Lauren+Avery+inquiry

Something I am really interested in is African history in the past 100 years or so--to focus that a bit narrower I was thinking I could focus on apartheid in South Africa, the civil wars in central Africa (Rwanda), or even the illicit diamond trade that occurs there. I don't really know much about any of those three things and I'd really like to learn more about all of them--plus, they could possibly fit into the 7th grade curriculum. I also don't know very much about Russian history-and that's very broad. I'd probably focus on post WWI? Not really sure...I really don't know much about their government or societal issues and I feel like for such a huge country, I should probably get fairly acquainted. Something else I feel I really should know about is what is exactly going on with the War in Iraq...I feel like I followed it closely when it started, but I lost track and didn't really keep up with it much, and since it is affecting my life now, and my students' lives, it could be an interesting topic to look into. I also really love memoirs and biographies, but I'm not sure I have a specific individual in mind that I'd focus on...I'll keep thinking about that one!

Questions: -How did the policy of apartheid affect life in South Africa? -How did the illegal diamond trades of Africa affect the lives of people and the government of Africa? -Where did the social tensions between the two cultural groups of Darfur stem from; did they begin with colonization of Africa or are they newer revelations?
 * -What were the conditions and circumstances of desertion from military service in during the Civil War?**

You might be able to read accounts of desertions to get a sense of the conditions and circumstances. One good source is the Valley of the Shadow at http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/ This resource includes letter and diaries as well as newspaper from two Civil War communities - August County, Virginia and Franklin County, Pennsylvania. You could use letter and diary entries as well as newspaper stories on desertion to pull together a report on te conditions and circumstance of desertion.

Thanks for your help!

Notes from letters/letters i've read: John and Jane Dull Married couple writing back and forth, he wants to leave, requests leave, comes back...hard time adjusting
 * http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/papers/F4055
 * The people in the towns seem to stir about as much as usual or more, and behave pretty well except that now & then women turn their backs on us, or bring up a decided pout, which as they are naturally very much uglier & coarser than ours, doesn't improve them ....in fact is a trial their faces are not equal to. (Confed talking about Yankee
 * http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/VoS/personalpapers/documents/augusta/p2dullletters.html

Diary of Nancy Emerson
 * http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/papers/EmeDiar

Evans-Siebert fam
 * http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/VoS/personalpapers/documents/augusta/p2evanssibertletters.html

Houser fam
 * http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/VoS/personalpapers/documents/augusta/p2houserletters.html

McCutchen fam
 * http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/VoS/personalpapers/documents/augusta/p2mccutchanletters.html

Iowa Michigan Royster (from NC)
 * http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/papers/F4044

"desertion" in newspaper http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/news/vs1861/pa.fr.vs.1861.06.19.xml#01 http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/news/vs1862/pa.fr.vs.1862.10.22.xml#01 http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/news/vs1862/pa.fr.vs.1862.12.10.xml#05 http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/news/vs1862/pa.fr.vs.1862.12.10.xml#05 (From General Lee)

Inquiry Project Draft 1

[|Inquiry Project draft 2.doc]

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