80% of the final grade for HG DNL is assessed by a 20 minute oral exam, divided into two sections:
- The first part of the exam lasts for 10-minutes.
- You will be expected to present, describe, analyse and comment on a document(s) based on any part of the History or Geography programme.
- The examiners may ask you questions to check your understanding.
- The second part of the exam is free form and also lasts for 10 minutes.
- You may be invited to talk about your experiences in the European Section, visits to other countries, organisation of the Festival of Arts and Science and you may nominate a subject of your choice which you are ready to discuss with the examiners.
Great Depression and Totalitarian Regimes
Intro PPT for Test on Wednesday 21st Sept:
DNL Vocabulary
1) Alphabet agencies: US federal government agencies created as part of the New Deal by President Roosevelt. Examples included the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) lasted between 1933 and 1943 and hired 2.5 million men to plant trees and build roads and parks. Another was the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) which created dams to control flooding and generate hydroelectric power along the Tennessee river watershed.
2) Authoritarianism: type of governmental system which (usually) lacks free elections and is dominated by one party although it does not control all institutions in a society (e.g. Mussolini’s Italy was an authoritarian government but it did not control the Church or Monarchy).
3) Capitalism: economic and political system in which trade an industry are controlled by private owners for profit and multiple political parties exist.
4) Communism: system of government in which the means of production (land, industries, banks etc) are controlled by the State and each person contributes and receives according to their ability and needs.
5) Cult of the personality: the result of an effort by a government to present an idealized and heroic image of a leader.
6) Fascism: a far-right authoritarian ideology characterized by dictatorial power and use of violence.
7) Federal government (US): This means there is a national government and governments of the 50 states.
8) Mein Kampf: Adolf Hitler’s 1925 manifesto, (which means ‘My Struggle’) promoted his racist world view and expansionary policies aimed at obtaining more living space Lebensraum in Eastern Europe.
9) New Deal: reform programs promoted by President Roosevelt which aimed to prevent a repetition of the Great Depression.
10) Propaganda: information of a biased or misleading nature intended to promote a certain point of view.
11) USSR: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a communist state that spanned Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.
Great Britain in WW2
DNL Vocabulary
1) Battle of Britain: fought in the air between Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Luftwaffe, Nazi Germany’s air force from July 10 through October 31, 1940 for control of airspace over Great Britain,
2) Blackout: regulations imposed on 1st September 1939 aimed at eliminating outdoor light to prevent crews of enemy aircraft from identifying cities.
3) Blitz: intense Nazi bombing campaign undertaken by Nazi Germany against the UK from 7th September 1940 until 11th May 1941. Named after German word blitzkrieg meaning ‘lightning war’.
4) Censorship: newspapers were not allowed to write about Defense Notices (so called D Notices) which meant fortification or ongoing planning. When the Blitz began
Churchill asked the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) to send out news on the radio in a positive manner and not focus on the destruction.
5) Winston Churchill (1974-1965): British Prime Minister (1940-45 and 1951-55) who was famous for his speeches and his refusal to give in, even when the outlook was grim.
6) Commonwealth: formed between 1931 and 1949, this is a free association of sovereign states comprising the United Kingdom and a number of its former dependencies who have chosen to maintain ties of friendship and practical cooperation and who acknowledge the British monarch as symbolic head of their association.
7) D-Day: 6th June 1944 – day on which Allied forces invaded northern France by beach landings in Normandy.
8) Dunkirk: also known as Operation Dynamo, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk between 26th May and 4th June 1940 due to their encirclement by German troops during the Battle of France. Over 300 000 troops
were rescued by an assembled fleet of 800 boats, prompting Churchill’s ‘We shall fight on the beaches’ speech of June 4th.
9) Evacuation: several waves of the evacuation of people, particularly children, took place from cities due to the risk of aerial bombardment.
10) Remembrance Sunday: marked in the UK on the Sunday that falls closest to November 11 in commemoration of the end of hostilities in 1918 and 1945. People were poppies which are associated with those that grew on the churned battlefields of WW1.
11) Spitfire: most widely produced and very fast British aircraft which became famous due to its role in the Battle of Britain.
Seas and Oceans
DNL Vocabulary
1) Blue economy: describes all economic activities related to oceans, seas and coasts.
2) Blue water navy: a marine force capable of operating globally.
3) Green water navy: a marine force capable of operating in a nation’s littoral zone and the surrounding region.
4) Maritime Choke point: naturally narrow channels of high traffic because of their strategic locations.
5) Containerization: a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal metal containers. Intermodal means they can be easily transferred from one mode of transport to another (such as from a ship to a truck or train).
6) EEZ: An exclusive economic zone as prescribed by UNCLOS in 1982. It is an area of sea in which a sovereign state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources. It extends to 200 miles from shore.
7) Hard power: a coercive approach to international political relations, usually involving the use of the military.
8) Soft power: a persuasive approach to international relations, involving the use of cultural, economic and diplomatic means.
9) Strait: a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or other large bodies of water.
10) UNCLOS: United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982), also known as the Montego Bay Convention, is an international agreement that establishes a framework for all marine and maritime activities.
11) Under water cables: subsea or submarine fiber optic cables that connect countries across the world and transmit huge amounts of data rapidly.
European Construction since 1945
DNL Vocabulary
1.CAP: (Common Agricultural Policy) the early CAP encouraged better agricultural productivity so that consumers had a stable supply of affordable food. It offered subsidies to guarantee high prices for farmers and provided incentives for them to produce more. It was successful in meeting its objective of moving towards EU self-sufficiency in the 1980s but it lead to permanent surpluses of major farm commodities. Some of these were exported and others were stored in the EU. However, as it became increasingly costly it also became unpopular with consumers and so was reformed. Today farmers are not paid just to produce food and they must respect certain environmental standards.
2.Commonwealth: an association of states comprising Britain and most of its former colonies.
3.Council of Europe: Founded in 1949 to promote democracy and protect human rights and the rule of law in Europe. The council has 47 member countries today. No country has ever joined the EU without first belonging to the Council of Europe.
4.ECSC: (European Coal and Steel Community) combined coal and steel production in France and West Germany, it was intended as a means of stimulating growth, and the process was placed under the supranational control of the High Authority.
5.EEC: (European Economic Community) this was a customs union between the Six with the aim of bringing about economic integration. It became known as the European Community in 1967.
6.EFTA: (European Free Trade Area) this free trade organisation was created in 1960 as a trade-bloc alternative to the EEC. The founding members were Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK (referred to as the Outer Seven, in the 1960s). Today’s EFTA members are Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
7.EURATOM: a political body to co-ordinate the development of nuclear energy within Western Europe.
8.GDP: (Gross Domestic Product) value of all goods and services produced within annually within an economy plus overseas earnings.
9.: (Gross National Product) value of all goods and services produced annually within an economy.
10.Hague Conference: Held from 7th to 11th of May 1948 and presided over by Winston Churchill, this conference brought together representatives from across the political spectrum in order to discuss ideas about the development of Europe.
11.Marshall Plan: proposed by George C. Marshall, US Secretary of State, in 1947. Also known as the European Recovery Programme (ERP). It involved the injection of large sums of money ($17 billion) from the USA into European economies between 1947 and 1952. It was proposed because of US concern about growing support for Communism in Europe and fear that Europe would not recover as a trading partner.
12.Maastricht Treaty: signed on 7th February 1992 by members of the EC and entered into force on 1st November 1993. It created the European Union and led to the creation of the single currency, the euro. It also created the concept of EU citizenship, allowing people from member countries to move freely between states. The ratification process of the treaty was fraught with problems, Denmark had to hold two referendums in order to pass it, in France it was only narrowly ratified by referendum in September 1992 with 51.05% in favour, and the UK government nearly collapsed due to opposition from MPs in the British parliament.
13.OEEC: (Organisation of European Economic Co-operation) set up to promote trade within Europe between economies stimulated by funds from the Marshall Plan.
14.Schuman Declaration: proposal of French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, to create a supranational organization of European states leading to the creation of ECSC and eventually the EU. The date of the declaration, 9th May 1950, is celebrated annually as Europe Day and Schuman is considered one of the Founding Fathers of the EU.
15.The ‘Six’: refers to the signatories of the Treaty of Rome, France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg
16.Social Chapter: refers to the part of the Maastricht Treaty which covered issues such as worker’s pay and health and safety. The UK won an opt-out from the social chapter under John Major’s government although it subsequently joined under the government of Tony Blair.
17.Supranational: giving up national sovereignty to the authority of an international body.
18.Treaty of Rome: (1957) Treaty which established the EEC signed on 25th March 1957 and entered into force on 1stJanuary 1958.-