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"Three novels effectively tell the story of Burma's recent history. The link begins with Burmese Days, which chronicles the country's history under British colonialism. Not long after Burma became independent from Britain in 1948, a military dictator sealed off the country from the outside world, launched 'The Burmese Way to Socialism', and turned Burma into one of the poorest countries in Asia. The same story is told in Animal Farm. Finally in Nineteen Eighty-Four Orwell's description of a horrifying and soulless dystopia paints a chillingly accurate picture of Burma today, a country ruled by one of the world's most brutal and tenacious dictatorships. In Burma there is a joke that Orwell wrote not just one novel about the country, but three: a trilogy comprised of Burmese Days, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four."
 

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Emma Larkin, Finding George Orwell in Burma







IB World History of the 20th Century, Citizen Journalism and Glocal Implication:

You will write two online news source articles: an obituary and an editorial. Your focus will be the life and rule of one of the “Great Men” of the 20th Century (you will receive this information separately). This exploration will allow us to get to know some of the key figures of our 11th Grade study and it will provide us with a human framework for the 20th Century. More critically, it will help us understand and challenge liberal views of history.  Obviously, you will have to do the background research necessary for completing this task. You may use online sources, but it is recommended that you also refer to text biographies if they are available to you. Students who incorporate historiographic perspectives in their work will receive extra points.

It is KEY to understand that the essence of journalistic writing is brevity. In English, as William Strunk famously reminded his students, “Vigorous writing is concise!” Therefore, your assignments have tight and non-negotiable word limits for both the minimum and the maximum. You must accomplish all assigned tasks within the word limits. Also, you will submit the final text of your articles in MS Word documents to Turnitin.com at the time of your submission. Un-cited material will be counted as plagiarism. 



"Political language — and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists — is designed to make [lies] sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."



George Orwell, Politics and the English Language



This will be your first foray into the realm of citizen journalism. The news site you create will serve as the base for your work in IB World History and ITGS throughout the year. All articles must include multimedia and interactivity just like your blogging efforts in Academic Leadership. Also, as a citizen journalist, you must assume that your work can be accessed and shared at any point, so be sure your work is of a quality that you want reflected worldwide. 



• Mashable: What is citizen journalism? 
• The Economist: Citizen Journalism 2.0
• Truthloader Youtube Channel
• Witness Youtube Channel 



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Task One: Editorial



Your first task is to write an editorial that stems from one of the following propositions:



“Authoritarian rule is a bitter pill to swallow, but…”


or…



“Authoritarian rule may help advance the nation, but…”





Basically, you will need to choose—based on your reading and research—to either defend or criticize the rule of your leader right after his death. (For the sake of this overall assignment, suspend your disbelief and do not worry about time contradictions.) Make sure you finish one of the statements above with a strong thesis for your editorial. Important note: An editorial is an article where you take a strong and possibly emotional stance on an issue. Feel free to use the 1st Person to express your opinion!



Support your thesis through an analysis of at least three of the following:



• The structure and organization of government and administration
• Political, economic, social and religious policies (Choose 3 or 4)
• Role of education, the arts, the media, propaganda (Highly recommended for all, required for IB Art and ITGS students.)
• Status of women, treatment of religious groups and minorities

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Resources 

• eHow: How to write an editorial
• Tips on how to write an editorial
• How to write an editorial



Examples

• Nicholas Kristof: Heroic, Female and Muslim
• Going, going gone: George Bush Leaves Office
• Squirrel Speaks Out