Historia

Historia

t

Summer 2013

Social The (Media) Justice power of a “like” pg 19

San Antonio Aquifers Your next drop of water

pg 7

End of the World?

Shaking Foundations Fakespeare?

Finished Finals—

Who Cares?

A different way to look at history

The Cyrus Cylinder

Ancient Persia

Explore the remaining relics of the Cyrus the Great, the innovative and progressive leader who founded the Achaemenid Empire.

June 20-August 4, 2013

At the Metropolitan

17 works including the Cyrus Cylinder (above) and the Lion of Babylon (right) will be on display.

Historia|2

Museum of Art

Table of Contents Letter From the Editors What were we thinking?

Biographies Who are the staff?

San Antonio Aquifers

Photo credit: Creative Commons License and Historia Staff

Why is the Edwards aquifer important?

Shaking Foundations Where do our ideological foundations come from?

Finished Finals—Who Cares?

How should we look at and learn history?

Who Art Thou Shakespeare?

Is the Shakespeare we know an imposter?

Social (Media) Justice

Can clicking a “like” button change the world?

End of the World

Was the Mayan calendar predicting the Apocalypse?

4 5 7 12 15 18 20 22

Historia|3

Historiat Bridging the gap between the past and the present to envision the future

Dear Readers,

W

elcome to Historia, a compilation of interesting facts, astounding feats, mind-blowing philosophies, and everything in between. This month: an in-depth analysis of slacktivism and its ability to actually ignite change. Then, an overview of the geological foundations and history of the area now occupied by Austin, Texas. And lastly, explore a problem that has plagued American society since its inception—education. Or, you can read about the mysteries of Shakespeare, the mythical apocalypse supposedly predicted by the Mayan Calendars, and ideas that have changed the world.

So sit back and enjoy the issue,

The Historia Staff Photo credit to Historia Staff

4|Historia

Contributors I

saac Cui attended Summa South Academy, a middle school in Oregon, from sixth to eighth grade. He is currently attending the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. His interests include reading, learning about history, debate, soccer, gaming, and music. He enjoys playing guitar and his favorite band is OneRepublic. His favorite class is World Geography, taught by Mr. Loewenstern.

T

homas Crain attended Gorzycki Middle School in Southwest Austin, Texas in sixth through eighth grade.

He is currently a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. His interests include reading, math, Quiz Bowl, electric guitar, and technology. He is also an eagle scout in boy scouts.

N

apat Dawkrajai goes by the nickname Ink. He attended Kealing Middle School for sixth through eighth grade, and he is currently attending the Liberal Arts and Science Academy.

His interests include reading, watching videos on Khan Academy, and swimming. He is also currently enrolled in a UT longhorn swimming team. His hobbies include swimming as well as playing the violin. His favorite class so far at LASA is Algebra Two With Proofs.

Photo credit to Thomas Crain and Isaac Cui

Historia|5

Tramex Travel Est. 1984

y! s a E It e k a We M

This summer, take a relaxing trip to the Eternal City, Rome, the most historic city in all of Europe. Visit the Colosseum, a miracle of ancient architectural skill and engineering, Saint Peter’s Basilica, the majestic church built in the Late Renaissance, or the Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant’Angelo, tomb of Emperor Hadrian. Just sign up and we’ll take care of everything—after all, we make it easy!

Sign up anytime from June

6|Historia

20 through August 18, 2013!

by

N. Dawkrajai

Historia|7

Photo by author

THIRSTY?

One of the creeks that is the product of the the Edward’s flow

F

rom the Edwards Aquifer Website, it was recorded that the City of Austin spends billions of dollars per year to treat their water to a quality that changes to a healthy quality for drinking, but San Antonio saves billions of dollars due to the natural filtration of the Edwards Aquifer. This shows that the Edwards Aquifer is one of the hidden gifts that the Central Texas region contains. This information taken from the San Antonio Water Systems.

“Edwards water is drinkable straight from the ground.” said Gregg Eckhardt, an environmental scientist and a senior analyst for the San Antonio Water Systems.

Over a million people in San Antonio depend on the steady flow of the Edwards Aquifer, and even some Austinites depend on Edward’s discharge. The aquifer stretches for over 1,200 square

8|Historia

miles, and it took multiple centuries that formed and perfected the Edwards Aquifer into the water table that we see it today. As most central Texas inhabitants has experienced, the recent drought dried both the Edwards Aquifer and multiple lakes of the region, and this drought has affected the millions of people who depend on the aquifer for a steady supply of water.

But before we explore how such a large city depends on a single basin, we should explore how an aquifer works in the first place.

“One should not think of the Aquifer as a vast underground pool. Rather, think of it as a saturated sponge with pipes.” said Eckardt, The aquifer perfectly fits this picture because of the honeycomblike limestone that composes the majority of the basin. So, the honeycomb limestone structure would fit into the

idea of a saturated sponge because of the capability of both the limestone and a sponge to greatly retain water.

The pipes however, are the plethora of creeks that, when flooded, will overflow into 40 foot long holes that lead into the Edwards itself. Austin lies in between the Edwards recharge and contributing zones. The contributing zone leads water though creeks, lakes, and rivers into the recharge zone. This portion of the water, “recharges the Edwards”.

“The key to why the Edwards is a good aquifer lies in the fact that the limestone exposed itself, and the limestone became extensively eroded, and then covered over again with new limestone formations.” Eckhardt said. But this repetitive process took place millions and millions of years ago, back to a time when the Gulf of Mexico dried up. This

Photo by author

allowed for a much more weathered and porous rock base that later became the aquifer. But over time, movements of plate tectonics shifted in a way where the northern area of Texas rose from the sea, and then the previous water moved back to the region that we call the Gulf today.

In other words, try to imagine a plate

that is partially water with all of the water filling up half of the plate. Then imagine moving the water in the plate back and forth in a manner that the water covers roughly half of the plate when the plate is not moving. This recession of water allowed for the majority of the springs to lie in the East of the Edward’s region (San

“The Edwards provides treatment that would otherwise cost us billions of dollars.”

Gregg Eckhardt

Antonio and Hueco Springs) because the water gets trapped in this area of the aquifer. The majority of the flourishing springs lie in the Eastern area because of the much greater frequency of caves than that of the Western region of the Edward’s.

But what how did the recent drought crippled the central Texas region and the aquifer today? The current water levels in the Edwards Aquifer has been below average, but the water levels have, “not yet approach[ed] historic lows from the 1950s,” Eckhardt said. The historic lows that Eckhardt talks about occurred in 1956, where the water level was at 612 gallons. Today the Edwards contains an estimate of 648 gallons. However, do not be dismayed, the numbers that the San Antonio Water Systems has posted for the water level of the aquifer is only an estimate because due to the aquifer’s multiple crevices, it becomes nearly impossible to get an accurate water level reading of the Edwards. But the water levels of Edwards have also been subjected to over pumping for agricultural purposes.

“Rapid urbanization of Central Texas poses two primary threats to the aquifer: over pumping and contamination,” the Save Our Springs Alliance’s website on Threats [of the aquifer] said, an Edwards Aquifer preservation group. Already, there have been accounts of reduced spring flow in the San Antonio springs as well as the majority of the southern Edwards itself. Military, agricultural, and municipal purposes led to the reduced flow of the southern Edwards region. The pumping begins in the northern portion of the Edwards, and these pumpings are unregulated by the government because of . “ Without restrictions, aquifer and spring levels are at risk of dropping severely,” the Save Our Springs Alliance’s website on Threats [of the aquifer] said.

And this becomes the consequence of the major water table that easily accessible by many of the people in the area.

“Increased numbers of residential subdivisions over the aquifer has led to increases in fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and other house hold chemicals that wash off of lawns and end up in the aquifer and springs.” The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance said

Historia|9

on their website on pollution. Then after these chemicals end up into the Edwards which will then in turn will end up into your sink or your water bottles from San Antonio. Yet these problems do not end all of the problems that Edwards Aquifer has to go through. Increased urbanization led to a blockage of some recharge zones of the Edwards Aquifer.

Urbanization led to this blockage be preventing any of the runoff recharge into the aquifer because most roadways do not contain any sort of water quality controls.

“The Aquifer has a tremendous capacity to stabilize organic wastes and other pollutants; in fact, San Antonio is the only major city in the world that does not have to treat water before distribution,” Eckhardt said. And even with the aquifer acting like a gargantuan filtration device, the Edwards does not have the capability to filter everything that the central Texas region has to throw at it. “The Edwards Aquifer Ecosystem of Central Texas is one of our most valuable, irreplaceable and endangered public treasures.” the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance said. And this shows that the Edwards is a great treasure of Central Texas and it will remain for many generations to come.t

“The Edwards Aquifer Ecosystem of Central Texas is one of our most valuable, irreplaceable and endangered public treasures.”

Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance 10|Historia

Wander deeper into HISTORY...

In Pitch Black

Inner Space Caverns Historia|11

SHAKING FOUNDATIONS

R

Nothing is more dangerous than an idea.

evolutions start with the mind. Ideas are the seeds of change, the forerunners of revolution, the basis of societal evolution. Remember that what changes the world was born in the mind first. We bring you five ideas that changed the world today.

by

T. Crain

“UNITY between the individual and the mass” -Che Guevara 1

“Our vision is nothing less than... [driving] a new era of DEVELOPMENT, growth, and productivity.”

- Creative Commons 2

Universal access to research, education, and culture is made possible by the Internet, but our legal system does not allow us to realize that. Copyright was created long before the Internet, and is outdated to the vision we as a society need to acheive. Copyleft is the opposite of copyrightyou give up the rights to your work to make them more accessable to the public. People now don’t have to fear getting a court summons for copy/pasting text from the Internet.

12|Historia

Che Guevara felt that close integration between the government and the people would help the government understand their desires, which is the philosophy he used to help incite revolution against an apathetic government in Cuba. The government he helped form still stands.

“You can’t exist as a HUMAN BEING in isolation.”

-Desmond Tutu 3

Ubuntu is the humanist philisophical concept that means “I am who I am because of who we all are”. It originated in subSaharan Africa to embody the sprit of brotherhood.

Economist Tim Jackson promotes this as a philosophy that suppoort a sustainable future. Ubuntu changed the world because it sparked a revolution of interconnectedness that brought everyone together and generally created a new wave of generosity for humanity.

“Workers of the world UNITE; you have nothing to lose but your chains!” -Karl Marx 4 5

Communism strives to acheive a classless society, eliminating the barrier between the poor workers (proletariat) and the rich (bourgeoise). It isn’t hard to see why the proletariat would want to overthrow the chains of capitalism for a comfortable life under communism. Communist fever spread through many countries, such as Russia, China, and Cuba, and revolutions began.

Communism has a bad reputation today because it quickly spiraled into totalitarianism, sparking political wars.

“If Copernicus’ proposal had had no CONSEQUENCES outside astronomy, it would have been neither so long delayed nor so strenuously resisted.”

-Thomas Kuhn 6 7

Copernicus’s proposal that the Earth revovled around the Sun had greater impacts outside of astronomy than you may think. The eventual win of his theory over the teachings ofRoman Catholic Church paved the way for its downfall as a scientific authority. After a while, no one‘s scientific discoveries would remain covered by the scrutiny of the church.

Sources: 1 http://www.marxists.org/archive/guevara/1965/03/man-socialism.htm 2 http://creativecommons.org/about 3 http://svenworld.com/2010/03/18/desmond-tutu-no-person-is-an-island/ 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism 5 http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch04.htm 6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_affair 7 Kuhn, Thomas S. The Copernican Revolution: Planetary Astronomy in the Development of Western Thought. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1957. 94. Print.

Art Credit: http://vector4free.com/vectors/id/28

Historia|13

Timbuk2 Bags Going wherever you go 14|Historia

Berlin Wall

1961

399 BCE

Louisiana Purchase

French Revolution

1687

2

1803

Columbus’ Voyage to the New World Bay of Pigs Invasion

Norman Invasion of England

1961 Creation of the

1492

3 1798 1 0

1066

Death of Socrates

Publication of Newton’s Principia

1215

1836

1274

1863

Y

ou’ve probably been forced to memorize all of the above dates at one point in time, but they most likely don’t mean much to you anymore.

While in the past, history curriculums have very much been in this memorizationbased format, today, at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA), history and social studies class is different.

LASA World History teacher Maricruz Aguayo-Tabor, having taught twelve years, prefers a different route than straight-up memorization. “World History was the first time lots of people enjoyed history,” she said, “because we look at patterns and critical thinking over memorization.”

She believes that history class’ most important aspect is its ability to teach critical thinking. Similarly, LASA World Geography, Facing History, and Contemporary Issues teacher Neil Loewenstern, a teacher for seventeen years, said that understanding different countries’

Return of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Battle of Gettysburg

1683

Invasion of Poland

476

1806 Fin1939 ished Texas Republic finals— Carta whoMagna cares?

Battle of Battle of Hakata Bay Vienna

Fall of the Western Roman Empire

Story and Images By I. Cui situations and how they got there, and thus fixed beliefs and undermining parental ultimately understanding their history, authority.” requires critical thinking, the ability to At LASA, curriculums involve more think reflectively and contextually to decide enrichment and contextualization. As the best action to take.

Aguayo-Tabor says, her job requires her to History class of the past was very present multiple sources to learn the how much the opposite.

“We oppose the teaching of people thought and why As LASA Principal Higher Order Thinking Skills they decided to do what Stacia Crescenzi ... which ... have the purpose they did, given such recounts, names, dates, a situation. Similarly, of challenging the student’s Loewenstern recognizes and facts comprised fixed beliefs and undermining that simply reading about of nearly the entire history curriculum in history doesn’t always parental authority.” her day. Rather than work, and instead, offers Texas GOP taught with skepticism, supplemental activities, such history represented the truth, and only as simulations, to help the information sink in the teacher’s perspective mattered in class. better.

However, in 2012, the Texas GOP wrote Teachers find difficulties, however, that “We oppose the teaching of Higher between the need to teach both an Order Thinking Skills ... critical thinking overarching chronology of history skills and similar programs ... which while still analyzing it. “One problem focus on behavior modification and have I’ve always had with World History [is] the purpose of challenging the student’s you’re trying to teach so much stuff, that

Historia|15

it can be difficult, but it’s been known, in teaching history, that you should go deeper into fewer things rather than do a massive survey and give basic facts and dates about something,” Loewenstern said. “That’s been the challenge with curriculum and teaching, and sometimes you have to chose one or another.

Generally, the better choice is to go deeper so that you foster critical thinking rather than knowledge.”

Students often agree with this sentiment. LASA Freshman Niels Kornerup said he prefers learning analytically because “with a more interactive approach, [history] sticks better and actually adds meaning to it; just learning when something happened In LASA English teacher Andi Brosche’s room, students participate in a mock Anglo-Saxon feast to doesn’t tell you anything about today and demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the epic Beowulf, the context of the story, and the culture behind it. whether or not it was a good decision.”

Similar to Kornerup’s opinion, LASA makes it useful. and groups on society (section 113.18, Junior Zachary Feinberg finds that a History, like any other subject, is part b). In the same section, the SBOE strictly-memorization approach doesn’t viewed in both positive and negative mandated that students will “study help him educationally. “I don't think I'm ways by students. Not everyone enjoys people and societies of … Europe, really learning the information to stay, math class, and similarly, not everyone Russia and the Eurasian republics, North just studying for the test the day before enjoys history. Crescenzi, however, America, Central America and the ... then forgetting it,” he said, “and I feel believes in the core need for history. “I Caribbean, South America, Southwest like if the material was taught in a more think the students who are involved in Asia-North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, memorable and ... creative way then it history as something other than just a South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, would actually retain.” class, who participate in Model UN for Australia, and the Pacific Realm.” The To both, raw knowledge can hold example, they recognize beyond the 7th grade standards transition from this some kind of use, but they find that practicality of history, but the essential wider view towards only Texas history contextualization and interactivity helps nature of understanding where everyone’s (section 113.19, part a). Lastly, 8th them actually grasp the knowledge. come from,” said Crescenzi, “because graders are expected to learn about U.S. LASA Freshman without that, you can’t history (section 113.20, part a).

“If you were trying to Andreas Toprac, hold interactions with While the 6th grade standards reflect teach American history as however, believes that other cultures. I think a worldwide view, the rest of middle knowledge about the sometimes [students] school, according to these standards, an inevitable thing, like past isn’t actually that don’t recognize how history focuses on Texas and US history.

Manifest Destiny, you’re important, because, essential it is until they Kornerup’s middle school education missing huge aspects of why while people can learn are confronted with the followed these standards, and he said America is the way it is.” from mistakes of the situation.” Ultimately, that his curriculum had been largely past, he doesn’t see much Maricruz Aguayo-Tabor as she said, studying Texas and US history. Similarly, Toprac overall practicality. history nurtures and notes that throughout elementary school LASA Freshman Chloe Edmiston, on allows students to understand and and seventh grade, nearly all of his the contrary, disagrees. She believes that function in a globalized world. curriculum was about Texas history. He history allows people to look at the world This type of global education can arise didn’t take World History until 8th grade. from a wider perspective, “I think history through a multicultural, critical, and LASA freshman Esteban Guevara said is actually practically applicable today immersive curriculum. According to that he learned only US and Texas history because it allows us to look into the past the 2011 social studies Texas Essential (note that, while the incorporation of and see how that affects the future and how Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards these standards occurred in 2011 and past cultures are diffusing or combining for 6th graders, administered by the thus after the students had finished 6th with other cultures and creating a world State Board of Education (SBOE), grade, earlier standards adopted in 2009 culture not just an individualized culture.” students must understand that historical mandated the same core curricula). So Furthermore, she thinks that history plays events influence contemporary events, even if the legislature mandated certain a large part in many careers, and thus, even trace characteristics of contemporary curricula, teachers often have flexibility if history itself wouldn’t alone suffice as a societies from historical events, and to in terms of what to teach. However, career, its implications for other careers still understand the influence of individuals many students said that their education

16|Historia

consisted of mainly Texas history.

Edmiston thinks that Texas based history doesn’t work well in terms of education, saying that, while the curriculum looked at things that changed Texas, it didn’t teach much about the effects that Texas has made upon the world. “It was too specific to Texas, we could’ve looked at other things that had to do with Texas’ influence,” she said.

Kornerup shares a similar sentiment, saying “the thing about taking Texas history is that there’s not that much that goes on, and you notice that the teacher starts to run out of curriculum and

and place, but by the time of middle school, more critical thinking and questioning should be made against the history of governments, because we don’t want to create a non-thinking population that is willing to swallow propaganda.

At the same time, civil competence is important.”

Crescenzi notes that Texas history curriculums almost entirely comprise of state-centric education, particularly in the younger grades. Aguayo-Tabor thinks that this plagues the quality of education, however, as these types of curriculums “only give one perspective of history...

view allows students to become immersed in history, and, ultimately creates an environment that cultivates critical thinking and understanding.

Traditional education, in the end, cannot foster perhaps the most important skill that history can teach—critical thinking. Teachers, like Aguayo-Tabor and Loewenstern, believe that it is the best skill that can be obtained from history because it not only teaches one to doubt but also to contextualize events and trends in history. Students, such as Feinberg and Edmiston, find analyzing more engaging and helpful

“Now I’m in 9th grade and I don’t know anything about the European conflicts like the War of the Roses and Battle of Waterloo, and I don’t know how they led up to America.”

Niels Kornerup meaningless battles, whereas now I’m in 9th grade and I don’t know anything about the European conflicts like the War of the Roses and Battle of Waterloo, and I don’t know how they led up to America.”

The practicality of this state-centric education is also disputed between students. On one hand, Edmiston and Kornerup believe that Texas history isn’t that useful for education. Toprac, on the other hand, disagrees and said, while comparing Texas history to World history, “I prefer Texas history because it’s more centered to our past than the world’s past ... it’s about where we are now.” Crescenzi also notes that, stressing Texas history doesn’t disallow a worldwide view, because Texas’ history consists of interactions between many different cultures, and Texas affects the world greatly as well. Loewenstern believes that the method of teaching determines the role of the curriculum.

According to the TEKS, students, throughout Kindergarten-12th grade, must “build a foundation in history … [that] enables students to understand the importance of patriotism, function in a free enterprise society, and appreciate the basic democratic values of our state and nation.” Loewenstern believes that there exists a fine line between when history should be used for patriotism and when it should be used to foster critical thinking. “If it’s taught for indoctrination, just to foster patriotism, it has its time

It also creates a narrative that can’t sustain itself—if you were trying to teach American history as an inevitable thing, like Manifest Destiny, you’re missing huge aspects of why America is the way it is. When you teach from one perspective, you miss a large part of it, and that’s a big problem with other countries and their education systems.”

Hence, the curriculum can also become a balance between indoctrination and critical thinking. The Texas GOP, as noted before, stated that they oppose critical thinking because they challenge the students’ fixed beliefs. The teachers and administration endorse critical thinking for exactly that reason, because they believe in its necessity for fostering the readiness of a student for a globalized world. As such, they also argue that history necessitates a skeptical point of view. As Loewenstern said, “History is written from the perspective of the writers ... there’s always cultural bias that we can’t get away from because we’re writing history from our perspective in our language.” Similarly, Aguayo-Tabor believes that students should always view history as a skeptic, because there are always multiple points of views.

Crescenzi also agrees, but noting that skepticism is not“ ... saying one person’s perspective is untrue versus another’s but it’s to understand five people can get a different perspective of how an event happened.” This wider, more contextual

for understanding history. And the administration often finds that this method of teaching helps to foster the develop a student for the globalized world of the 21st century. The more modern social studies curriculum at LASA creates a better atmosphere to build these skills than a traditional curriculum, and only through critical thinking can history really mean something and become applicable to students’ lives. As Crescenzi said, “facts should be taught as a way to understand people and the history of cultures and their decisions and how their decisions affect today, and how your decisions or our decisions are going to affect people 200 years from now.” t

Historia|17

Oh Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Who Art Thou

SHAKESPEARE?

S

by

I. Cui

hakespeare is arguably one of the most influential literary figures in the history of the English language. Regarded as the greatest writer of all time, Shakespeare’s plays are treasures of the English language. A quick look at any of his masterpieces easily reveals why people still study his works today, not only in the study of English or language, but also in the study of philosophy, history, and moreover, simply for entertainment. Yet, some have questioned the “real” William Shakespeare’s ability to write such elegant poems and plays despite his lack of educational background. We at Historia have decided to investigate one of these claims, commonly known as the Oxfordian theory, which holds that Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, wrote the plays traditionally attributed to William Shakespeare. We then will examine its persuasiveness with respect to the Stratfordian theory, which maintains that William Shakespeare, the man from Stratford-upon-Avon, composed them.

Courtesy of the Yale University Press

Stratfordian Theory

The Stratfordian Theory holds that William Shakespeare of Stratfordupon-Avon is, indeed, the author of the works. Jumana Farouky, associate editor for Time magazine, notes that this is the theory adopted by most modern-day scholars, including academia such as Alan Nelson, professor emeritus of the Department of English at the University of California at Berkeley.

Arguments against the Stratfordian theory include that the works hint towards a well-traveled, universityeducated man, and that all evidence of Shakespeare’s life pointed towards a lowly merchant (of the six signatures found in his handwriting, his name was spelled four different ways).

However, Shakespearean scholar Jonathan Bate argued that, while Shakespeare’s life might not match up with the plays, playwrights, in particular in that time, often wrote derivatively, and as such, he didn’t have to have experienced the things he wrote about. Stratfordians also often accuse the above argument of bigotry, saying that Shakespeare, with a simple grammar school background, could’ve written it easily with his imagination.

18|Historia

Oxfordian Theory The Oxfordian theory maintains that Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford (born in 1550 and died in 1604) authored the plays attributed to Shakespeare. William Niederkorn, editor and blogger at the New York Times, writes that proponents of the theory point out that the Earl’s nickname, “Spear-shaker,” (which arose due to his ability at tournaments) became his pen name, Shakespeare. Well regarded as both a poet and a sportsman by contemporaries, de Vere had a prominent political career in court, indicated in the upper-class setting of many of the plays.

The plays also reflect the first-hand experience of a well-traveled man, such as knowledge of Giulio Romano’s paintings, who was known mainly as a sculptor. De Vere had traveled to France and Italy, visiting cities that the plays depicted. Contemporary accounts portray de Vere as one of the finest writers of comedy in his day. Others in the support of the Oxfordian theory note that many moments of the plays could have been reflections of the Earl’s life. For instance, pirates once captured de Vere, similar to a moment in “Hamlet.” Famous advocates for theory include heavy-weights such as Mark Twain, Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles, and Sigmund Freud.

However, most scholars reject the theory, arguing that Oxford could not have been the author. He died in 1604, and Stratfordians will often point to the “fact” that around 10 of the plays were published after 1604, effectively ruling him out.

Oxfordians retort that nearly no proof exists that any of his plays Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery were written after 1604. Others, such as Emma Smith (a lecturer at the University of Oxford) believe that de Vere’s writings weren’t as competent as the “Shakespearean” plays. Richard F. Whalen, in his book “Shakespeare: Who Was He,” argues that Oxford had no reason to use a pseudonym if he actually wrote the plays.

Conclusion

Despite the numerous arguments from both the Stratfordian and Oxfordian sides, no conclusive answer exists as to who actually wrote the plays and sonnets attributed to Shakespeare. Arguments mostly arise from differing interpretations of the plays, and, as Farouky notes, nearly nothing about William Shakespeare’s life is agreed upon by both Stratfordians and Oxfordians. In the end, the author may be the man from Stratford, or from Oxford, or perhaps someone completely different from the time period. But alas, the debate rages on between the mainstream-Stratfordians and the “conspiracist”-Oxfordians. |

1.

2.

3.

Sources

Farouky, J. (2007, September 13). The Mystery of Shakespeare’s Identity. Retrieved from Time website.

Gilyeat, D. (2009, November 27). Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford: The real Shakespeare? Retrieved from BBC Oxford website.

Niederkorn, W. S. (2002, February 10). THEATER; A Historic Whodunit: If Shakespeare Didn’t, Who Did? Retrieved from The New York Times website:.

Shakespeare’s influence is unprecedented in the English language. Take a look at these quotes and you’ll probably (surprisingly?) recognize many of them, even though they’re almost 400 years old.

Quotes courtesy of william-shakespeare.info

“Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

“Good night, good night! Parting is such a sweet sorrow” -Twelfth Night

“Love all, trust a few, do and Juliet wrong to none” -Romeo “If I lose mine honour, I lose “Life’s but a walking -All’s Well That Ends Well shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour myself ” upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

-MacBeth

and Cleopatra “Its not-Antony enough to speak, but to speak true”

-Midsummer Night’s Dream

Historia|19

Old Traditions, New Technology Art couretsy of FreeLogos.com

by

A

T. Crain

ctivism used to mean demonstrating outside of buildings and going to visit your senator to show that you supported a cause. Activism took effort and highprofile activists were often heralded as public heroes. However, today’s mainstream activism activities involve sitting at a computer and clicking a like button, changing a profile picture, or retweeting a video. It’s low-effort, quick, and makes people feel good about themselves. Some compare it to the “I Like Ike” political buttons of the 1950s.

However, many wonder if it’s even possible to change the world from your couch.

Supporters and detractors alike call this “slacktivism”. Old-fashioned activists have deemed participants as “slacktivists”. They claim that clicking a virtual button couldn’t possibly have the same effect as, say, a protest march.

Benjamin Dinovelli, a columnist for the Daily Princetonian says that “I just find it hard to believe that, as college kids, posting a new profile picture on Facebook or sharing a video is going to have a real and meaningful impact.

Sure, a few might look up the two cases that were before the Supreme Court or all of your friends will change their

Historia|20

The next generation has more options available for activism, but are these options effective? profile pictures; however, few to none organize their hundreds of suppliers, but will be inspired to pick up the picket sign not to design their cars. No one believes and march on the steps of D.C. While that the articulation of a coherent our Internet actions may cause visible design philosophy is best handled by change, they will never be permanent a sprawling, leaderless organizational unless we take action beyond the web. system. Because networks don’t have a Just ask Joseph Kony. ” centralized leadership structure and clear Even some high profile aid lines of authority, they have real difficulty organizations push aside reaching consensus and the potential impacts of setting goals. They can’t “Our generation having people like their think strategically; they and society as a page. UNICEF Sweden, are chronically prone to whole is now based conflict and error. How do which tends to the needs heavily upon the of children who can’t you make difficult choices speak out for themselves, about tactics or strategy internet and most released a campaign which or philosophical direction prominently social urged people to donate when everyone has an networking. The use equal say? money, using the logic of internet activism that likes do not help them However, some see it is extremely helpat all financially. While from a different angle, social engagement may one where the methods ful to the effect of help them gain publicity, informing people of used must change with a money is more helpful in societal change in how we an issue or cause.” communicate with one helping them expand their programs. another. Alex Niarkos, a Alex Niarkos Malcolm Gladwell, student at Santa Teresa contributor to The New High School, says that her Yorker, contributed his thoughts as to slacktivist activities can have a positive why the next revolution won’t be tweeted. impact on a cause. “Our generation and “There are many things, though, that society as a whole is now based heavily networks don’t do well,” said Gladwell. upon the internet and most prominently “Car companies sensibly use a network to social networking. The use of internet

Historia|21

Screenshot couretsy of T. Crain

activism is extremely helpful to the effect have succeeded. On the other of informing people of an issue or cause. side of the coin, slacktivism has It’s useful when the cause needs support, resolved many injustices. Change. either monetary or otherwise, such as in org is a popular website used the case of petitions,” Niarkos said. to gather signatures for online Social media can also be useful for petitions. These petitions vary the de-stigmatization of some taboo on their levels of success, but one On Change.org, hundreds of thousands of people have shown issues. Aids.gov, a US governmental of the most successful to date support for causes by signing virtual petitions. organization dedicated to spreading is “Justice for Trayvon Martin”. international institutions.). Since these awareness of HIV and AIDS, encourages Trayvon Martin was a teenager so-called “slacktivists” were never people to use Instagram, from Florida who was activists to begin with, they are not in “True engagement a mobile photo-sharing slain by a neighborhood dereliction of their activist duties. On the app, to raise awareness watchman. When the begins by lifting contrary, they are acting, symbolically and attract more people regional government your sights from and in a small way, in a sphere that has to their cause. Aids.gov is declined to press charges, your mobile device traditionally been closed off to “the trying to open the public Trayvon’s parents started a out into the world to conversations about the petition for the prosecution masses” in any meaningful fashion.” said Tufekci on her blog. at large, and perdisease and eliminating of the killer. At the end Niarkos has participated in slacktivism the taboo that is usually of the campaign, the sonally embracing by sharing petitions on Facebook and associated with it. Getting petition had over 2 million someone in need.” spreading word of problematic events people to talk about an signatures and the killer using her blog as a medium. Her issue is one of the first steps John P. Howe III was charged with 2nd motivation is different than others- she to rallying support for degree murder. Without doesn’t do this to be able to congratulate solutions. this petition, there may herself, or to avoid guilt. “None of the As with many social movements, not have been any way for the family to activism I participate in is done with the there are those who participate despite attract attention to this crime in a way goal of achieving a specific feeling. I feel doubting the effect of the movement. “I that would make law enforcement pay like I’ve done what’s right for me to do in believe it doesn’t actually help anyone attention. the given situation,” said Niarkos. but with enough attention it might get For better or for worse, one question Others, however, have other reasons the attention of someone who might that must be asked is whether slacktivism for participating. Baltisberger says that consider helping. So, indirectly it could is replacing traditional activism. A when he changed his Facebook profile help,” said Lucas Baltisberger, a freshman study by the Center for Social Impact picture to a red equals sign to support at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy Communication at Georgetown High School.

University’s School of Continuing Studies gay marriage, he thought it would get a couple likes on Facebook until he Slacktivism has had both highshows there is a correlation between profile successes and failures. In March slacktivist activities and doing things like changed it when his friends started to 2012, Invisible Children, a charitable volunteering their time, recruiting others change theirs back. Slacktivism is often used to gain popularity among a group of organization dedicated to ending the for a cause, and contacting their political people. use of child soldiers by the Lord’s representatives. They actually suggest John P. Howe, III of the Huffington Resistance Army in Uganda, released that the progression from slacktivist Post stands between the two sides a documentary titled Kony 2012. This to activist can happen both ways- a with his opinion. Howe believes that documentary quickly went viral and slacktivist could be influenced by their slacktivism should be used as a gateway brought the world’s attention to their activities to do traditional activism, but to real-world activism.“ Tweeting about cause. Slacktivists would spread this an activist is also likely to supplement good causes doesn’t hurt -- and for video around the internet, sharing it their regular actions with slacktivist young people “slacktivism” can be a via social networks such as Twitter and activities. good gateway toward the stirrings of a Facebook. On Twitter, #STOPKONY Some say it doesn’t matter and broader social consciousness. But true was being referenced over 1,200 times slacktivists are just bored people engagement begins by lifting your sights per minute at its peak. Joseph Kony was signing a petition and writing statuses. from your mobile device out to the also the most searched name on Google Zeynep Tufekci, a sociology professor world at large, and personally embracing However, despite the popularity of the and a fellow at the Harvard Berkman someone in need.” t video, the real-life event organized by Center for Internet and Society believes Invisible Children called “Cover the this. “What is called commonly called Night” was almost universally panned as slacktivism is not at all about “slacking a failure due to low turnout. activists;” rather it is about non-activists Maybe the failure of Kony 2012 is just taking symbolic action--often in spheres bad execution on the part of Invisible traditionally engaged only by activists Children- if done differently, it might or professionals (governments, NGOs,

The Calendars themselves An easy way to imagine the layout of the Mayan Calendar is to picture 2 concentric wheels (howstuffworks.com).

Then, from there we can imagine the inner wheel to represent the number of the Mayan month (13 numbers) The outer ring of the calendar represents the names that accompany the numbers in the inner ring (20 names). Finally, to decipher the Mayan Calendar we can have the inner wheel go through all of the outer ring’s names to follow the Mayans throughout their year.

The End by

of the

N. Dawkrajai

World?

2012

has come and gone and like any other failed apocalypse, and the ancient civilization that was most attributed to last year were the Mayans. So, in this little diagram we will explore how to read and interpret (in a very simple fashion) the Mayan calendar.

A Brief History of Calendars As we have already experienced December, 21, 2012, we know that the world did not end. Some Mayan descendants have stated that the end of the Mayan Calendar does not mean the end of the world, but actually means a new beginning (cbsnews.com, bbc.com).

Thus, the reason that the Mayans have ended their calendar on the winter solstice can be attributed to one main reason, and that is to reset the long count calendar.

The Mayans created their calendar because they wanted their calendar to follow Venus around its orbit around the sun. In other words, every 260 Earth days Venus will line up with the Earth and the sun, and this became the Mayan’s basis for their calendar. |

Sources

1. http://people.howstuffworks.com/mayan-calendar3.htm 2. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57560400/mayan-calendar-ends-world-doesnt/ 3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20787064 4. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/12/29/2012-news-predictions-stories-newstradamus_n_1168106.html

22|Historia

Courtesy of the Huffington Post

Historia|23

“Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.”

Machiavelli “History has rewritten itself so many times I’m not really sure how it was to begin with — it’s a bit like trying to guess the original color of a wall when it’s been repainted eight times.”

Jasper Fforde

“Nescire autem quid antequam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum.

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.”

Marcus Tullius Cicero

“History is important. If you don’t know history it is as if you were born yesterday. And if you were born yesterday, anybody up there in a position of power can tell you anything, and you have no way of checking up on it.”

“History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are Howard Zinn knowable and that life has order and direction. That’s why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.”

Bill Watterson

“The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice.”

Mark Twain

“It might be a good idea if the various countries of the world would occasionally swap history books, just to see what other people are doing with the same set of facts.

Bill Vaughan

Quotes courtesy of historynewsnetwork.com, goodreads.com, and brainyquote.com

24|Historia