Station 1: My Camera Was Not Enough

Station 2: Virtual Reality Game – Darfur

African Ivory Webquest 2012

Tiananmen Square, 1989

On a fateful day in June 1989, the world became fixed on the bold image of a solitary man staring down a procession of tanks in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China.  Today’s lesson focuses on events of this day: the background, issue of censorship, the protests, and the “Tank Man”.

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We will first read an article from June 4, 1989.  Please read the article and answer the included questions in complete sentences.  If you are making up this assignment, the article and questions can be found here: Tiananmen Square ON THIS DAY Article.

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Before watching the video, it is important to discuss just how free the “free press” is…

How is Media “Free” or “Not Free”?

You should think about  China’s rating by Freedom House, a non-profit organization that defines itself as “a clear voice for democracy and freedom around the world.” When exploring this site/source, think about what factors might contribute to this rating. You should contrast the state of Chinese media by evaluating what makes the press “free.” Lastly, you will see the relationship between political freedom and a free press. You can access and examine the Freedom House Map of Freedom of the Press by clicking here to discover what other countries have media organizations that are “not free” and what countries have “free” press.

Considering the status of “freedom” around the world, it is no surprise that many nations are now actively censoring material that citizens may access and to which they, therefore, will not be exposed.

In 2002, researchers at Harvard University tested Google Internet access in China to determine which search terms were frequently blocked. The researchers checked to see if the search terms typed in Chinese locations would connect to the same sites that a Google search in the United States would yield. For example, when the researchers typed terms such as “equality” or “democracy china” into Google’s search engine in the United States, they were linked to media organizations such as the BBC or Time Inc. or to universities such as Stanford University or Columbia University. In China, these same sites were frequently blocked.

The following nine terms  are a sampling of the blocked search terms in Chinese Google searches. (These terms were blocked during at least 50 percent of attempted searches.)

• Tibet
• Democracy China
• Freedom China
• Taiwan China
• Dissident China
• Justice China
• Equality
• Revolution
• Counterrevolution China

Answer the following questions on your handout.

1. Why do you think the Chinese government restricted and continues to restrict access to some sites pertaining to “equality,” “democracy” or “dissidents”?
2. What other terms do you think the Chinese government would censor? Why?
3. Are there any search terms that the U.S. government might monitor or censor? Identify these terms and explain.
4. Is a censored Google in China better than no Google? Explain.

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A quick word about the video we are about to watch:

While trying to unearth the story behind this courageous man, the producers of The Tank Man uncover additional stories about the clash between the communist government of the People’s Republic of China and those who advocate for a more open, democratic society. In this film FRONTLINE explores a society in transition 17 years after the demonstrations at Tiananmen Square. China has become open for global business, but it remains closed to a free media and available information.

THE TANK MAN VIDEO

Click on the link below to download the PDF version of Mr. Hostetter’s African Ivory Web-hunt for November 17, 2010.

African Ivory Webquest PDF

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Also check out the following links for more information:

“Data shows illegal ivory trade on rise” from The World Wildlife Fund

“US is major market for illegal ivory” from The Washington Post

PBS: The Elephants of Africa

A person of rank carried by his slaves in the Congo

Click on the link below to download the PDF version of Mr. Hostetter’s Friday Flex Web-hunt for October 22, 2010.

Slavery Web-hunt PDF

Also check out the following links for more information:

Discovery Education: Understanding Slavery

Slavery & The Making of America :: PBS

Thomas Nast’s Slavery Graphics