Feminism+Communism

I really enjoyed reading about the evolution of feminism after the rise of communism. The changes brought on by communism promoted efforts to liberate and mobilize women. In Russia, many of the laws that were being brought to the government's attention were regarding full legal and political equality for women, marriage had become a civil procedure, divorse was legalized, illigitimacy was overruled, women didn't have to take their husbands sur-names, pregnancy leaves for working women, and women were becoming involved in the country's movement of industrialization. The leaders of Zhenotdel, which was an all women organization, really helped push the women's movements in the 1920's. From conferences to training to muslim women being able to take off their veils, it was all moving in a positive direction until the male communists ruled against it and the leader at the time, Stalin abolished Zhenotdel. China came around with the marriage law of 1950 which promoted easy divorce, free choice in marriage, etc. With help from the CCP they tried to apply the changes, and also helped to create the Women's Federation.

The Rise and Fall of Communism

The reading from this section is packed with interesting information regarding the beginnings of communism and it's spread across the world. Starting witht the Berlin Wall being breached in Germany, which was there in the first place to prevent the people of east berlin from escaping to the west, sparked the first sign of communist tyranny. Modern communism stemming from the teachings of Karl Marx, referred to the final stage of historical development when social equality and collevtive living would be most fully developed with ownership of private property. It's crazy to think that a third of the world was living in societies which were governed by communist regimes. Communism in Russia powered through in a year due to the pressure of WW1  and Russian society full of tension. The chaos of society in Russia led to the end of the Romanov dynasty which had been around for over three centuries and transformed into a social revolution. Following Russia, China was overcome by communism in 1949 and their struggles lasted for decades. China gained help from a small communist party known as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) which efforts were geared towards organizing the working class. Following the leadership of Mao Zedong, the Chinese faced an intense battle with the Japanese and were victorious in 1949. After the setteling of communism, then began the creation of socialism in the soviet union and china. Lead in the soviet union by Stalin and still under leadership of Mao Zedong in China.

Revolutions

I enjoyed reading about Zhou Enlai whose famous quote "It's too early to say" about the French Revolution just proved the crazy amount of controversies that were being started all over. I think the questions that are raised about whether or not the revolutions were really worth it and what did they really promote, bring up a valid point in this time period. For the people that actually benefited from them, they gave way to many possibilities, but in the end there was so much injustice that it was pretty much impossible to not have a revolutions. For the people that encountered the opposite outcome, these types of revolutionary changes only created more problems or "disasters". I feel like there are so many pros and cons and so many questions that can be raised from the revolutions.

"Were revolutions the product of misery, injustice, and oppresion?"

"Did the American Revolution enable the growth of the United States as an economic and political "great power?"

"Did the French Revolution and the threat of subsequent revolutions encourage the democratic reforms that followed in the nineteenth century?"

Interesting.

It's also really interesting to try learning this while sitting on the beach but hey, gotta do whatcha gotta do :)

Founders week

Today I was super shocked by all the interesting things I learned while I was on the tour with Roseanne Murphy who is one of the nuns on our campus. She took us from the library to the chapel, over through the dorms a little bit, and then down near the mansion. We went in through the library and she explained how, where, and when the school started. It was cool to learn that our school started in Oregon and eventually moved down to California.The sisters of Notre Dame started a high school in San Jose and then found the Ralston property for sale and moved to Belmont to start a four year college for women. When we went into the chapel I was super impressed to learn that the medallions in the entry way were made by sisters, and the glass in the windows were made by one of the best window makers of the twentieth century. His name is Gabriel Loyre, and all of the glass pieces in the windows are cut, not stained. Making the images even more vibrant when the sun shines through them. Another cool thing I learned was the symbol of the sisters which is a sunflower. One of the sisters would tell people that when you are down, to "always keep your eye on God even in the darkness." This sister had been watching sunflowers and realized that even on a cloudy, dark day, they still follow the sun.
It was particularly interesting to learn that the sisters of Notre Dame exist on every continent except Australia. They are spreading the word of community and doing what they can to make an impact by helping others. Many of the buildings on campus are named after sisters that have had a significant impact on the schools' existence and I think it would be a neat experience for everyone to hear the story of how our school got here and what the sisters are striving to teach all of us. As well as what they've done to provide us with this education.

Sugarrrr

Who knew sugar could be so intense! Reading the packet about the production and manufacturing of sugar was really shocking and interesting.