Wednesday, 13th March

Hello classmates !!

   Today in the class of social sciences, when the class has started Paqui has remembered us that we have to give her the sheet with the opinions about the projects.
   Later, we have corrected an exercise that we have for homework. Raquel Ortiz has corrected it, the exercise was about the International Workingmen's Association (IWA) and Paqui has explained it a little, she has said that the slogan of this association was made by Banksy, but he didn't created it. The exercise was also about the Second International. Paqui has explained that there were two branches:
     -One wanted to participate in elections
     -The other wanted to make revolution to reach power

   The important things that Second International did were:
     -The Labour day (1st May)
     -Workers' Anthem

   They also invented this:
     8 hours labour
     8 hours recreation
     8 hours rest

   After this, we have started the unit 5, it is about Europe in the second half of the 19th century and the age of empires. We have copied a scheme.

  Napoleon III was the Napoleon Bonaparte's grandnephew and he was married with Eugenia de Montijo, a spanish woman. He was elected President of the Second Republic in France and he was also elected Emperor (1852-1870)

   Napoleon III had an important role in the unifications of Italy and Germany:
    -He supported the Italian's fight against Austria
    -He had to fight against Prussia and this war contributed to the definitive unification of Germany.

   Then, Paqui has started to explain the Italian unification. Italy before the unification was divided into many states but the most important state was Piedmont-Sardinia.

   The main figures of the Italian unification were:

     -Victor Emmanuel (King of Piedmont-Sardinia)

     -Camilo Benso, Count of Cavour (Piedmont-Sardinia's prime minister)

     -Giuseppe Garibaldi (republican and creator of the "red shirts"

   The main obstacle was Austria and the main help was Napoleon III, France's Emperor.

   The vocabulary that we have learnt today is:
    To someone's initiative: a iniciativa de
    Trend: tendencia
    Yearly: anual
    To prevail: prevalecer
    Grandnephew: sobrino-nieto
    Plebiscite: plebiscito
    To confirm: ratificar, confirmar
    Empress: emperatriz
    Sceptre: cetro
    Piedmont-Sardinia: Cerdeña-Piamonte
    "Red-shirts": Camisas rojas
    Brain storming: lluvia de ideas

   For homework we have to summarize the Italian Unification (exercise 1 page 41)

   Later, we have talked about the project, Paqui is going to give us the possibility to improve the mark of the project, Paqui has said that the projects are good but we have to learn to work in group, to plan the project with time and we don't have to let all the work for the end, and after this, we have started discussing about the date of the exam and finally we have decided to keep the exam on Monday 18th.

 

This is all for today, see you on Friday, bye bye !! :))

How to promote creativity: Google working conditions

After three days of break with the projects, I´ve remembered that I promised to show you how Google workers work and how their company promotes their creativity. Their working conditions are very different from the alienation concept we studied. I wish I could have time to think more and have some rest to let imagination fly!

Here you have a video and some links about Google workers: 

Here you have the links to the perks (benefits, advantages) Google workers have: 

http://www.cracked.com/article_15238_the-25-secret-perks-working-at-google.html

http://www.inquisitr.com/54052/working-conditions-in-google-land-pretty-sweet/

Monday,11th of March

Hello!!
Today in Social Sciences, we have continued watching the videos about our projects. But when we have started to see the first video the fire alarm sounded and we had to leave, luckily was just a fire drill.
Then we have go back to the class and we have started with the videos.

The first video that we have seen has been, Werse, Salva and Fernando Garcia's project. It was about The Restoration presented as a History Channel.

In the right we have Cánovas and in the left we have Sagasta.

Source: http://joseantoniobru.blogspot.com.es/2010/03/espana-y-la-esclavitud-canovas-del.html

The second video that we have seen has been, Elena, Marta and Carmen Lucía's project. It was about The Restoration, but this was in another way. 

Then Paqui has give  us a questionnaire about the project. In it we have to qualify our work and the other projects of our classmates and we have to give the personal opinion.

Source: http://es.123rf.com/photo_7390296_un-cuestionario-de-la-encuesta-de-satisfaccion-del-cliente-con-casillas-de-verificacion.html

After this Paqui has tell us to change the day of the exam, but most of the students couldn't because they were busy all the days with more exams.

This is all for today. See you!! Study :)

Friday, 8th March

Hello everybody!!!!!!! Today in Social Sciences, we have continued watching videos about our project. First, we have seen the Fernando, Javi and Gonzalo's video about Ferdinand VII, but I can't put it here because Paqui has said to me that their project isn't still uploaded on Youtube. Then, we have seen my project about Isabella II's reign.

 

 Then,Paqui has explained us that the pictures that we put in our project were really true. Then, we have continued with Enrique, Jesús and Angel's project about the Democratic Sexenio.

 

It was very funny and interesting because they put some effects! :) Then, we have continued with Cristina, Roxana and Andrea's project about the same period.

 

 It has been very interesting because I like too much the "sepia" effect and the dolls on the bed! :)
 Finally, Paqui has put the first part of Salva, Fernando and Werse's project which was about the Restoration and Elena,Carmen and Marta's project about the same period. Salva, Fernando and Werse's project:

 

 Marta, Elena and Carmen's project:

 

Finally, Paqui has explained to me how to embed all the videos here, on blogger.
First: Go to Youtube and log in.
Second: Click on all the videos that I wanted to embled, one by one.
Third: Click on "Share" and then in "Insert"
Fourth: Copy the HTML code
Five: Stick them on the HTML section on Blogger.

I can't say anything more because all this is what we have done so I hope you like all the videos and have a good weekend studying Language and Ethics. :) See you on Monday! bye bye :):)

P.S: Hello girls and boys! Yesterday, Paqui wrote me an e-mail saying that Fernando, Javi and Gonzalo's project is uploaded yet on Youtube now so I have embedded it here, that's all! bye :)

In my opinion the best project was Fernando, Javi and Gonzalo's video! It was perfect because it was very very funny! :)

6 of March of 2013

Today, it is my turn to do the journal. At the beginning of the lesson Andrea has said that her desk was painted. Some people have arrived late (every one of us, has arrived late at least twice).

Paqui has become a little angry because we weren’t in silence. Paqui has said to me that  I had to go to the library in the break time  because she had to explain to me one thing related with the journal.

We have copied something related with the projects on a shee. Then Paqui has said that at the same time we were watching  the projects we had to take notes of what we like, what we don’t like, if we have understood the projects and improvements. Paqui has told us that we have to do the things before and we don’t have to leave them for the last day because some projects have several problems.

Then we have started watching the projects:

-          First we have seen Mónica, Cristina and Laura Bustamante's project. They have explained Fernando VII’s Reign (1814-1833). They have done an introduction with socks. They have explained the project with drawings and images. At the middle of the reproduction, the video has stopped and Paqui has put the video on YouTube.  They have explained:

1.      Sexenio Absolutista (1814-1820)

2.      Liberal Triennium (1820-1823)

3.      Ominous Decade (1823-1833)

This is the video:

 Paqui has said that they have made some mistakes in the project.

The other group that had to do the project of Fernando VII’s Reign hasn't finish it.

Then we have continued with the regencies:

-          The first group which has shown their project has been  María, Isabel and Alicia's group. They have explained their project with Barbies.  They have explained:

1.      The first Carlists War (1833- 1843)

2.      Mª Cristina’s Regency

3.      Espartero’s Regency (1840-1843)

This is the video:

At the end of the video Paqui has said that we all had to  speak all in the project not only one person.

-          The other group in charge of  the regencies is formed by Carlos, Miguel and Enrique Manzanares. They have also explained the same things but in a different way. They have done the project with PowerPoints and Nintendo software. It has been very original.

This is the video:

At the end of the project Paqui has said that they have made a mistake: they don’t say the kings’ names in the correct way.

-          The last project we have seen is Pilar, Gema and Juan's project. They have explained Isabella II’s Reign. They have explained it with a blackboard. I haven't understood well because the sound wasn’t very good.

 This is the video:

And that’s all. Bye!

MONDAY, 4th of March, 2013

Today in Social Sciences, at the beginning of the class Alicia and me have been late to the class. Then Paqui has remembered us that we have to finish the projects until this Wednesday. She has also recommended us some good music programs to record the videos. After that, we have started the lesson.

                                                                                                                                                            

This first thing that we have seen today is:

Workers’ alienation, according to Marx and Engels:

Monotonous work kills creativity and the worst alienation is the need workers have for selling their work (and part of their lives in exchange for money).

ANARCHISM

Ø  Main thinkers:

·         Mijail Bakunin.

·         Pierre Joseph Praudhon.

·         Piotr Kropotkin.

Ø  Main ideas:

·         People are born free, but institutions (school, Church, State, army), snatch their freedom and limit their possibility of developing their capabilities.

·         The only way of recovering freedom is destroying everything that limits people’s capabilities (through revolution) and let the people decide how to organize cooperating with other people or staying apart.

·         Collective property.

·         Trust in the revolutionary capability of both peasants and industrial workers.

Ø  Branches:

·         Minority(Propaganda by the deed) : defended the use of violence to eliminate the representatives of capitalism and they prepared terrorist attacks against bourgeois, politicians, military men, processions, kings.

·       Majority (Anarcho-Syndicalism): preferred creating unions in order to be organized and educated for revolution.

 Some of the Foxconn’s workers committed suicide, because they can’t support the rhythm of the factory.

Finally, Paqui has told us that we have to do exercise 16 which is about the International Workingmen’s Association (IWA), for the next day.

 Some vocabulary that we have seen today is:
- Unbearable: insoportable.
- Snatch: arrebatar/ quitar.
- Commited: comprometido.
- Master: amo.
- Right school: escuela nocturna.

I hope you will like my journal. 

See you!

A critical cartoon in Spanish

This cartoon has been published today on El País. El Roto is one of the Spanish wittiest and sharpest cartoonists. Can you relate it to the content  we´ve been studying this week?

Source: http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/03/01/vinetas/1362154992_850732.html

The last Marxist concepts and the Communist Manifesto

These are some resources to understand the last Marxist ideas we´ve studied today: the surplus value and workers´alienation.

- This is a cartoon about the surplus value:

Source: http://anticap.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/value_and_surplus_value.jpg

The following resources can be useful to understand the concept of workers´alienation: Marx and Engels thought that industrial work killed workers´ creativity and initiative, because they were obliged to follow the rythm of machines and worked for such a long time that when they arrived home, they were so tired that they  couldn´t  develop their human features and fulfill their expectations. 

- This is a poster designed imitating a Public Service Anouncement (as the ones you could find from the Ministry of Health), warning about alienation symptoms:

Source: http://soc331.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/public-service-announcement-on-alienation-3/

And these are some funny videos I´ve found on Youtube. They belong to a Mexican artist called Pedro Reyes. He recorded a series of  videos with puppets called Baby Marx. The beginning of his idea was "resucitating" some important figures of the history of Economics and making them discuss about some concepts. The main characters of these videos are Karl Marx and Adam Smith, the main theorist of economic liberalism and defense of private property. 

- The first video is the teaser of the series:

- In the second one Marx and Adam Smith have an argument about cookies and the alienation of the workers who have done them:

And finally, here you have a scheme which summarizes Marx´s critique to capitalism:

Source: http://understandingsociety.blogspot.com.es/2011/07/marx-critique.html

And this is video with the complete text and audio of the Communist Manifesto, the pamphlet where Marx and Engels started explaining their ideas. It´s starts with these words: "A spectre is haunting Europe-the spectre of Communism"

Here you have the translation in Spanish. It´s not a long text. If you´re interested, you can follow the reading in English and read the translation in Spanish: 

http://www.abogadonotariopr.com/images/SP/el_manifiesto.pdf

1st March journal

Hello classmates:

First, Paqui has said that some people wanted more time for the project, and she has said that it will be for wednesday.

 Later she has given the username and password of the Youtube account to upload the videos. And later she has showed us how to log in and upload our videos. Then she has showed us a video made by last year students about Isabella II's reign, and another video about Marxism made by a USA student, in this video explained how capitalism worked according to Marx and Engels and this is what is similar to present day, because Marx and Engels explained that companies' losses and overproduction resulted in workers´ dismissals, but this didn´t solve problems, because if workers can consume, economy can´t recover and if the purchasing power of workers is low, this will have consequences for the owners of the companies sooner or later

Later, we have seen a photo about a quote by Karl Marx on the blog and if we want to read a book called "Marxism for beginners" is on the blog.

If you want to have a look on what the book is about click here.

We have continued seeing the PowerPoint presentation.

According to Marx and Engels, the proletarian revolution would have two stages

-1st stage: Dictatorship of the proletariat.

-2nd stage: Communist society.

Then she has explained the surplus value with this scheme:

You made 50 boxes a day

2€ each box

100€

In 30 days they pay you 600€ but your work has produced 2500€

The difference between you produced and what you receive is the surplus=1900€

Finally, she has explained what she does to teach us, she is a type of actress who disturbs our nests to teach us.

At the end of the lesson Paqui have said that next day we have to end with the unit.

VOCABULARY

Wack: pésimo

Jerkpace: caradura (gilipollas)

Eventually: en el futuro

Afford: permitirse

Wages: salario

Snotty: arrogante

Gaudy spending: derroche

Greed: avaricia

To disturbe your nest: removeros el nido, cuestionar las ideas preconcebidas

See you next day!!!

AND GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PROJECT

Marxism for beginners

Source: http://ireadthat.blogspot.com.es/2006_07_01_archive.html

If you want to learn something else about Marxism, here you have some more information: 

- You can start reading the following post I wrote last year. It includes information about dialectical materialism, class struggle, Marx´s conclusions about private property and how it alienates people and his opinion about women´s submission and need for emancipation: 

http://todayinsocialsciences.blogspot.com.es/2012/01/something-more-about-marxism.html

- On the following link you can read the book Marx for beginners, written by a Mexican cartoonist called Rius in 1972. Rius used cartoons to explain the main ideas of Marxism, making them easier to understand: 

http://es.scribd.com/doc/28012909/Marx-for-beginners-by-RIUS

If some of you is interested in reading this book in Spanish, I can lend it to you.

- This is another link  from the Marxists Internet Archive, which includes different websites to start reading some Marx´s selected texts:

http://www.marxists.org/subject/students/index.htm

- This is a video I´ve found, made by a high school student, which explains in a very simple way some concepts developed by Marx and Engels, like the surplus concept and how extreme differences of wealth lead to impoverishment and cyclical crises in capitalism. This student based her video on Sophia´s World (El Mundo de Sofía), a book of Philosophy for teenagers. She made a really good work and you can draw inspiration from her work to do your projects: 

And finally, this is a Marx´s quote about the oppressed and the oppressors and their role in society:

Source: http://knowledgefordummies.tumblr.com/post/13705263305/karl-marx-and-his-wonderful-views-on-society