THE IDEA OF PROGRESS

GETTING READY FOR THE ORAL EXAM

A POSSIBLE PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGY

(une problématique)

THE LAYOUT

You are expected to come up with

• A general presentation of PROGRESS (not too long, please!)

• A more specific approach to the documents studied in classAnd your personal views, impressions on them

• A personal conclusion

Introduction

• From time immemorial, ever since the discovery of fire or the invention of the wheel,

progress has always been the incentive that has caused civilisation as we know it to move

forward

(quote a few examples)

EXAMPLES

• Electricity • Vaccination • Steampower• Computers

• The 4 stroke engine• Aviation

• Nuclear energy

• In class, we studied a film aboutAmelia Earhart

the famous American Aviatrix who

disappeared bla bla bla

WHO WAS SHE?

• A rapid biography• The role she played in women’s emancipation

in the US

• Speak about the film, what you like or didn’t like etc ..

AMELIA AND PROGRESS

• In terms of progress, the role she played was twofold

• 1/ Women’s emancipation• 2/ Technical progress

Women’s emancipation

• She was a role model for American teenagers • Paved the way for the famous WASPS (Women

Airforce Service Pilots) who ferried airplanes from base to base or tested powerful airplanes fresh off the assembly lines

Industrial and technical progress

• Helped Eugene Vidal set up America’s commercial aviation industry

• Tested the technical limits of her Douglas Electra and made of Douglas one of America’s

mots popular aircraft manufacturers

THE AMELIA PROJECT

For the final assessment, we had the choice between 14 tasks, among which (parmi

lesquelles)1234

Reason of your choice

• I chose .. because …

THE HIGH AND LOW POINTS

• The low points

• I had difficulty - ing

• The high points

• I enjoyed –ing

• etc

What the others did

• I was particularly impressed by • …..

Personal feedback

• What I wish I had done• What I regret not doing

• What I will do the next time we’re given such a task

• But in recent years, mainly because of new tecnologies, the gap between the haves and the have-nots has been widening dramatically so much so that progress is being questioned wordlwide.

• examples

• So we can wonder whether it is not time to pause and weigh the pros and cons of

progress.

The road to sustainability:Progress or regress?

• Some politicians and thinkers advocate a policy of retrogression in order to help to solve a certain number of problems like the depletion of fossil fuels or pollution.