This semester's class homepages (extra credit for all below) History 1/US History to 1876 Homepage History 3 Homepage Conflict Resolution Homepage Links we'll use this semester: History Links Service Learning Global and US Snapshots Local Snapshots Timeline of events in US history Voting resources     Office Hours:-Monday 10:15-11:10, TTh 12:10-12:40, Weds 1-2, or leave me a message at 848 4846 and we'll arrange something else. Best of all: email lhalper@garlic.com Helpful information Study skills History skills Instructor information- What do you do, dear? Reading history for fun Other classes I teach: History 2/ United States History 1876-present Homepage History 4/World History Homepage History 5 Homepage History 6 Homepage History 14 Homepage Social Science 270A Journ 10/Soc 10 Homepage Sustainability

Leah Halper's Homepage for Gavilan College students The past isn't dead. It's not even past. --William Faulkner   A poem that describes my approach to history, by an anti-fascist playwright-poet who had to flee for his life from Nazi Germany: Questions from a worker who reads by Bertolt Brecht Who built Thebes of the seven gates? In the books you will find the names of kings. Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock? And Babylon, many times demolished Who raised it up so many times? In what houses Of gold-glittering Lima did the builders live? Where, in the evening that the Wall of China was finished Did the masons go? Great Rome Is full of triumphal arches. Who erected them? Over whom Did the Ceasars triumph? Had Byzantium, much praised in song, Only palaces for its inhabitants? Even in fabled Atlantis The night the ocean engulfed it The drowning still bawled for their slaves. The young Alexander conquered India. Was he alone? Caesar beat the Gauls. Did he not have even a cook with him? Philip of Spain wept when his armada Went down. Was he the only one to weep? Frederick the Second won the Seven Year's War. Who Else won it?   Every page a victory. Who cooked the feast for the victors? Every ten years a great man. Who paid the bill? So many reports. So many questions.

Extra credit options--UPDATED PERIODICALLY--MARK YOUR CALENDARS! ALSO NOTE THAT THE OPTIONS AT THE BOTTOM ARE NOT TIMELY AND CAN BE DONE ANYTIME BEFORE December 10 (fall) and May 10 (spring.) Please note that I'm open to your history-related extra credit suggestions as well.

For History 1:

San Jose Rep--WEST COAST PREMIERE--Black Pearl Sings, September 2 - September 26, 2010 by Frank Higgins, directed by Rick Lombardo. Student seats $10-20 if we go as a group, half price otherwise. Date TBA. Can music transform pain into beauty and unite two strangers? Susannah, a white, driven ethnomusicologist for the Library of Congress, is about to find out in her quest to find authentic, pre-slavery, African-American music. When she encounters Texas prisoner Pearl Johnson, an unlikely partnership develops between the street-smart Pearl and the ambitious Susannah. It isn't long before Pearl is belting out radiant, soul-baring songs with the strength and beauty of the unaccompanied human voice. These vocal artifacts remind us of the power of music to help heal in the struggle between our collective past and the desire for individual histories. Does our past define us, and at what cost? San Jose Repertory Theatre.

Our Town by Thornton Wilder--September 24 - October 17. Wilder's beloved Our Town leads us gently back to a quieter, steadier America. Two iconic plays brought together in a bold and startling way. Pear Avenue Theatre, Mountain View.

A Mexican Christmas Carol, a world premiere of a legendary masterpiece. By Juan Antonio Ramos. November 20 - December 5, 2010S. et in a small Mexican village in the late 1800s, this new and terrifyingly gothic rendering of Charles Dickens' classic offers a uniquely Hispanic flavor of this tale of greed, redemption, and the power of the Christmas spirit. Dona Avarcia is not only the richest woman in town, she is also the greediest and, dare one say it, cruelest. Yet, on this Christmas Eve, she is about to learn the most profound lesson of her life as three spirits take her on a journey to rediscover the tragic family events that defined her past, confront the misery that surrounds her in the present, and peer into a most dark and undesirable future. Featuring ghosts and creatures from ancient Mexican legends, this new Christmas drama promises to be as chilling as it is heartwarming. Western Stage, Salinas.

FAIR TRADE. Come see a local alternative to exploitative corporate capitalism with an hour-long field trip to Morgan Hill's People and Planet store on Sat. March 27 at 10:30 a.m. Sign up in class and I'll get directions, etc., to you.

For California history:

Come see Sunset Boulevard, a classic about a big silent film star whose life collides with a struggling screenwriter. Palo Alto Players at Lucie Stern Theatre, Nov 6-21, go on your own or come with others in the class at a date TBA

For Conflict Resolution:

See class homepage for options.

History 2:

San Jose Stage Company--ON THE WATERFRONT By Budd Schulberg with Stan Silverman. Feb. 16-March 13, 2011--"It is a dazzling performance in a group show that offers not a carbon copy, but an imaginative re-invention of what is an iconic movie. It makes for a gripping piece of theatre"-The Guardian

This stunning and newly released stage adaptation by the original screenplay author departs from cinematic realism to provide a piece of dockside expressionism. The hero remains Terry Molloy, the ex-boxer and waterfront bum who takes on the corrupt union mafia. Driven by love for the sister of one of the mob's victims, and spurred on by a militant Catholic priest, he rejects the strenuous claims both of his brother and the racketeers, and testifies to the Crime Commission.

OR anyone in any history class can:

Sing an appropriate historical song for the class, after explaining its context and meaning. I have a binder full of suggestions. Or check out Gavilan's collection of African-American history films and on gay rights history.

OR anyone in any history class can:

Volunteer doing a variety of work at Indian Canyon 279 acres of canyon land for indigenous cultural revival in San Benito County. You will need to call Anne Marie Sayers, who owns the canyon, to set up times and tasks; her number is (831) 637-4238. First look around the website a bit: http://www.indiancanyon.org/ Directions: Take 101 south to San Juan/Highway 156 exit. Stay on that road 7.2 miles, then turn right on Union Road and continue 3.6 miles. At Cienega Road, turn right and continue about nine miles. You will pass the Hollister Hills Recreation Area, DeRose Winery, and Cienega School. A quarter mile past Cienega School, turn right on Grass Valley Road. Proceed 100 meters to the hilltop, and turn left on thedirt road. Pass a shed on the right, and go over a narrow concrete bridge. Veer right through the vineyard--towards the hillside--and proceed 2 miles from the cabin. You will veer left from now on at every fork until you arrive at Indian Canyon's circular driveway. You're there!

For History 1 students:See one or more of the four PBS Africans in America videos owned by the History Department. Write a few paragraphs telling me what you learned.

Anytime, and for various history classes--check with me:Visit one of the museums or historical sites on this list and complete a Museum Report Form. Return the form to me via email, and give me your museum ticket stub or other proof of your visit.

CHSA Chinese American National Museum and Learning Center-- San Francisco County , California Heritage Collection-- Alameda County ,California History Center and Foundation-- Santa Clara County , Campbell Historical Museum.--Santa Clara County , Hayward Area Historical Society--Alameda County , African American Museum and Library at Oakland.; Alameda County, Berkeley Historical Society and Museum.; Alameda County , California Genealogical Society--Santa Clara County, California Historical Society--San Francisco County, Japanese American Resource Center, Los Altos History Museum, Morgan Hill Historical Society And Museum, Museum Of The City Of San Francisco,New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum, Oakland Museum Of California, Old Mission San Jose Museum, Pardee Home Museum,Peralta Adobe And Fallon House, Presidio Museum,Ainsley House, Alameda Meyers House Museum & Garden, Alameda Museum, Berkeley Historical Society And Museum,Cable Car Museum,California Trolley And Railroad Corporation, Campbell Historical Museum,Cupertino Historical Museum, Gilroy Museum, Harris-Lass Historic Museum,Headen - Inman House, History Museum Of Los Gatos. There are also many historical sites and museums in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito County. Check with me before you go!

The Gavilan Oral History Archives

Gavilan College History

The History Scholarship at Gavilan

Financial Aid Office at Gavilan

Playwriting