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Communism: A Documentary

The following short video was a semester-length extracurricular project produced by Lucas Astorian and Richard Song (both Hotchkiss '17). Their key question was, "What is communism?" with Lucas Astorian approaching the question from a philosophical direction and Richard examining the history of communism as a social movement and a governing ideology. They were particularly interested in incorporating perspectives from members of the school community in shaping their response.

The video

Q&A with Richard Song about the project

1) How did you get the idea for this project? What did you hope to learn?

I got idea of this project because I became interested in Marxism after attending Mr. Drake's "Anatomy of Revolution" class. My parents also strongly encourage me to pursue the study of communism. I hope to learn the theory of communism and its relationship with the practice. 

2) Briefly describe your process. What did you find most engaging? Most challenging?

The most engaging part of the project is definitely the exciting conversations we had with the interviewees. Their answers are far more diverse and profound than I had imagined. The most challenging part is putting all the video clips together. It is quite hard to work on the same computer with the other person.

3) What has been the response to your documentary? What reactions have you found most interesting or surprising?

People are generally impressed by the documentary with one exception, which is the surprising part. The one critic I encountered believes that Lucas and I tried to reach a conclusion too hastily without fully developing the evidence.

4) Do you have any advice for students who might want to take up a project like this in the future?

Plan ahead, because much of the work we did was not directly related to the documentary itself.
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  • Courses
    • Archived Courses >
      • Chinese History >
        • Ancient/Early Modern: Living China's History >
          • Living China's History (fall 2017) >
            • Course Information
            • Course Project
            • In-Class
            • Assignments
          • Living China's History (fall 2018) >
            • In-Class >
              • The Death of Woman Wang
            • Assignments
        • Modern: China's Fall and Rise >
          • China's Rise and Fall (spring 2019) >
            • Course Info
            • In Class
            • Assignments + Units
          • China's Fall and Rise (spring 2018) >
            • Course Information
            • In-Class
            • Assignments
        • Contemporary: Thinking about a Changing China >
          • Thinking about a Changing China (spring 2017) >
            • Course Information
            • In Class
            • Assignments
      • Global Thinking (grade 9 seminar) >
        • HS150 Course Information
        • HS150 In-Class
        • HS150 Assignments
      • Japanese History >
        • Japan's Empire and its Legacies (fall 2016) >
          • Course Information
          • Daily Review
          • Schedule >
            • JE Unit 1
            • JE Unit 2
            • JE Unit 3
            • JE Unit 4
            • JE Unit 5
            • JE Unit 6
          • Research >
            • Issues of History
            • Research Schedule >
              • Checkpoint #2: Annotated Bibliography
              • Checkpoint #3: Outline
              • Checkpoint #4: Supplemental Pages
      • U.S. History >
        • Humanities History (2017-18) >
          • Course Information
          • In-Class
          • Assignments
        • Humanities History (2016-17) >
          • Course Information
          • In Class
          • Assignments >
            • U1: The American Revolution & the Constitution
            • U2: Defining the Nation
            • U3: 19th Century Social & Cultural Transformations >
              • Cemetery Project
            • U4: A House Divided
            • U5: Industry & Empire
            • U6: Progressive Promise & Disillusion
            • U7: Global Conflicts
            • U8: Civil Rights & Human Rights
      • More Course Descriptions
  • Skills
    • Reading >
      • Active Reading
      • Advanced Reading Strategies (Upper Mids and Seniors)
      • Outlining for Reading
      • Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources
      • Analyzing Primary Sources with SOAPSTone
      • Analyzing Visual Primary Sources
      • Selecting & Evaluating Secondary Sources
    • Thinking >
      • What is History?
      • Historical Thinking Chart (PDF)
      • Breaking Down History with the SPICE Factors
    • Discussing >
      • Engaging in Class Discussion
      • Evaluating Discussion
    • Researching >
      • Identifying Research Topics & Questions
      • Note Cards
    • Writing >
      • Zero Draft
      • Thesis Statements
      • Forming Counterarguments
      • Formatting Chicago-Style Papers
      • Ford Library Guide to Chicago-style Citations (PDF)
    • Tech Tips
  • Reference
    • Chinese History Tools
    • Further Reading in Asian Studies >
      • Books
      • News
      • Podcasts
    • Current Events around the World
  • About
    • About
    • Writing