Kyle Moore's Page

This semester has definitely showed me the uses of digital media in the field of social studies. Since my plans in the future include teaching high school social studies, I hope to utilize the work we have done in the class this semester, in my lessons. While we won't be able to do most of the things we've done in this course, they certainly have helped me to think of new ways to teach the material I'm trying to get across to the students. Students (especially the younger they are) like fresh ap… Continue

Jared Diamond poses an interesting hypothesis in his book Guns, Germs, and Steel. He tries to place environmental pressures and habitats as one of the primary reasons why certain groups of humans advanced technologically and socially while others remained in earlier states of development. Eurasia for example had a huge advantage over other locales on the planet due to the number of suitable plants and animal species for agriculture. Eurasia had 13 large animals domesticated, while North A… Continue

While I admit, many myths about early America have been debunked and proven false by scholars and historians, I find it unusual that Ferguson feels Horwitz is going over old territory. For most Americans, it's completely new information, which they haven't ever heard before. In Hollywood films of old, and new, scalping is a distinctly Native American activity. It fits in with their typically shown savage nature. Where in reality their tactics and actions were normal and familiar to their brethre… Continue

The United States was plunged into World War II and out of the Great Depression by the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. With over 3,600 casualties, it is one of the more prominent American memories. Mostly because it was so overwhelmingly devastating and sudden, but also because it propelled this country to the position it sits today. It became a matter of great national and familial pride to enlist on a scale unlike previously. Women entered the work place by the droves, and rationing and victo… Continue

While I'm not surprised in the least that films such as Glory and Amistad were among the most used, I am a bit shocked at the numbers. I don't think I ever had a history teacher who used a portion of a film a week. MAYBE once every two weeks, but never every week. The films were used as rewards for finishing a section, or as icing on the cake at the end of the year. A few of the films were actually used to lead into course work, but then there were also the times we watched a film… Continue