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fandomhigh2009-09-08 12:09 pm
chosehumanity) wrote in fandomhigh2009-09-08 12:09 pm
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World Wars in the Media, Tuesday
"War," Mitchell started, once everyone had pooled into the class. "This week, we're not going to get to any of the good bits just yet, so buckle up. Rather, we're going to talk about the First World War, or as it was known in the early 20th century, the Great War, which began the cycle of conflicts that ravaged the century. It started rather inauspiciously with alliances, an attempt to keep nations from war. Except tied into these alliances was a growing sense of pride in countries that were finally solid, and united. A powderkeg, as historians like to call it. I prefer 'massive executive bollocksing', myself." He pulled a face, like it had been a personal slight to himself, but brushed that off quickly. "A massive cobweb of alliances was formed during the late 19th century. Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia on one end, although Russia dropped out, and Italy took its place. Italy, for their part, secretly got involved with France in case Austria-Hungary decided to throw a fit about some territorial issues."
He took a breath. "Are you following this so far? Good. It gets a little complicated." He gestured in two directions to get that point across. "France also allied themselves with Russia, and Britain, only just emerging out of isolation, decided it wanted more assurance against the giant that had become Germany - so they sought alliances with France, and with Japan. These were the major lines in the web, but there were any number of smaller ones as well: Serbia, for example, found themselves under Russia's protection..."
He mimed a gun with one hand. "All that tension, all those alliances, everyone fearing each other's growth while praising their own, nations looking for revenge or a reason to reassert the dominance of a fading empire-- it was a miracle they had as few war as it was-- all that was needed in the end was one bullet, shattering that peace - and two poor heads." He pressed a button on the laptop in front of him, playing a short video. "Archduke Franz Ferdinand was visiting Serbia with his wife for a formal visit of state. Probably glad to get away from the tensions of home, the poor bastard, he hadn't made the other rulers back home very happy with any of his plans. He's sitting there, in his car, minding his own business, when suddenly his wife collapses on him. Turns out he's bleeding from the mouth, a messy, slow death - his friend von Harrach said he kept talking as he died. A political assassination on Serbian ground, by a Serbian nationalist, pissed off that the Austrians had been barging all over Serbia as of recently."
He was gesturing as he talked. "You can see where this is going," he said, "Austria-Hungary decided to attack Serbia to reassert their dominance, using Ferdinand's death as a pretext. Russia jumped in to defend Serbia, Germany decided to take that as an assault on Austria-Hungary, France decided to take that as an assault on Russia, Britain went in to help France and save Belgium, which had just been invaded by the Germans, which meant the British colonies got involved..." He mimed a collapsing cardhouse. "It's actually kind of beautiful in its simplicity and its complication - like tipping dominoes of history." ...But anyway. "The United States declared neutrality until the Germans pushed their luck, and the Italians kept their bottoms to themselves by claiming they had only ever signed up for a defensive war - and then promptly dropped the ball by joining the opposite side instead."
His mouth curled up. "And while the British were involved in the war, the Irish toiled away on their independence," he said, "Although that didn't keep some of us from enlisting anyway. We had our own regiments in the New British Army... Like most parts of the First World War, that wound up being a letdown and altogether dirtier and less glorious than anyone had anticipated..." He looked thoughtful. "But we'll be talking about that last week. Anyway, I've been talking more than enough," he segued. "Here, you'll find a handout of who declared war on whom. There's been lots of speculation of how far back the roots of this war went, and I couldn't tell you for certain if I tried. Instead, I'd like you to look at how the war was reported in the British newspapers at the time. What kind of slant do you see? What kind of information do they pick up on? What seemed to be the British approach to the First World War when they went to pick up arms?" He tapped the couch under his feet. "Pair up!"
[[ and OCD is a go! ]]
He took a breath. "Are you following this so far? Good. It gets a little complicated." He gestured in two directions to get that point across. "France also allied themselves with Russia, and Britain, only just emerging out of isolation, decided it wanted more assurance against the giant that had become Germany - so they sought alliances with France, and with Japan. These were the major lines in the web, but there were any number of smaller ones as well: Serbia, for example, found themselves under Russia's protection..."
He mimed a gun with one hand. "All that tension, all those alliances, everyone fearing each other's growth while praising their own, nations looking for revenge or a reason to reassert the dominance of a fading empire-- it was a miracle they had as few war as it was-- all that was needed in the end was one bullet, shattering that peace - and two poor heads." He pressed a button on the laptop in front of him, playing a short video. "Archduke Franz Ferdinand was visiting Serbia with his wife for a formal visit of state. Probably glad to get away from the tensions of home, the poor bastard, he hadn't made the other rulers back home very happy with any of his plans. He's sitting there, in his car, minding his own business, when suddenly his wife collapses on him. Turns out he's bleeding from the mouth, a messy, slow death - his friend von Harrach said he kept talking as he died. A political assassination on Serbian ground, by a Serbian nationalist, pissed off that the Austrians had been barging all over Serbia as of recently."
He was gesturing as he talked. "You can see where this is going," he said, "Austria-Hungary decided to attack Serbia to reassert their dominance, using Ferdinand's death as a pretext. Russia jumped in to defend Serbia, Germany decided to take that as an assault on Austria-Hungary, France decided to take that as an assault on Russia, Britain went in to help France and save Belgium, which had just been invaded by the Germans, which meant the British colonies got involved..." He mimed a collapsing cardhouse. "It's actually kind of beautiful in its simplicity and its complication - like tipping dominoes of history." ...But anyway. "The United States declared neutrality until the Germans pushed their luck, and the Italians kept their bottoms to themselves by claiming they had only ever signed up for a defensive war - and then promptly dropped the ball by joining the opposite side instead."
His mouth curled up. "And while the British were involved in the war, the Irish toiled away on their independence," he said, "Although that didn't keep some of us from enlisting anyway. We had our own regiments in the New British Army... Like most parts of the First World War, that wound up being a letdown and altogether dirtier and less glorious than anyone had anticipated..." He looked thoughtful. "But we'll be talking about that last week. Anyway, I've been talking more than enough," he segued. "Here, you'll find a handout of who declared war on whom. There's been lots of speculation of how far back the roots of this war went, and I couldn't tell you for certain if I tried. Instead, I'd like you to look at how the war was reported in the British newspapers at the time. What kind of slant do you see? What kind of information do they pick up on? What seemed to be the British approach to the First World War when they went to pick up arms?" He tapped the couch under his feet. "Pair up!"
[[ and OCD is a go! ]]
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