Major World Events of 2010

Troy UniversityStudent Support Services

Objectives• To encourage students to

listen, read about, think critically about, and discuss current, world events.

• To encourage students’ use of recall and discussion/ conversation as a basic writing resource.

• To motivate students’ interest in culture and history.

So . . . What Went On?• When Marvin Gaye, famous American singer, released the album,

“What’s Going On?” (1971), the world was changing dramatically and was in turmoil.

• The current events of that era involved IMAGES of conflict and promise.

• Listen to the LYRICS of one of the title song (1971, January 20) of Gaye’s album while viewing some of the famous, though perhaps disturbing images of His and OUR times:

• Click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V70Fk_SDG4&feature=related or YouTube - Marvin Gaye- What's Going On

First, Make Your List . . . Take a few moments to list the world events of 2010

that you remember as “Most Memorable.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We will check to see if your events made our “Roll Call” of 2010 Events presented on the next slide.

A “Roll Call” of Top 10 Events of 20101. End to Combat in Iraq/ Iraq’s Attempts to Form Government

2. Rise of unemployment (International Economic Crisis)

3. BP Oil Spill (Effects now on U. S./Libya relations)

4. U. S. Healthcare Reform Passes (Obama)

5. North Korea vs. South Korea

6. Earthquake in Haiti

7. Mark Zucherburg (FaceBook) named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year”

8. Iran’s Nuclear Program

9. “Wiki” leaks of 90,000 U. S. /Afghanistan war documents

10. Israel vs. Palestine Conflicts

Israel vs. Palestine Conflicts

• Tensions between Arab peoples and Jewish peoples of the Middle East

• A century old conflict

• The Gaza Strip

“Wiki” leaks War Documents

• An international non-profit organization that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistle blowers

• Released over 250,000 U.S. government documents

• Revealed War Diaries and other correspondance between the U.S. and other countries

Julian Assange, founder

Iran’s Nuclear Program

• A volatile issue in a volatile region of the world, The Middle East

• Nuclear power as a weapon or as energy?

• Negotiations between the U.S. and Iran begin.

“Person of the Year”- Mark Zucherburg

• The creator of Facebook is honored.

• “For connecting more than half a billion people and mapping the social relations among them, for creating a new system of exchanging information and for changing how we live our lives…”

• Notable is Facebook’s impact on the Egyptian citizens who used the social networking system to galvanize interests of citizens and oust their former President, Mubarak, this year.

Earthquake in Haiti

• January 12, 2010• Rated a 7.0 on the

Richter Scale• 316,000 Dead

– 300,000 injured• 1,000,000 homeless

• Relief efforts began• 98% Rubble remains

North Korea vs. South Korea

(May 27) –”North Korean submarine was responsible for sinking a South Korean navy ship in April, killing 46 sailors.” (aol.com, 2011)

The U.S. is an advocate of South Korea.

China advocates North Korea (communist).

What could war mean? A dictatorship or a democracy; a world war?

U.S. Healthcare Reform Passes• Myths and Truths about “Obamacare” health plan

signed into law March 2010.

• “In many ways, the health care law resembles the Massachusetts reform enacted in 2006 under then Gov. Mitt Romney (a potential Republican rival of Obama in 2012). It builds on the existing private insurance system but adds requirements and incentives to ensure that most people have some form of health insurance. “ (Washinton Post, Glenn Kessler, January 2011, at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2011/01/health_care_myths.html)

• Obamacare was ruled unconstitutional in April 2011 by Federal Judge C. Roger Vinson, who ruled that the law’s requirement that all U. S. citizens purchase health insurance is unconstitutional and forces all citizen into a transaction.

BP Oil Spill• Explosion on a BP oil rig killed 11 workers April 20, 2010, and lead to the United States’ worst environmental disaster in its history.

• Millions of gallons of oil per day began pouring into the ocean along the United States’ Gulf Coast, and BP could not recap the oil well until July 15, 2010.

•Many business along the Gulf Coast closed as a result of the oil spill and residual oil left along the shore line.

• An abundance of wildlife (especially fish) died as a result of the oil spill and residual oil left along the shore line.

Rise of Unemployment (International Economic Crisis)

• Forty-three of the fifty states in the U. S. reported unemployment increases at the end of year 2010.

• As of September 10, 2010, an estimated 210 million people were unemployed, up from 180 million in 2007. (http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2010/NEW090210A.htm )

End to Combat in Iraq/ Iraq’s Attempt to Form Government

• Official end to Iraqi War called by President Obama August 31,2010, as Obama says, “Operation Iraqi Freedom is over” (http://articles.nydailynews. com/2010-08-1/news/27074186_1_iraq-war-president-obama-war-policy )

• Just under 4,500 U. S. soldiers have died in Iraq War. (iCasualties.org)

• A myriad of fraud allegations have plagued the Iraqi elections of 2010.

November 2010 election Results:•President Talabani•Prime Minister Al-Malaki•Head of the new Security Council Allawi

What’s Going On?• The world was changing when Marvin Gaye presented his

socially conscious creation, “What’s Going On.”

• Looking at the images of then and now show us that “History Does Repeat Itself,” when people fail to reexamine it and do not see its images replayed in our lives.

• Listen to this contemporary remix version of “What’s Going On”:

Click here: YouTube - What's Going On? by the MTV All Stars or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPYqR1cj2Vg&feature=related

Don’t Forget to turn in your Evaluation Form for this workshop before you leave. Thanks.

THE END

Troy University Student Support ServicesTroy, AL 36082

English/Reading Specialist: Rebecca Money Rembert

SSS History Tutor: JoAnna McShan

If you need our help . . .

rmoney@troy.edu or studentsupportservices@troy.edu