Asking PBS to Ignore Slave-Owning Family Past

Ben Affleck Asked PBS to Not Televise Family Past

Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/04/19/ben_affleck_asked_pbs_to_ignore_slave_owning_family_past_in_finding_your.html

1)  How do historians get a sense of the past?  What is the most reliable evidence in genealogy?  To what degree should you trust a historian hired by PBS over one from the History Channel?  

2)  Why might Ben Affleck want to have his ancestors' activities hidden from the public?  Who might take offense if Ben Affleck has slave-owning relatives?  Why?   Why might someone be more likely to see his next movie because of his request?  Less likely?  Why might an employee at ancesty.com be excited at this news?          

3)  In what ways is genealogy connected to the Batman story?  How is this connected to science?  To the debate of whether to call the actions of Turks against Armenians 100 years "genocide" or not?    

4)  What might happen if the information was shown on TV?  What if celebrities are hesitant to go on these shows for fear of public response?

5)  To what degree are we responsible for the actions of our ancestors?  Can injustice be meaningfully forgiven many years after the fact?  

Extension Activities:

1)  Students will research their own backgrounds and pick out their most admirable ancestor and the one they might be most likely to keep hidden.

2)  Students may create a fake family tree for a favorite fictional character and describe in biographical detail two ancestors that the fictional character would want to highlight.

3)  Students can research "pedigree collapse" and describe in mathematical terms why it's virtually impossible to not be related to a random celebrity (political, movie, sports, historical)

World's Richest Man Increases Stake in New York Times

World's Richest Man Buys Stake in New York Times

(AP Photo/Christian Palma)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/14/us-new-york-times-warrants-carlos-slim-idUSKBN0KN2M820150114


1)  How is the world's richest person determined? How should wealth be determined?  What are the most important numbers in the article?

2)  Who might have differing opinions are how Slim acquired his wealth?  The average Mexican citizen?  Bill Gates?  The grand children of John Rockefeller?  The editor of the New York Times?

3)  How is Slim like Jeff Bezos?  Rupert Murdoch?  William Randolph Hearst?  How are they different?  How is this connected to your educational experience?  How is this connected to geography?

4)  How might this story be different if he was not the richest man?  What would happen if Bill Gates had increased his stake in a media company at the same time?

5)  Is your news biased?  Is it reflecting the views of a billionaire?  What are the positives and negatives of media companies being funded by very few individuals?  Is it better to read clearly biased news or no news at all?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can research how media companies (local to international) are funded and what they do with their money?  http://www.slate.com/blogs/business_insider/2015/01/14/disney_the_majority_of_their_revenue_comes_from_their_media_networks.html 

2)  Students can watch Citizen Kane and rewrite a scene (or the movie) set for today's time.