Social Position Paper PDF

Essay Structure: 1. Intro - General statement (1-2 sentences) “Like many things in this world, nationalism has often been used for good and bad. As people morph the word into something that better fits their ideology or just...

Essay Structure: 1. Intro - General statement (1-2 sentences) “Like many things in this world, nationalism has often been used for good and bad. As people morph the word into something that better fits their ideology or justifies aggression, nationalism can end up looking unrecognizable.” - Detailed source analysis -- what position does the source take? (in favour or against) what would the opposite side be? Bring up a case study, certain people, related terms. -- Demonstrate that you fully understand the source (10+ sentences) - Thesis -- your position (good, bad or both) (1-2 sentences) 2. Body Paragraphs -- 2 - Topic sentence -- what case study will be discussed in this paragraph that proves your thesis (1-2 sentences) - Detailed evidence supporting your argument/position (10+ sentences) - Concluding sentence -- remind the reader how this paragraph proves your thesis (1-2 sentences) 3. Conclusion paragraph - Restate your thesis (1-2 sentences) - Summarize the issue/source (3-4 sentences) - General statement (1-2 sentences) Research: “Nationalism is good”: The French Revolution - The French Revolution began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte - The revolution began with the french people adopting a concept of nationalism after living under a feudal, absolute monarchy for years - The feudal system made it so that the different classes in French society were incapable of developing any sense of collective belonging -- having the peasants separated from the nobles enforced the idea of class solidarity rather than collective French solidarity - Between 1715 and 1789, the French population grew from 21 to 28 million, 20% of whom lived in towns or cities -- 600,000 people lived in Paris alone -- despite increases to overall popularity, benefits were largely felt by the upper class while the living standards fell for wage laborers and peasants - When the FR beings, French people started to think of themselves as French rather than just “people of the king” separated by class - The middle class began to question their loyalty to the king -- this sparked a collective consciousness among French people -- the industrial revolution also  created a new intellectual class, the bourgeoisie, and information moved much after among peasants who now had the ability to read (printing press) - 100% of French people, who were not apart of the nobel and upper classes, supported the revolution -- bourgeoisie demanded a change to the feudal system as well as a dismantling to the absolute monarchy - French people achieved agency over their government -- all citizens were treated equally, national holiday’s (Bastille Day) and anthem were created Because of a growth in French nationalism among the lower classes, they were able to demand change and a better society for themselves. This era, dubbed the “Age of Enlightenment,” not only resulted in a growth in literacy and secular thought but it also resulted in a concept of nationalism + national unity being brought to France -- it pushed them towards revolution. “Nationalism is bad”: The Holocaust - Something like the Holocaust can only happen as a direct result to extreme nationalism or ultranationalism - The Holocaust was the genocide of European Jews during World War II, between 1941 and 1945 - Germany under Hitler killed 11 million people during this genocide -- 6 million Jews and 5 million other “undesiarables” - When hitler came to power in 1933 the Germany was suffering through implications of the Treaty of Versailles as well as the Great Depression - Using the growing popularity of German nationalism as a result of these conditions, Hitler came to prominence + promised to bring Germany back to its former glory - The Nazi Party needed a scapegoat to blame for all their issues -- they blamed the Jewish people of Europe - The Nazi’s imposed policies the heavily discriminated against the Jewish people -- in 1935 these laws, built on German ultranationalism + preservation of the Aryan race, became the “Nuremberg laws” -- September 15, 1935, Jewish people were officially excluded from public life - Germany under Hitler has two main goals: to establish “Lebensraum” or living space in the east for German populations, and the “Final Solution” to “The Jewish Question” which was the full blown systematic killing of European Jews - German ultranationalism became so strong the the government physically separated Jewish people from the German population -- put them in ghettos before being sent to concentration + extermination camps In German nationalism, the word was morphed to fit the ideals of the Nazi party as well as the growing sentiments within German society. The ways in which they were wronged in the Treaty of Versaille and the Great Depression made them develop nationalism + collective identity in the same way that French people did, however it only led them to turn their anger and resentment on an innocent group of people. Nationalism and the belief in collective identity was used to systematically kill a large number of people as well as disenfranchise generations.