User:Tjohns35/Choose an Article

Topic #1: 1905 Russian Revolution/1917 Russian Revolution
Overview: While the pages themselves are quite detailed and show much of the motivation behind these two events, I found some of the information pertaining to the connection of these two events to be lacking. That’s not to say that there is no mention of motivation, the article does certainly make mention of how Tsar Nicholas II was largely dismissive of the problems of Russian citizen’s welfare, preferring to dedicate his time and attention to family matters (such as his ill son) and posturing himself as a great patriarchal Russian figure. It also does state numerous times across both articles that the 1905 Russian Revolution was key in bringing about the 1917 Revolution, but it fails to demonstrate how with historical documentation. This gap is precisely what I aim to fill in one of the two pages, more likely the former as it lacks a clear “outcomes of the revolution” section.

= Citation #1 & #2: = Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.

Steinberg, Mark D. The Russian Revolution, 1905-1921. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.

Explanation: Both feature a continuous history of Revolutionary struggles in Russia between the start of the 1905 Revolution and end of 1917 Revolution. Will likely be useful in examining what key factors differed between the two events, what parts overlapped, and how the “half-victory” of the 1905 Revolution eventually resulted in the 1917 Revolution occurring.

= Citation #3: = Schmermund, Elizabeth, and Judith Edwards. Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Revolution. New York, NY: Enslow Publishing, 2016.

Explanation: Biographical Work on Vladimir Lenin, one of the key persons necessary in understanding both events

= Citation #4: = Kowalski, Ronald. The Bolshevik Party in Conflict: The Left Communist Opposition of 1918. London: MacMillan, 1991.

Explanation: Looks at the growing power of the Bolshevik party, mostly in the context of Russia post 1905 Revolution and then in more depth in 1917 Revolution

= Citation #5: = Gay, Kathlyn. The Aftermath of the Russian Revolution. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books, 2009.

Explanation: Detailed look into the October manifesto and the changes that resulted from its drafting and signing by the Tsar. Will likely be looked at in the context of how its systems failed or did not go far enough to appease the Russian proletariats.

Topic #2: Cold War
Overview: The Wikipedia page on the Cold War has the difficult task of trying to summarize an enormously far reaching world wide conflict of superpowers into a coherent article that never delves too deeply into any one part and loses focus of the great conflict. That being said, I still believe that the Space Race section on the Cold War wikipedia page has far too little information on the competition between nations on display here and specifically how this competition relates both to the Cold War as a whole. The current section on the space race is only a few brief sentences and does little more than simply describe a few of the major milestones without providing much context on how the ideological differences between the nations shaped this race and what the outcomes of this race truly were both in terms of matters of national security and perceived National standing.

Citation #1:
Cadbury, Deborah. Space Race: The Battle to Rule the Heavens. New York: Harper Perennial, 2007.

Explanation: General overview of history of Space Race covering major events and public perspective

Citation #2:
Gainor, Christopher. “The Nuclear Roots of the Space Race.” Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology, 2020, 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95851-1_3.

Explanation: Focuses largely on the overlap of technologies between ICBMs and the Space Race program. Draws connections between importance of Space Race technology and US-Soviet military capabilities and tension.

Citation #3 & 4:
Erickson, Andrew S. “Revisiting the U.s.-Soviet Space Race: Comparing Two Systems in Their Competition to Land a Man on the Moon.” Acta Astronautica 148 (2018): 376–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.04.053.

and

Brown, Trevor. “The American and Soviet Cold War Space Programs.” Comparative Strategy 30, no. 2 (2011): 177–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/01495933.2011.561736.

Explanation: Broader look into both the American and Soviet programs, specifically focusing on how the programs differed from one another in terms of methodology and resources.

= Citation #5: = Siddiqi, Asif A. Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945-1974, 2000.

Explanation: Look into the Soviet Union’s space race program, covering major team members, structure of assets, and major milestones.

Topic #3: Maoism
Overview: Originally after reading through the article on Maoism, I was rather surprised with the lack of information presented on Mao's endorsement of violence as a means of bringing about social change. I decided that the area of this article that should include more information on this topic should be the Cultural Revolution section. This section does bring forward some challenges as an editor, namely trying to remain objective when speaking on such a controversial part of Maoism. Personally I find many of the acts committed in the name of the Cultural Revolution to be deplorable, however I should obviously to limit how this bias will impact my editing as much as I possibly can. I will try to lean into rationale, major events, statistics, and outcome in order to present this information in as an objective manner as I can. I believe that much of the work will essentially be taking information already present in the Cultural Revolution Wikipedia article that relate more broadly to Maoism, and synthesizing it to be more concise.

Citation #1:
Brown, Jeremy, and Matthew D. Johnson. Maoism at the Grassroots Everyday Life in China's Era of High Socialism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015.

Explanation: While I already possess a serviceable amount of background information and understanding of the philosophy of Maoism from the readings provided in this course, this article should serve as a good reference for the tenants that make up Maoism when the connection to the cultural revolution is made.

Citation #2:
Walder, Andrew G., and Yang Su. “The Cultural Revolution in the Countryside: Scope, Timing and Human Impact.” The China Quarterly, no. 173 (2003): 74–99. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20058959.

Explanation: Examines the impact of the Cultural Revolution on the rural parts of China as opposed to the more often examined impact it had on urban environments. My hope with this source would be to tie this information into a greater view on Maoism, as Mao's ideology has always centered around the rural Chinese communities.

Citation #3:
Russo, Alessandro. Cultural Revolution and Revolutionary Culture. Duke University Press, 2020.

Explanation: Looks at Cultural Revolution step-by-step, examining each of the four phases of it and emphasizing its role as a political experiment. Should serve well as a justification element for Maoist rationale.

Citation #4:
Goldblatt, Howard. China Review International 12, no. 1 (2005): 170–73. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23732589.

Explanation: Delves into the theory behind the Cultural Revolution, both the outwardly projected intent behind the movement and the more "between the lines" extrapolations that historians have arrived at. Should hold valuable information as to the justification of the violence committed and help connect Maoism and the Cultural Revolution

Citation #5:
“Chronology of Mass Killings during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).” Sciences Po portal, August 25, 2011. https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/chronology-mass-killings-during-chinese-cultural-revolution-1966-1976.html.

Explanation: Scholarly resource for obtaining statistics on specific events that occurred in the Cultural revolution and what the total number of casualties were.