectives, such as oil and communications behind the immediate battle-zone, rather than on mere acts of terror and wanton destruction, however impressive. (28 March 1945) It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of the so called “area bombing” of German cities should be reviewed from the point of view of our own interests. If we come into control of an entirely ruined land, there will be a great shortage of accommodation for ourselves and our Allies: and we shall be unable to get housing materials out of Germany for our own needs because some temporary provision would have to be made for the Germans themselves. We must see to it that our attacks do not do more harm to ourselves in the long run than they do to the enemy’s immediate war effort. Pray let me have your views. (1 April 1945) Adapted from http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/heroesvillains Discussion questions 1. Is there any difference in the perception of winners and losers in history? 2. What is the typical image of a hero in history? 3. What is the typical stereotype of a villain in history? 4. Is there any difference in the perception of ancient and recent history? 5. What is the role of a historian? PRE- LISTENING Task 5: What do you know about Henry V, Shakespeare, Joan of Arc or Duke of Bedford? Tell a partner. LISTENING Task 6: Listen to an excerpt from a discussion on the Hundred Years War. Connect the people and the facts about them. A. Henry V a charismatic leader talks about Joan of Arc dead, his son a few months old crosses to the English a French writer describes serious trouble, not true Henry V´s brother executed swiftly takes the town of Le Mans closed in abbey for 11 years fled Paris pulls France together B. Shakespeare C. Duke of Bedford D. Dauphin E. Christiane de Pizan F. Charles G. Joan of Arc Task 7: Listen again and take some more notes on the situation. Possible follow-up: Listen to the whole programme and check its transcript at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/podcasts/educationpodcast001.htm. GRAMMAR – Focus on Past Tenses Background: Anna Comnena is considered the world's first female historian and a major source of information about the rule of her father, Alexius I. Her works are full of details about daily life at court, the activities of her family, and the exchanges between the Byzantines and western Crusaders during the first crusades. Task 8: Put the verbs in the brackets into the correct past form. Anna 1. ________ (be) an Emperor's child. She 2. ___________ (receive) an excellent education. Anna 3. _________ (hope) that at her father's death she 4. _______ (can) take his place as head of an empire. The birth of her brother 5. __________ (destroy) all her hopes. Anna 6. _________ (marry) a historian in 1097. Her mother 7. ___________ (encourage) her to try and seize the imperial throne for him. Discussion: How are the facts about Anna’s life linked together? How can you express those links? Anna’s hopes were destroyed after a) she had received an excellent education. b) her brother had been born. Her mother supported Anna, while a) she was trying to seize the imperial throne. b) she had married a historian. Task 9: Choose the appropriate past form. 1. Since Anna’s attempt to seize the throne had failed / was failing, she was forced to retire from court. 2. After her husband had died, she was entering / entered a monastery. 3. She had lived / was living in the monastery, when 55-year-old Anna began serious work on Alexiad, a 15 volume history of her family, the Comneni. 4. In her work, Anna described / had described the Crusaders from the West. 5. Her father asked Pope Urban I for help after the Turkish attacks were leaving / had left the southern and eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire defenceless. 6. Urban II’s response was positive and the First Crusaders had arrived / arrived in Constantinople. 7. To Anna, they had appeared / appeared as uneducated barbarians. Discussion: Can all the events described in Alexiad be taken for granted as historical facts? How can you express the possibility / probability of the facts? Anna was an Emperor's child. It is sure, that she received an excellent education. a) She could have received an excellent education. b) She must have received an excellent education. Task 10: Fill in the gaps below with the modal verb in the past (could have, may have, must have, might have + past participle) so that the sentences have the same meaning as the bold ones. 1. Perhaps, she expected that at her father's death she would take his place. She _______________ that at her father's death she would take his place.. 2. Possibly, her mother encouraged her to try and seize the imperial throne for him. Her mother _____________ her to try and seize the imperial throne for him. 3. We are sure it was where 55-year-old Anna began serious work on Alexiad. It _______ in the monastery, where 55-year-old Anna began serious work on Alexia.. 4. It is obvious that her father wanted to stop the Turkish attacks. Her father _____________ to stop the Turkish attacks. 5. It is probable that to Anna they appeared as uneducated barbarians. To Anna, they __________________ as uneducated barbarians. GRAMMAR PRACTICE Task 11: Put the verbs in the brackets into the correct past form. The passive voice is sometimes required. Why target Dresden? In October 1944, a report was made on Dresden as a potential bombing target. It concluded: 'Compared to other towns of its size, Dresden is therefore an unattractive blitz target'. Yet four months later, Dresden had become the chosen target. What had changed? Dresden was an old city and 1. _______________ (touch) by air raids. For the most part, it was undefended, with no anti-aircraft guns. In early 1945, German troops 2. _____________ (move) through Dresden. This may have been to fight the advancing Soviet Army or to reinforce fighting elsewhere. Dresden was a key transport junction. To Churchill and his war cabinet, this 3. ___________ (make) Dresden a strategic target. Bombing the city might have halted the flow of German troops and helped the advance of the Soviet army into Germany. There may have been another reason for choosing Dresden as a target. Bombing 4. ____________ (believe) to have an effect on morale. The idea was that civilians would be so traumatised by the continual threat to their lives, that they would stop believing they could win the war and would lose the will to fight. This 5. ____________ (practise) on both sides already. Attacks on places such as London in 1940-41, Coventry in 1941 and Hamburg in 1941 actually made the local people more determined. The decision 6.___________ (make) at a time when Britain had suffered the Blitz, as well as random bombarding by German rockets, and when Hitler 7. _______________ (devastate) cities such as Warsaw. British leaders also knew about the Nazi treatment of Jewish people in the concentration camps. SPEAKING PRACTICE Task 12: Discuss some of the controversial historical events or figures using the appropriate past and modal forms: Dresden Bombing – Soviet Army / Warsaw / concentration camps Julius Caesar – Cleopatra / Brutus / assassination Mata Hari – spy / double spy / innocent Hiroshima – atomic bomb / capitulation / victims Adolf Hitler – art academy / Munich Treaty Vocabulary 1. abbey klášter 2. air raid nálet 3. bronze age, iron age doba bronzová, doba železná 4. conquest dobývání 5. contemporaries současníci 6. crusade, crusaders křižácké tažení, křižáci 7. draft první verze, náčrt 8. Independence Act vyhlášení nezávislosti 9. jealous; jealousy žárlivý; žárlivost 10. to negotiate a treaty vyjednat dohodu 11. query otazník, otázka 12. revenge pomsta 13. slaughter masakr 14. slave otrok 15. uprising povstání 16. witchcraft and fraud čarodějnictví a podvody 17. to achieve success dosáhnout úspěchů 18. to achieve victory dosáhnout vítězství 19. to be blamed for být obviněn z 20. to become a leader stat se vůdcem 21. to become famous proslavit se 22. to be well-known for st být něčím známý 23. to conceal (hide) zatajit (skrýt) 24. to give up the role vzdát se role 25. to inherit zdědit 26. to seize the throne ovládnout trůn 27. to take over sb´s role převzít něčí roli