Historiat

Finished Finals—

Summer 2013

Fakespeare?

End of the World?

Shaking Foundations

Who Cares?A different way to look at history

Social (Media) Justice

San antonio aquiferS

The power of a “like”

Your next drop of water

pg 19

pg 7

The Cyrus Cylinder Ancient Persia

Explore the remaining relics of the Cyrus the Great, the innovative and progressive leader who founded the Achaemenid Empire.

June 20-August 4, 2013At the Metropolitan Museum of Art

17 works includ-ing the Cyrus Cylinder (above) and the Lion of Babylon (right) will be on display.

Historia|2

Letter From the Editors

Social (Media) Justice

End of the World

Shaking Foundations

Who Art Thou Shakespeare?

Finished Finals—Who Cares?

San Antonio Aquifers

Biographies

Phot

o cr

edit:

Cre

ativ

e C

omm

ons L

icen

se a

nd H

istor

ia S

taff

45

15182022

127

What were we thinking?

Who are the staff?

How should we look at and learn history?

Is the Shakespeare we know an imposter?

Can clicking a “like” button change the world?

Was the Mayan calendar predicting the Apocalypse?

Where do our ideological foundations come from?

Why is the Edwards aquifer important?

Table of Contents

Historia|3

Historiat

Dear Readers,

Welcome to Historia, a compilation of interesting facts, astounding feats, mind-blowing philosophies, and everything in between. This month: an in-depth analysis of slacktivism and its ability to actually

ignite change. Then, an overview of the geological foundations and history of the area now occupied by Austin, Texas. And lastly, explore a problem that has plagued American society since its inception—education. Or, you can read about the mysteries of Shakespeare, the mythical apocalypse supposedly predicted by the Mayan Calendars, and ideas that have changed the world.

So sit back and enjoy the issue,

The Historia Staff

Bridging the gap between the past and the present to envision the future

Photo credit to Historia Staff

4|Historia

Napat Dawkrajai goes by the nickname Ink. He attended Kealing Middle School for sixth through eighth grade, and he is currently attending the Liberal Arts and Science Academy.

His interests include reading, watching videos on Khan Academy, and swimming. He is also currently enrolled in a UT longhorn swimming team. His hobbies include swimming as well as playing the violin. His favorite class so far at LASA is Algebra Two With Proofs.

I saac Cui attended Summa South Academy, a middle school in Oregon, from sixth to eighth grade. He is currently attending the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. His interests

include reading, learning about history, debate, soccer, gaming, and music. He enjoys playing guitar and his favorite band is OneRepublic. His favorite class is World Geography, taught by Mr. Loewenstern.

T homas Crain attended Gorzycki Middle School in Southwest Austin, Texas in sixth through eighth grade. He is currently a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science

Academy. His interests include reading, math, Quiz Bowl, electric guitar, and technology. He is also an eagle scout in boy scouts.

Contributors

Photo credit to Thomas Crain and Isaac Cui

Historia|5

Tramex TravelWe Make It Easy!

This summer, take a relaxing trip to the Eternal City, Rome, the most historic city in all of Europe. Visit the Colosseum, a miracle of ancient architectural skill and engineering, Saint Peter’s Basilica, the majestic church built in the Late Renaissance, or the Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant’Angelo, tomb of Emperor Hadrian. Just sign up and we’ll take care of everything—after all, we make it easy!

Est. 1984

Sign up anytime from June 20 through August 18, 2013!

6|Historia

THIRSTY?

Photo by author

by N. Dawkrajai

Historia|7

From the Edwards Aquifer Website, it was recorded that the City of Austin spends billions of dollars

per year to treat their water to a quality that changes to a healthy quality for drinking, but San Antonio saves billions of dollars due to the natural filtration of the Edwards Aquifer. This shows that the Edwards Aquifer is one of the hidden gifts that the Central Texas region contains. This information taken from the San Antonio Water Systems. “Edwards water is drinkable straight from the ground.” said Gregg Eckhardt, an environmental scientist and a senior analyst for the San Antonio Water Systems. Over a million people in San Antonio depend on the steady flow of the Edwards Aquifer, and even some Austinites depend on Edward’s discharge. The aquifer stretches for over 1,200 square

miles, and it took multiple centuries that formed and perfected the Edwards Aquifer into the water table that we see it today. As most central Texas inhabitants has experienced, the recent drought dried both the Edwards Aquifer and multiple lakes of the region, and this drought has affected the millions of people who depend on the aquifer for a steady supply of water. But before we explore how such a large city depends on a single basin, we should explore how an aquifer works in the first place. “One should not think of the Aquifer as a vast underground pool. Rather, think of it as a saturated sponge with pipes.” said Eckardt, The aquifer perfectly fits this picture because of the honeycomb-like limestone that composes the majority of the basin. So, the honeycomb limestone structure would fit into the

idea of a saturated sponge because of the capability of both the limestone and a sponge to greatly retain water. The pipes however, are the plethora of creeks that, when flooded, will overflow into 40 foot long holes that lead into the Edwards itself. Austin lies in between the Edwards recharge and contributing zones. The contributing zone leads water though creeks, lakes, and rivers into the recharge zone. This portion of the water, “recharges the Edwards”.

“The key to why the Edwards is a good aquifer lies in the fact that the limestone exposed itself, and the limestone became extensively eroded, and then covered over again with new limestone formations.” Eckhardt said. But this repetitive process took place millions and millions of years ago, back to a time when the Gulf of Mexico dried up. This

One of the creeks that is the product of the the Edward’s flow

8|Historia

Photo by author

Antonio and Hueco Springs) because the water gets trapped in this area of the aquifer. The majority of the flourishing springs lie in the Eastern area because of the much greater frequency of caves than that of the Western region of the Edward’s. But what how did the recent drought crippled the central Texas region and the aquifer today? The current water levels in the Edwards Aquifer has been below average, but the water levels have, “not yet approach[ed] historic lows from the 1950s,” Eckhardt said. The historic lows that Eckhardt talks about occurred in 1956, where the water level was at 612 gallons. Today the Edwards contains an estimate of 648 gallons. However, do not be dismayed, the numbers that the San Antonio Water Systems has posted for the water level of the aquifer is only an estimate because due to the aquifer’s multiple crevices, it becomes nearly impossible to get an accurate water level reading of the Edwards. But the water levels of Edwards have also been subjected to over pumping for agricultural purposes. “Rapid urbanization of Central Texas poses two primary threats to the aquifer: over pumping and contamination,” the Save Our Springs Alliance’s website on Threats [of the aquifer] said, an Edwards Aquifer preservation group. Already, there have been accounts of reduced spring flow in the San Antonio springs as well as the majority of the southern Edwards itself. Military, agricultural, and municipal purposes led to the reduced flow of the southern Edwards region. The pumping begins in the northern portion of the Edwards, and these pumpings are unregulated by the government because of . “ Without restrictions, aquifer and spring levels are at risk of dropping severely,” the Save Our Springs Alliance’s website on Threats [of the aquifer] said. And this becomes the consequence of the major water table that easily accessible by many of the people in the area. “Increased numbers of residential subdivisions over the aquifer has led to increases in fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and other house hold chemicals that wash off of lawns and end up in the aquifer and springs.” The Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance said

that is partially water with all of the water filling up half of the plate. Then imagine moving the water in the plate back and forth in a manner that the water covers roughly half of the plate when the plate is not moving. This recession of water allowed for the majority of the springs to lie in the East of the Edward’s region (San

allowed for a much more weathered and porous rock base that later became the aquifer. But over time, movements of plate tectonics shifted in a way where the northern area of Texas rose from the sea, and then the previous water moved back to the region that we call the Gulf today. In other words, try to imagine a plate

“The Edwards provides treatment that would

otherwise cost us billions of dollars.”

Gregg EckhardtHistoria|9

on their website on pollution. Then after these chemicals end up into the Edwards which will then in turn will end up into your sink or your water bottles from San Antonio. Yet these problems do not end all of the problems that Edwards Aquifer has to go through. Increased urbanization led to a blockage of some recharge zones of the Edwards Aquifer. Urbanization led to this blockage be preventing any of the runoff recharge into the aquifer because most roadways do not contain any sort of water quality controls. “The Aquifer has a tremendous capacity to stabilize organic wastes and other pollutants; in fact, San Antonio is the only major city in the world that does not have to treat water before distribution,” Eckhardt said. And even with the aquifer acting like a gargantuan filtration device, the Edwards does not have the capability to filter everything that the central Texas region has to throw at it. “The Edwards Aquifer Ecosystem of Central Texas is one of our most valuable, irreplaceable and endangered public treasures.” the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance said. And this shows that the Edwards is a great treasure of Central Texas and it will remain for many generations to come.t

“The Edwards Aquifer Ecosystem of Central Texas is one of our most valuable,

irreplaceable and endangered public treasures.”

Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance

10|Historia

Inner Space Caverns

Wander deeper into HISTORY...

In Pitch Black

Historia|11

SHAKING FOUNDATIONS Nothing is more dangerous than an idea.

Revolutions start with the mind. Ideas are the seeds of change, the forerunners of revolution, the basis of societal evolution. Remember that what changes the world was born in the mind first. We bring you five ideas that changed the world today.

“Our vision is nothing less than... [driving] a new era of DEVELOPMENT, growth, and productivity.”- Creative Commons 2

Universal access to research, education, and culture is made possible by the Internet, but our legal system does not allow us to realize that. Copyright was created long before the Internet, and is outdated to the vision we as a society need to acheive. Copyleft is the opposite of copyright- you give up the rights to your work to make them more accessable to the public. People now don’t have to fear getting a court summons for copy/pasting text from the Internet.

“UNITY between the individual and the mass” -Che Guevara 1

Che Guevara felt that close integration between the government and the people would help the government understand their desires, which is the philosophy he used to help incite revolution against an apathetic government in Cuba. The government he helped form still stands.

“You can’t exist as a HUMAN BEING in isolation.”-Desmond Tutu 3

Ubuntu is the humanist philisophical concept that means “I am who I am because of who we all are”. It originated in sub-Saharan Africa to embody the sprit of brotherhood. Economist Tim Jackson promotes this as a philosophy that suppoort a sustainable future. Ubuntu changed the world because it sparked a revolution of interconnectedness that brought everyone together and generally created a new wave of generosity for humanity.

by T. CraiN

12|Historia

“If Copernicus’ proposal had had no CONSEQUENCES outside astronomy, it would have been neither so long delayed nor so strenuously resisted.”-Thomas Kuhn 6 7

Copernicus’s proposal that the Earth revovled around the Sun had greater impacts outside of astronomy than you may think. The eventual win of his theory over the teachings ofRoman Catholic Church paved the way for its downfall as a scientific authority. After a while, no one‘s scientific discoveries would remain covered by the scrutiny of the church.

“Workers of the world UNITE; you have nothing to lose but your chains!” -Karl Marx 4 5

Communism strives to acheive a classless society, eliminating the barrier between the poor workers (proletariat) and the rich (bourgeoise). It isn’t hard to see why the proletariat would want to overthrow the chains of capitalism for a comfortable life under communism. Communist fever spread through many countries, such as Russia, China, and Cuba, and revolutions began. Communism has a bad reputation today because it quickly spiraled into totalitarianism, sparking political wars.

Sources: 1 http://www.marxists.org/archive/guevara/1965/03/man-socialism.htm2 http://creativecommons.org/about3 http://svenworld.com/2010/03/18/desmond-tutu-no-person-is-an-island/4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxism5 http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch04.htm6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_affair7 Kuhn, Thomas S. The Copernican Revolution: Planetary Astronomy in the Development of Western Thought. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1957. 94. Print.Art Credit: http://vector4free.com/vectors/id/28

Historia|13

Timbuk2 Bags

Going wherever you go14|Historia

Battle of Hakata Bay1274 Magna Carta

Texas Republic

Invasion of Poland

1939

Battle of Vienna

1683

Publication of Newton’s Principia

1687

You’ve probably been forced to memorize all of the above dates at one point in time, but they most

likely don’t mean much to you anymore. While in the past, history curriculums have very much been in this memorization-based format, today, at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA), history and social studies class is different. LASA World History teacher Maricruz Aguayo-Tabor, having taught twelve years, prefers a different route than straight-up memorization. “World History was the first time lots of people enjoyed history,” she said, “because we look at patterns and critical thinking over memorization.” She believes that history class’ most important aspect is its ability to teach critical thinking. Similarly, LASA World Geography, Facing History, and Contemporary Issues teacher Neil Loewenstern, a teacher for seventeen years, said that understanding different countries’

situations and how they got there, and thus ultimately understanding their history, requires critical thinking, the ability to think reflectively and contextually to decide the best action to take. History class of the past was very much the opposite. As LASA Principal Stacia Crescenzi recounts, names, dates, and facts comprised of nearly the entire history curriculum in her day. Rather than taught with skepticism, history represented the truth, and only the teacher’s perspective mattered in class. However, in 2012, the Texas GOP wrote that “We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills ... critical thinking skills and similar programs ... which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s

fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.” At LASA, curriculums involve more enrichment and contextualization. As Aguayo-Tabor says, her job requires her to present multiple sources to learn the how

people thought and why they decided to do what they did, given such a situation. Similarly, Loewenstern recognizes that simply reading about history doesn’t always work, and instead, offers supplemental activities, such

as simulations, to help the information sink in better. Teachers find difficulties, however, between the need to teach both an overarching chronology of history while still analyzing it. “One problem I’ve always had with World History [is] you’re trying to teach so much stuff, that

1066Norman Invasion of England

1492Columbus’ Voyage to the New World

1803

Louisiana Purchase

476Fall of the Western Roman Empire

1798French Revolution

1961

399 BCEDeath of Socrates

1863

Battle of Gettysburg

1806Return of the Lew

is and Clark

Expedition

STory aND imageS by i. Cui

“We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills ... which ... have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.”Texas GOP

Bay of Pigs Invasion

1961Creation of the Berlin Wall

121518

36Finished finals—who cares?

2013

Historia|15

it can be difficult, but it’s been known, in teaching history, that you should go deeper into fewer things rather than do a massive survey and give basic facts and dates about something,” Loewenstern said. “That’s been the challenge with curriculum and teaching, and sometimes you have to chose one or another. Generally, the better choice is to go deeper so that you foster critical thinking rather than knowledge.” Students often agree with this sentiment. LASA Freshman Niels Kornerup said he prefers learning analytically because “with a more interactive approach, [history] sticks better and actually adds meaning to it; just learning when something happened doesn’t tell you anything about today and whether or not it was a good decision.” Similar to Kornerup’s opinion, LASA Junior Zachary Feinberg finds that a strictly-memorization approach doesn’t help him educationally. “I don't think I'm really learning the information to stay, just studying for the test the day before ... then forgetting it,” he said, “and I feel like if the material was taught in a more memorable and ... creative way then it would actually retain.” To both, raw knowledge can hold some kind of use, but they find that contextualization and interactivity helps them actually grasp the knowledge. LASA Freshman Andreas Toprac, however, believes that knowledge about the past isn’t actually that important, because, while people can learn from mistakes of the past, he doesn’t see much overall practicality. LASA Freshman Chloe Edmiston, on the contrary, disagrees. She believes that history allows people to look at the world from a wider perspective, “I think history is actually practically applicable today because it allows us to look into the past and see how that affects the future and how past cultures are diffusing or combining with other cultures and creating a world culture not just an individualized culture.” Furthermore, she thinks that history plays a large part in many careers, and thus, even if history itself wouldn’t alone suffice as a career, its implications for other careers still

makes it useful. History, like any other subject, is viewed in both positive and negative ways by students. Not everyone enjoys math class, and similarly, not everyone enjoys history. Crescenzi, however, believes in the core need for history. “I think the students who are involved in history as something other than just a class, who participate in Model UN for example, they recognize beyond the practicality of history, but the essential nature of understanding where everyone’s come from,” said Crescenzi, “because

without that, you can’t hold interactions with other cultures. I think sometimes [students] don’t recognize how essential it is until they are confronted with the situation.” Ultimately, as she said, studying history nurtures and

allows students to understand and function in a globalized world. This type of global education can arise through a multicultural, critical, and immersive curriculum. According to the 2011 social studies Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards for 6th graders, administered by the State Board of Education (SBOE), students must understand that historical events influence contemporary events, trace characteristics of contemporary societies from historical events, and to understand the influence of individuals

and groups on society (section 113.18, part b). In the same section, the SBOE mandated that students will “study people and societies of … Europe, Russia and the Eurasian republics, North America, Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Southwest Asia-North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Realm.” The 7th grade standards transition from this wider view towards only Texas history (section 113.19, part a). Lastly, 8th graders are expected to learn about U.S. history (section 113.20, part a). While the 6th grade standards reflect a worldwide view, the rest of middle school, according to these standards, history focuses on Texas and US history. Kornerup’s middle school education followed these standards, and he said that his curriculum had been largely Texas and US history. Similarly, Toprac notes that throughout elementary school and seventh grade, nearly all of his curriculum was about Texas history. He didn’t take World History until 8th grade. LASA freshman Esteban Guevara said that he learned only US and Texas history (note that, while the incorporation of these standards occurred in 2011 and thus after the students had finished 6th grade, earlier standards adopted in 2009 mandated the same core curricula). So even if the legislature mandated certain curricula, teachers often have flexibility in terms of what to teach. However, many students said that their education

“If you were trying to teach American history as an inevitable thing, like Manifest Destiny, you’re missing huge aspects of why America is the way it is.”Maricruz Aguayo-Tabor

In LASA English teacher Andi Brosche’s room, students participate in a mock Anglo-Saxon feast to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the epic Beowulf, the context of the story, and the culture behind it.

16|Historia

consisted of mainly Texas history. Edmiston thinks that Texas based history doesn’t work well in terms of education, saying that, while the curriculum looked at things that changed Texas, it didn’t teach much about the effects that Texas has made upon the world. “It was too specific to Texas, we could’ve looked at other things that had to do with Texas’ influence,” she said. Kornerup shares a similar sentiment, saying “the thing about taking Texas history is that there’s not that much that goes on, and you notice that the teacher starts to run out of curriculum and

meaningless battles, whereas now I’m in 9th grade and I don’t know anything about the European conflicts like the War of the Roses and Battle of Waterloo, and I don’t know how they led up to America.” The practicality of this state-centric education is also disputed between students. On one hand, Edmiston and Kornerup believe that Texas history isn’t that useful for education. Toprac, on the other hand, disagrees and said, while comparing Texas history to World history, “I prefer Texas history because it’s more centered to our past than the world’s past ... it’s about where we are now.” Crescenzi also notes that, stressing Texas history doesn’t disallow a worldwide view, because Texas’ history consists of interactions between many different cultures, and Texas affects the world greatly as well. Loewenstern believes that the method of teaching determines the role of the curriculum. According to the TEKS, students, throughout Kindergarten-12th grade, must “build a foundation in history … [that] enables students to understand the importance of patriotism, function in a free enterprise society, and appreciate the basic democratic values of our state and nation.” Loewenstern believes that there exists a fine line between when history should be used for patriotism and when it should be used to foster critical thinking. “If it’s taught for indoctrination, just to foster patriotism, it has its time

and place, but by the time of middle school, more critical thinking and questioning should be made against the history of governments, because we don’t want to create a non-thinking population that is willing to swallow propaganda. At the same time, civil competence is important.” Crescenzi notes that Texas history curriculums almost entirely comprise of state-centric education, particularly in the younger grades. Aguayo-Tabor thinks that this plagues the quality of education, however, as these types of curriculums “only give one perspective of history...

It also creates a narrative that can’t sustain itself—if you were trying to teach American history as an inevitable thing, like Manifest Destiny, you’re missing huge aspects of why America is the way it is. When you teach from one perspective, you miss a large part of it, and that’s a big problem with other countries and their education systems.” Hence, the curriculum can also become a balance between indoctrination and critical thinking. The Texas GOP, as noted before, stated that they oppose critical thinking because they challenge the students’ fixed beliefs. The teachers and administration endorse critical thinking for exactly that reason, because they believe in its necessity for fostering the readiness of a student for a globalized world. As such, they also argue that history necessitates a skeptical point of view. As Loewenstern said, “History is written from the perspective of the writers ... there’s always cultural bias that we can’t get away from because we’re writing history from our perspective in our language.” Similarly, Aguayo-Tabor believes that students should always view history as a skeptic, because there are always multiple points of views. Crescenzi also agrees, but noting that skepticism is not“ ... saying one person’s perspective is untrue versus another’s but it’s to understand five people can get a different perspective of how an event happened.” This wider, more contextual

view allows students to become immersed in history, and, ultimately creates an environment that cultivates critical thinking and understanding. Traditional education, in the end, cannot foster perhaps the most important skill that history can teach—critical thinking. Teachers, like Aguayo-Tabor and Loewenstern, believe that it is the best skill that can be obtained from history because it not only teaches one to doubt but also to contextualize events and trends in history. Students, such as Feinberg and Edmiston, find analyzing more engaging and helpful

for understanding history. And the administration often finds that this method of teaching helps to foster the develop a student for the globalized world of the 21st century. The more modern social studies curriculum at LASA creates a better atmosphere to build these skills than a traditional curriculum, and only through critical thinking can history really mean something and become applicable to students’ lives. As Crescenzi said, “facts should be taught as a way to understand people and the history of cultures and their decisions and how their decisions affect today, and how your decisions or our decisions are going to affect people 200 years from now.” t

“Now I’m in 9th grade and I don’t know anything about the European conflicts like the War of the Roses and Battle of Waterloo, and I don’t know how they led up to America.”

Niels Kornerup

Historia|17

Oh Shakespeare, Shakespeare, Who Art Thou

Shakespeare is arguably one of the most influential literary figures in the history of the English language. Regarded as the greatest writer of all time, Shakespeare’s plays are treasures of the English language. A quick look at any of his masterpieces easily reveals why people still study his works today, not only in the study of English or language, but also in the study of

philosophy, history, and moreover, simply for entertainment. Yet, some have questioned the “real” William Shakespeare’s ability to write such elegant poems and plays despite his lack of educational background. We at Historia have decided to investigate one of these claims, commonly known as the Oxfordian theory, which holds that Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, wrote the plays traditionally attributed to William Shakespeare. We then will examine its persuasiveness with respect to the Stratfordian theory, which maintains that William Shakespeare, the man from Stratford-upon-Avon, composed them.

The Stratfordian Theory holds that William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon is, indeed, the author of the works. Jumana Farouky, associate editor for Time magazine, notes that this is the theory adopted by most modern-day scholars, including academia such as Alan Nelson, professor emeritus of the Department of English at the University of California at Berkeley. Arguments against the Stratfordian theory include that the works hint towards a well-traveled, university-educated man, and that all evidence of Shakespeare’s life pointed towards a lowly merchant (of the six signatures found in his handwriting, his name was spelled four different ways). However, Shakespearean scholar Jonathan Bate argued that, while Shakespeare’s life might not match up with the plays, playwrights, in particular in that time, often wrote derivatively, and as such, he didn’t have to have experienced the things he wrote about. Stratfordians also often accuse the above argument of bigotry, saying that Shakespeare, with a simple grammar school background, could’ve written it easily with his imagination.

by i. Cui

SHAKESPEARE?

Stratfordian TheoryCourtesy of the Yale University Press

18|Historia

The Oxfordian theory maintains that Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford (born in 1550 and died in 1604) authored the plays attributed to Shakespeare. William Niederkorn, editor and blogger at the New York Times, writes that proponents of the theory point out that the Earl’s nickname, “Spear-shaker,” (which arose due to his ability at tournaments) became his pen name, Shakespeare. Well regarded as both a poet and a sportsman by contemporaries, de Vere had a prominent political career in court, indicated in the upper-class setting of many of the plays. The plays also reflect the first-hand experience of a well-traveled man, such as knowledge of Giulio Romano’s paintings, who was known mainly as a sculptor. De Vere had traveled to France and Italy, visiting cities that the plays depicted. Contemporary accounts portray de Vere as one of the finest writers of comedy in his day. Others in the support of the Oxfordian theory note that many moments of the plays could have been reflections of the Earl’s life. For instance, pirates once captured de Vere, similar to a moment in “Hamlet.” Famous advocates for theory include heavy-weights such as Mark Twain, Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles, and Sigmund Freud. However, most scholars reject the theory, arguing that Oxford could not have been the author. He died in 1604, and Stratfordians will often point to the “fact” that around 10 of the plays were published after 1604, effectively ruling him out. Oxfordians retort that nearly no proof exists that any of his plays were written after 1604. Others, such as Emma Smith (a lecturer at the University of Oxford) believe that de Vere’s writings weren’t as competent as the “Shakespearean” plays. Richard F. Whalen, in his book “Shakespeare: Who Was He,” argues that Oxford had no reason to use a pseudonym if he actually wrote the plays.

Conclusion Despite the numerous arguments from both the Stratfordian and Oxfordian sides, no conclusive answer exists as to who actually wrote the plays and sonnets attributed to Shakespeare. Arguments mostly arise from differing interpretations of the plays, and, as Farouky notes, nearly nothing about William Shakespeare’s life is agreed upon by both Stratfordians and Oxfordians. In the end, the author may be the man from Stratford, or from Oxford, or perhaps someone completely different from the time period. But alas, the debate rages on between the mainstream-Stratfordians and the “conspiracist”-Oxfordians. |

“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none” -All’s Well That Ends Well

“Good night, good night! Parting is such a sweet sorrow”

-Romeo and Juliet

“Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”-Twelfth Night

“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”-MacBeth

“If I lose mine honour, I lose myself ”-Antony and Cleopatra“Its not enough to speak, but to speak

true”-Midsummer Night’s Dream

Shakespeare’s influence is unprecedented in the English language. Take a look at these quotes and you’ll probably

(surprisingly?) recognize many of them, even though they’re almost 400 years old.

Sources1. Farouky, J. (2007, September 13). The Mystery of Shakespeare’s Identity. Retrieved

from Time website.2. Gilyeat, D. (2009, November 27). Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford: The real

Shakespeare? Retrieved from BBC Oxford website.3. Niederkorn, W. S. (2002, February 10). THEATER; A Historic Whodunit: If

Shakespeare Didn’t, Who Did? Retrieved from The New York Times website:.

Oxfordian Theory

Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery

Quotes courtesy of william-shakespeare.info

Historia|19

The next generation has more options available for activism, but are these options effective?

profile pictures; however, few to none will be inspired to pick up the picket sign and march on the steps of D.C. While our Internet actions may cause visible change, they will never be permanent unless we take action beyond the web. Just ask Joseph Kony. ” Even some high profile aid organizations push aside the potential impacts of having people like their page. UNICEF Sweden, which tends to the needs of children who can’t speak out for themselves, released a campaign which urged people to donate money, using the logic that likes do not help them at all financially. While social engagement may help them gain publicity, money is more helpful in helping them expand their programs. Malcolm Gladwell, contributor to The New Yorker, contributed his thoughts as to why the next revolution won’t be tweeted. “There are many things, though, that networks don’t do well,” said Gladwell. “Car companies sensibly use a network to

organize their hundreds of suppliers, but not to design their cars. No one believes that the articulation of a coherent design philosophy is best handled by a sprawling, leaderless organizational system. Because networks don’t have a centralized leadership structure and clear lines of authority, they have real difficulty

reaching consensus and setting goals. They can’t think strategically; they are chronically prone to conflict and error. How do you make difficult choices about tactics or strategy or philosophical direction when everyone has an equal say? However, some see it from a different angle, one where the methods used must change with a societal change in how we communicate with one another. Alex Niarkos, a student at Santa Teresa High School, says that her

slacktivist activities can have a positive impact on a cause. “Our generation and society as a whole is now based heavily upon the internet and most prominently social networking. The use of internet

Activism used to mean demonstrating outside of buildings and going to visit your

senator to show that you supported a cause. Activism took effort and high-profile activists were often heralded as public heroes. However, today’s mainstream activism activities involve sitting at a computer and clicking a like button, changing a profile picture, or retweeting a video. It’s low-effort, quick, and makes people feel good about themselves. Some compare it to the “I Like Ike” political buttons of the 1950s. However, many wonder if it’s even possible to change the world from your couch. Supporters and detractors alike call this “slacktivism”. Old-fashioned activists have deemed participants as “slacktivists”. They claim that clicking a virtual button couldn’t possibly have the same effect as, say, a protest march. Benjamin Dinovelli, a columnist for the Daily Princetonian says that “I just find it hard to believe that, as college kids, posting a new profile picture on Facebook or sharing a video is going to have a real and meaningful impact. Sure, a few might look up the two cases that were before the Supreme Court or all of your friends will change their

“Our generation and society as a whole is now based heavily upon the internet and most prominently social networking. The use of internet activism is extremely help-ful to the effect of informing people of an issue or cause.”Alex Niarkos

Old Traditions,New Technology

by T. CraiN

Art couretsy of FreeLogos.com

Historia|20

activism is extremely helpful to the effect of informing people of an issue or cause. It’s useful when the cause needs support, either monetary or otherwise, such as in the case of petitions,” Niarkos said. Social media can also be useful for the de-stigmatization of some taboo issues. Aids.gov, a US governmental organization dedicated to spreading awareness of HIV and AIDS, encourages people to use Instagram, a mobile photo-sharing app, to raise awareness and attract more people to their cause. Aids.gov is trying to open the public to conversations about the disease and eliminating the taboo that is usually associated with it. Getting people to talk about an issue is one of the first steps to rallying support for solutions. As with many social movements, there are those who participate despite doubting the effect of the movement. “I believe it doesn’t actually help anyone but with enough attention it might get the attention of someone who might consider helping. So, indirectly it could help,” said Lucas Baltisberger, a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School. Slacktivism has had both high-profile successes and failures. In March 2012, Invisible Children, a charitable organization dedicated to ending the use of child soldiers by the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, released a documentary titled Kony 2012. This documentary quickly went viral and brought the world’s attention to their cause. Slacktivists would spread this video around the internet, sharing it via social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. On Twitter, #STOPKONY was being referenced over 1,200 times per minute at its peak. Joseph Kony was also the most searched name on Google However, despite the popularity of the video, the real-life event organized by Invisible Children called “Cover the Night” was almost universally panned as a failure due to low turnout. Maybe the failure of Kony 2012 is just bad execution on the part of Invisible Children- if done differently, it might

have succeeded. On the other side of the coin, slacktivism has resolved many injustices. Change.org is a popular website used to gather signatures for online petitions. These petitions vary on their levels of success, but one of the most successful to date is “Justice for Trayvon Martin”. Trayvon Martin was a teenager

from Florida who was slain by a neighborhood watchman. When the regional government declined to press charges, Trayvon’s parents started a petition for the prosecution of the killer. At the end of the campaign, the petition had over 2 million signatures and the killer was charged with 2nd degree murder. Without this petition, there may

not have been any way for the family to attract attention to this crime in a way that would make law enforcement pay attention. For better or for worse, one question that must be asked is whether slacktivism is replacing traditional activism. A study by the Center for Social Impact Communication at Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies shows there is a correlation between slacktivist activities and doing things like volunteering their time, recruiting others for a cause, and contacting their political representatives. They actually suggest that the progression from slacktivist to activist can happen both ways- a slacktivist could be influenced by their activities to do traditional activism, but an activist is also likely to supplement their regular actions with slacktivist activities. Some say it doesn’t matter and slacktivists are just bored people signing a petition and writing statuses. Zeynep Tufekci, a sociology professor and a fellow at the Harvard Berkman Center for Internet and Society believes this. “What is called commonly called slacktivism is not at all about “slacking activists;” rather it is about non-activists taking symbolic action--often in spheres traditionally engaged only by activists or professionals (governments, NGOs,

international institutions.). Since these so-called “slacktivists” were never activists to begin with, they are not in dereliction of their activist duties. On the contrary, they are acting, symbolically and in a small way, in a sphere that has traditionally been closed off to “the masses” in any meaningful fashion.” said Tufekci on her blog. Niarkos has participated in slacktivism by sharing petitions on Facebook and spreading word of problematic events using her blog as a medium. Her motivation is different than others- she doesn’t do this to be able to congratulate herself, or to avoid guilt. “None of the activism I participate in is done with the goal of achieving a specific feeling. I feel like I’ve done what’s right for me to do in the given situation,” said Niarkos. Others, however, have other reasons for participating. Baltisberger says that when he changed his Facebook profile picture to a red equals sign to support gay marriage, he thought it would get a couple likes on Facebook until he changed it when his friends started to change theirs back. Slacktivism is often used to gain popularity among a group of people. John P. Howe, III of the Huffington Post stands between the two sides with his opinion. Howe believes that slacktivism should be used as a gateway to real-world activism.“ Tweeting about good causes doesn’t hurt -- and for young people “slacktivism” can be a good gateway toward the stirrings of a broader social consciousness. But true engagement begins by lifting your sights from your mobile device out to the world at large, and personally embracing someone in need.” t

On Change.org, hundreds of thousands of people have shown support for causes by signing virtual petitions.

Scre

ensh

ot co

uret

sy o

f T. C

rain

“True engagement begins by lifting your sights from your mobile device out into the world at large, and per-sonally embracing someone in need.”John P. Howe III

Historia|21

An easy way to imagine the layout of the Mayan Calendar is to picture 2 concentric wheels (howstuffworks.com). Then, from there we can imagine the inner wheel to represent the number of the Mayan month (13 numbers) The outer ring of the calendar represents the names that accompany the numbers in the inner ring (20 names). Finally, to decipher the Mayan Calendar we can have the inner wheel go through all of the outer ring’s names to follow the Mayans throughout their year.

As we have already experienced December, 21, 2012, we know that the world did not end. Some Mayan descendants have stated that the end of the Mayan Calendar does not mean the end of the world, but actually means a new beginning (cbsnews.com, bbc.com). Thus, the reason that the Mayans have ended their calendar on the winter solstice can be attributed to one main reason, and that is to reset the long count calendar. The Mayans created their calendar because they wanted their calendar to follow Venus around its orbit around the sun. In other words, every 260 Earth days Venus will line up with the Earth and the sun, and this became the Mayan’s basis for their calendar.

1. http://people.howstuffworks.com/mayan-calendar3.htm2. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57560400/mayan-calendar-ends-world-doesnt/3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-207870644. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/12/29/2012-news-predictions-stories-newstradamus_n_1168106.html

The end of The World?

2012 has come and gone and like any other failed apocalypse, and the ancient civilization that was most attributed to last year were the Mayans. So, in this

little diagram we will explore how to read and interpret (in a very simple fashion) the Mayan calendar.

Sources

by N. Dawkrajai

A Brief History of CAlendArs

tHe CAlendArs tHemselves

|

22|Historia

Courtesy of the Huffington Post

Historia|23

“Nescire autem quid antequam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum.

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.”

Marcus Tullius Cicero

“History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That’s why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.” Bill Watterson

“Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated

by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.”Machiavelli

“History is important. If you don’t know history it is as if you were born yesterday. And if you were born yesterday, anybody up there in a position of power can tell you anything, and you have no way of checking up

on it.” Howard Zinn

“History has rewritten itself so many times I’m not really sure how it was to begin with — it’s a bit like trying to guess the original color of a wall when it’s been repainted eight times.”

Jasper Fforde

“It might be a good idea if the various countries of the world wouldoccasionally swap history books, just to see what other people are

doing with the same set of facts. Bill Vaughan

“The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice.”

Mark Twain

Quotes courtesy of historynewsnetwork.com, goodreads.com, and brainyquote.com

24|Historia