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Hello, this is my response to lecture 10. I never realized how date based equations become so chaotic that they would cause fear or even lead to lawsuits. The growing use of computers and programs reminds me of GPT today, and it’s interesting to imagine how the digital age slowly began to reshape how people lived without them fully realizing it at the time. I remember a TikTok where a woman described her high school experience during the rise of search engines. She explained that although technology was growing, it hadn’t affected her interpersonal relationships. Now, she notices how today’s high school experience feels overconnected, with social media becoming a major component of communication and relationships. South Africa and Nelson Mandela stood out to me because his efforts to unite the country highlight how political change is an ongoing process of healing and reconciliation. You also mention how history is personal, and I found that particularly meaningful. Hedda’s name which resembles ideas of refuge and battle reflects the struggles she endured in her life. Your great grandfather’s story of fleeing and pretending to be deaf and mute upon arriving in Belgium to hide his accent powerfully illustrates how survival often required sacrificing identity. This connects strongly to today’s world, where many migrants suppress parts of themselves to avoid discrimination. The evolution of early keyboards and typing technology made me think about how design adapts to human needs.The first versions look strange compared to modern flat keyboards. It’s interesting how today’s innovations such as raised keyboard covers for people with long nails show that technology continues to personalize itself to accommodate different users.

Hello this my response for lecture 9. The U.S. was strongly against communism, yet learning about the harmful actions it supported such as paramilitary violence, made me rethink its role during the Cold War. I never imagined how the Strategic Defense Initiative was linked to the concept of “Star Wars,” or how deeply symbolic the Berlin Wall truly was until seeing a piece of it at the Ronald Reagan Museum. Fashion, such as shoulder pads also represented women’s attempt to assert power in corporate environments dominated by men during second wave feminism. Gorbachev’s efforts to modernize the Soviet Union through reform shifted relations with the U.S. toward negotiation rather than pure hostility. I found this dynamic interesting, and when I connect it to today, I see how the current relationship between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine. While they are not directly fighting, both sides are involved through military support, political pressure, and global power struggle seen during the Cold War. I do agree with you on how hearing Hedda's story it made it feel real and raw. I’ve never got to hear about someone specifically through a decade. You described her as very out together-elegant and never seen to wear pants but this one time during the summer shows that her real essence while eating her pretzels.

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Hello, this is my response to Lecture 8. I found the idea of fashion in the 1970s really interesting and how people used clothing as a way to express themselves and resist choosing a clear political or cultural side. I can also see how this connects to today, where fashion is often used to express views about gender, sexuality, and political movements. Arab nations using oil as a weapon against the United States and Europe was also eye opening. The oil embargo and rising prices in the 1970s remind me of how countries today still use economics and trade like tariffs as a way to pressure each other. The global chaos and dependence on oil in that decade also pushed people to start thinking about alternative, nonfossil fuels. I didn’t know that Egypt had been in conflict with Israel before or that they later negotiated a peace agreement. You also mentioned terrorism and how during this period it began to appear on television which made its impact feel more immediate and frightening. I notice that we don’t hear about terrorism in the same way today maybe because the public became used to choosing a side or because the media has changed. The Stonewall Riots and their global impact on gay rights also stood out to me. They opened the door to the pride marches and LGBTQ+ activism we see today. Your story about Hedda shares a lot of struggle that often comes along with migration and identity. Her constant cooking of deviled eggs and her life of moving around even from the young age of sixteen show how personal history shapes someone’s sense of place. I thought it was meaningful that you could still see her essence even when she watched you from the window. I also didn’t know how news had to physically travel through cables in order to reach different parts of the world. This made me think about how much control governments and corporations had over what could be transmitted, and how runners were sometimes needed to move information between stations. This also connects to your point that neutrality in journalism is impossible because someone always chooses what gets shared and what gets left out. Hearing about propaganda departments in China and the fairness doctrine in Britain or Mexico also showed how dangerous journalism could be and how much pressure was placed on reporters. Today with social media like TikTok we choose what we see and the algorithm exposes us to specific sides of political issues. I notice this on my own page where I mostly see content aligned with my political views though I occasionally come across stitched videos from other parties.

Hello, this is my response to lecture 7.  I like how you are focusing on the little things that changed the world and their importance today. The DRAM chip made the market even larger and provided memory for all devices. I could not imagine if my computer were running as fast as it does now if DRAM hadn’t been invented. The major innovation Telstar 1  satellite is also another example of its small size but big impact because it connected the globe through communication. It’s quite fascinating to see how it connects with today and how we have more access to diverse forms of communication now. I did not know the internet was created in the 1960s, and it makes me think about the impact it had on people's homes, where they can see images of what was going on across the world. It’s a major change from reading things to watching videos and with the capability to respond. You also had to think about what was being put on TV and the influence it might have on the American audience. You mention how Tommie Smith and John Carlos received punishment because they raised their fist in solidarity with black power for being too political during the Olympics. Hedda, exploring her independence and began hosting parties again, while Ruth started to spend more time on her viola, shows how this second wave of feminism had affected them. It makes me think about current feminism today, with what we see in media and how many woman are comfortable with being single and are enjoying their time with their hobbies.

Script:Hello, this is my response to lecture 5. In the 1940s, the world faced the worst global wars. You mention how many people took too long to care about Jews dying, and governments were caught up in politics, something that I see going on in today's world. Travel and trade were disrupted, and countries had to take sides reminds me of how we have similar conflicts where tariffs are impacting the distribution of goods. Germany created complex codes, which I found interesting because Britain required people like mathematicians and chess players to help break them. We also see how Japan surrendered after the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb, showing the world that nuclear weapons should never be used again. Yet they are becoming a weapon to be used again for coercion today. This decade felt like a lot of movement and adjustments to Hedda and her family as they planned to move to Australia failed because of the war. Having her family to keep moving, and find ways to survive under German occupation, including being called to work camps, must've taken a huge toll mentally. Although Hedda's family survived because of connections and luck, it's still something hard to swallow because it meant others were sent on the trains to Auschwitz.

Script: Hello, this is my response to lecture 4. In your lecture, you touched on the idea that fascism within a country can create narratives that turn people against one another. At the time, many European countries had authoritarian leaders, which caused political imbalance and created a space for dictators to rise. Many others around the world either ignored this or joined in on the new system. In Germany, which had just lost the war, spreading the idea that the country was weak and not focused on its own people made it easy to assign blame to a specific group. I connected this to today, where Trump uses a similar strategy by claiming America will only be great again if we fix the country from within, especially by targeting Democrats and minority groups. He tries to create the idea that these people are the problem with the country today. It's also surprising how many people liked Hitler as a leader, and you make a good point about how people tolerated his actions if they didn't feel directly affected, or they aligned with a side they believed was "not as bad." It's shocking to think the Nazi Party was seen that way, too. Being seen as not necessarily fully evil at first. I can see that same attitude today, where many under the current administration don't seem to care much, or simply endure it, because they are not part of the group being blamed for "ruining" the country. Under the Nazi regime, if you weren't the enemy or non-German, it didn't really affect your lifestyle in the beginning.

Again, connecting it to today, people often argue that we shouldn't worry about Trump's overreach of power or the mistreatment of other communities. I can also see the shift from Hedda's life in lecture 3 when everyone had just begun celebrating life after the war. To now lecture 4, Hedda sees her family and friends. It probably felt unexpected when the military wing of the nazi party came to Jewish homes. I'm glad her husband and her son were able to get out of the camp because it must have been scary and immediate to plan their future to leave their home behind, and for Hedda, especially her mother, behind. 

Script: Hello, this is my response to lecture 3. The introduction of the word "robot" in the 1920s reminds me of the rise of what we now call artificial intelligence. I think about how the media has recently pushed so much AI content, and how that created a sense of uncertainty about what is real, especially with photos, videos, and voice recordings. That connection helps me understand how earlier generations may have felt when new technologies first appeared. When it comes to women's impact on society, and how the war then gave them more opportunities while the men were fighting, I recognize how challenging it can still be to exist in a world where men often dominate certain spaces. Seeing figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) has made me more aware of how women today, and those who came before us, are reshaping representation. The situation in Palestine during the 1920s also stood out to me. Many people viewed it as the "promised land," and it's interesting to think about how both Jewish and Palestinian communities at one point resented British control. When I compare that history to the violence and territorial conflict we see today, it highlights how deeply British imperial power influenced the region. The idea of life without war made the example of Hedda’s time in Berlin in the 1920s really meaningful. The post-war atmosphere created a space for families to grow and for societies to focus on technology, medicine, and the arts. So I can understand why people would celebrate the end of conflict.

Hello, this is my response regarding lecture 2. When you mentioned how Mexico had a constant president I couldn’t revolve my head around how it can relate to current times since we only have one president for four year terms. But as you continue to talk about how the people became exhausted from Porfirio Diaz's presidency. I was able to tie it into today’s events and how many people have been protesting and pushing back Trump's agenda because just like them, our people have felt a major shift in democracy. Nearly everyday I hear “breaking news” and it’s about his ongoing threats and corruption of power against democracy. I never knew that Russia had also been against itself as their people also wanted a fair distribution of power and revolted. This decade was packed with a lot of conflicts in war and with how people felt after these wars. Upon hearing about your great grandmother Hedda's perspective on rather not having any idea of what was going on in Mexico. I feel like in today’s world we often do know what is going on around the world thanks to the help of the media and coverage by these journalists. And you even mention if she did know anything outside of Berlin it would be based on a German writer which also brings me to conclude how it would be accurate because he only writes most about the Wild West. Her journey crossing the Netherlands just to survive just shows how she didn’t have a choice and doing it alone must have been scary. Being so young and having these decisions be made based on the current circumstances with limited food goes on to represent how many others had to do so just to survive.