Tuesday, 18 December 2007

Christmas revision - yippee!

Over the festive period continue your revision programme. The topics you should read through and either mindmap or make a revision card on are:

1) Crime, Punishment and Protest
Attitudes (law makers AND the public) to crimes like smuggling, poaching and vagabonds
Rise/fall of highway robbery
Rise/end of both the Bloody Code & Transportation
When did prisons change the most - 18th, 19th or 20th centuries?

2) Nazi Germany
Look at your list. You should be focussing on life in Nazi Germany by now.



Have a great Christmas!

Tuesday, 20 November 2007

Attitudes to crimes & the Bloody Code!

From the 16th century to the early 19th century, as Britain went through increasing social change, the legal system had an increasing number of capital crimes - thus its nickname 'the Bloody Code'. But as we have seen it may not have been as Bloody as its reputation might suggest - though there were certainly many executions for minor crimes such as theft.

However, how did the public feel about some of these crimes? Does the evidence suggest their attitudes matched those of the lawmakers?


Exam questions could look at attitudes to crime. They could also focus on the rise and decline of the Bloody Code...


To find out more about the Bloody Code go to the Old Bailey Online website and try some independent research.

A good website for Highway Robbery is this one. It has some interesting sources and original pictures from the period.

Even more info about the era of the Bloody Code can be discovered here!



Home Learning:

1) What did ordinary people think about crimes like Smuggling and Poaching?

2) Which was the main reason Highway Robbery declined?

3) What does Hogarth's print suggest about the effect of public executions?


Saturday, 3 November 2007

Crime, Punishment & Protest

This weeks activity: researching punishments


We know how ordinary people felt about poaching. But how harsh were the game laws in reality?


Go to the Old Bailey Online database and search for those found guilty of poaching (Specific Criminal Act: Game Laws; General Verdict: Guilty).



  1. What animals had they taken?

  2. How were they punished?

  3. Do any stand out as unusual or unfair?

  4. Why were the laws were so harsh?


Modern poaching around the world is often for endangered animals.


These elephants were killed not for their meat but for the ivory of their tusks:


Wednesday, 20 June 2007

Northern Ireland



Modern Northern Ireland is your second coursework topic and focuses on:

  • The Civil Rights Movement
  • What caused 'the Troubles' to begin
  • The Good Friday Agreement

This coursework tests your skills with evidence as well as extended writing.





Excellent websites to support and extend your understanding:

CAIN - timeline, images (eg murals), sources

The Guardian newspaper - articles, interactive guides (eg Who's Who), special reports (eg into Bloody Sunday), and up to date news reports

Steve Bell Cartoons - political cartoons about the peace process by the cartoonist Steve Bell (see who you can recognise!)

BBC website - good descriptions of Good Friday Agreement and useful on the Troubles. Bitsize revision too. Legacy section has clips of people talking about thier experiences of the violence.

Wednesday, 28 March 2007

Holocaust links

Follow these links - they will lead you to some top websites that will undoubtedly help you gather evidence for your coursework!

Museum of Tolerance

Spartacus - Germany section

Wikipedia entry on the Holocaust



The following are also recommended viewing/reading:

Films:
Life is Beautiful
Schindler's list
The Pianist

Graphic novel:
Maus by Art Spiegelman

Books:
The boy with the stiped pyjamas


Short video clip about a Milgram's experiment into obedience of ordinary people
Milgram's 1963 experiment