The full set of documents composing the Pentagon Papers were released last week on the anniversary of their leak to the press.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
the doll test today and other stories
Do you remember the psychological experiment that the supreme court justices referred to in the Brown v. Board decision? It has been conducted again. Here is a short video that one of you send me on this subject. It's a little troubling and strange (albeit 21 children makes for a very small panel and there seems to be no test panel with white children).
Posted by Aude de Mézerac at 9:54 AM 4 comments
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Church and State in America
Do you know the very liberal Daily Show host Jon Stewart?
Sometimes he is led to discuss constitutional matters, notably on the popular issue of separation of Church and State. Are the power of the States limited by the Bill of Rights?
Part II :
To find out more about David Barton you can watch an interview with Jon Stewart ( in which he makes the case against separation of Church and State) or you may want to read this short article from the NYTimes.
Posted by Aude de Mézerac at 4:04 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Conseil Constitutionel vs Supreme Court
A fellow student has called my attention to this interesting video from LCP. Jean-Louis Debré and Stephen Breyer, a Supreme Court Justice appointed by Bill Clinton in 1994 discuss the role of the judicial branch in government.
Posted by Aude de Mézerac at 3:56 AM 0 comments
Thursday, May 5, 2011
political ads 1950s-1960s
1. The first television commercial for an electoral campaign created by Roy Disney for candidate Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. His stature as a war hero and his appeal to both parties ( remember that the Democrats had asked him to run as President as well) and the well managed electoral campaign indeed got him in the White House. Note the three donkeys representing the Democratic party ( the donkey had become the symbol of the party under the Presidency of Grant).
2. The emotionally potent ad issued by the Johnson campaign for President in 1964. Although the ad was only aired once on television, it sent a shockwave through the country. It became a news item and was thus aired by the media as such, offering free air time to the Democratic ticket. This clip is famous for its suggestion that Barry Goldwater was not fit to be president because he was trigger happy and too likely to use nuclear weapons on foreign theaters of operation. However, when you listen carefully to the short speech that follows the explosion, I believe that the issues it raises are not germane to foreign policy tactics. Watch:
The terms "a world in which all God's children can live together"; "we must either love each other or die" suggests an allusion to something other than the Cold War and the nuclear threat. What do you think it might refer to?
(hint: consider why Barry Goldwater was gaining momentum at the time and who was supporting him)
Posted by Aude de Mézerac at 2:03 AM 0 comments
Monday, May 2, 2011
Anniversary of the freedom rides : 1961
Here's an interesting and short article from NPR ( National Public Radio). The short article summarizes the life and shows how the fights of a civil rights activist evolved over time.
Posted by Aude de Mézerac at 9:28 AM 0 comments
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War
April 1861 : the confederate forces launched an attack against Fort Sumter in SC after having been warned that a Union ship would bring supplies to the soldiers in the fort ( officially food but also ammunition).
Posted by Aude de Mézerac at 4:12 AM 0 comments
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Holidays' readings
Dear students,
Posted by Aude de Mézerac at 8:56 AM 0 comments
Friday, April 1, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
immigration in America
I couldn't find the excerpt from America America which I was looking for. So instead you can have a look at this short scene from the movie.
In this interview, Martin Scorsese discusses movie-making and the immigrant experience.
A few years back I wrote a post on West Side Story.
Finally, you may enjoy a very interesting post on a French blog on the song by Joan Baez on the Sacco & Vanzetti cause célèbre. The same blog offers a selection of songs and an analysis of their historical context. I strongly reccommend visiting it.
Posted by Aude de Mézerac at 11:04 AM 0 comments
Thursday, March 24, 2011
outline for lecture 7
The university website is experiencing problems putting the outlines online.
Posted by Aude de Mézerac at 2:52 AM 0 comments
Monday, March 7, 2011
Seminar 3 : the Bill of Rights
This is an extract from The West Wing, season 6, episode 8 (In the room)
I whole heartedly reccomend this TV series which is amazing : you'll learn a lot about the American constitution, the political workings of the institutions and the hot potato issues of the 2000s, and painlessly to boot.
Posted by Aude de Mézerac at 1:04 AM 2 comments
Thursday, February 17, 2011
a revolution in Egypt?
Posted by Aude de Mézerac at 5:12 AM 0 comments
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Answers to the exam questions
Dear students,
- Contingency. Could the Civil War have been averted?
- Agency. How responsible for the war is Abraham Lincoln?
Posted by Aude de Mézerac at 5:34 AM 0 comments