Quiz 5

10-week World History class…got a lot more than I bargained for. This class has in everyway possible meet the learning outcomes set forth in the syllabus. Outcomes listed as 1 – 6 were definitely achieved through the weekly readings and blogs, short answer quiz questions, group activities, analytical papers, and through a research paper. This was the first time that I participated in a blog and it was very helpful in remembering and reiterating what I had read in that week’s readings as well being able to add my thought on the readings. It also helped by being able to go back to my blogs and referencing events that were interesting. The short answer quizzes definitely challenged me by getting the reading done and understanding it in depth in order to do the quiz. Group activities were much more interesting than expected. My top two definitely have to be the acting out of the Epic of Gilgamesh and the intense debate a few weeks back. The activities done on the Silk, Sand, and Sea roads were also very helpful because that week was one of the ones that I didn’t do my reading on time and this activity definitely helped. It was interesting to see that as those transportation routes were developing so were the interactions between a wide range of people. They all had a common goal of making money and getting their consumers goods out in the market. Ironically, that still goes on today. We use all sorts of distribution channels to get our goods and services out. Though, thanks to technology we are able to do that a bit quicker than before. Our first analytical paper was a little difficult for me because I couldn’t choose a side or more so I couldn’t fully defend the side I wanted to. After a nice conversation with Ms. Andrews I was able to finish my paper. I often find myself doing more research on the people of the Pacific and their sea voyages because of that first analytical paper and awkward position I was put in. The research paper was awesome! I learned so much about my topic and I also got to know a great same-sex couple. I have a stack of books waiting for me to read as a result of my research. I recall Ms. Andrews stating in class that if someone left the class wanting to know more about a subject we studied in class that that would make her happy. Well, I can say I have a list of about 5 subjects that I’m definitely interested in knowing a lot more about.

Thanks for a wonderful class Ms. Andrews!

Reflection # 7

Reflection # 7

I can’t believe I have read a 755-page history book! It’s been awesome.

Chapter 21 – It was only expected, at least I think, that all great things must come to and end at some point. It’s only part of life. The collapse of Europe was bound to happen like that of the United States’. Thousands of years later we have seen both of the countries fall more than once. These falls came in small ways and other in much larger ones. For example, the collapse of Europe was a huge one with the help of the wars and Nazi Germany. In the United States capitalism lead to the Great Depression and we still didn’t learn our lesson. Again, in 2008 our capitalism ways lead to yet another financial collapse. I’m appalled at all the wars that broke out in the last few centuries and the atrocities that came with it. Hitler is by far one of the worst people I have read out. Very disgusting. This was a sad but good chapter in terms of learning about the wars and their purpose though some not reasonable enough.

Chapter 22 – “At communism’s high point in the 1970’s almost one-third of the world’s population lived in societies governed by communist regimes.” (p. 660) My jaw dropped when I read this. This book really gave time a different meaning. 1970 feels like it was only a few years back. Hard to believe that communism ruled that late into the 20^th century. Communist feminism is one of the only good things I read about in this section. Women made a name for themselves in a society that was all twisted in values.

Chapter 23 – Another interesting chapter. After reading this chapter I stopped and thought to myself…why is it that these countries are taking so long to catch up to the rest of the world when they were the first ones to show signs of human existence? Kind of ironic to me that they are now considered developing countries and they have been around the longest.

Chapter 24 – most interesting by far must be because I can relate to it. These are issues that are most concerned with my life directly. From globalization to environmentalism the list of things going on in my world are endless. Some of them are good and some are bad but I believe that in the next few decades our history books are going to get even bigger. An issue that concerns me the most if the world’s population compared to economic development. We need to find a solution to this problem ASAP. We need to find ways to aid those developing third world countries. I believe that education will be fundamental in getting these countries to par with the rest of the world. Feminism is also a very interesting topic in which I want to learn more about. I work for a feminist co-author and financier and I love the way she approaches life. I see something major happening in favor of feminism in the years to come. In some sense I believe the male and female roles are going to switch to a certain extent.

I close this chapter of world history with so many questions in my head of what will come of our history in the centuries to come.

Reflection # 6

Reflection  # 6 (Ch. 17, 18, 20)

Chapter 17 – this chapter was very interesting because I never actually knew that so many people rebelled in early history. As I read about all the revolutions I thought to myself how much harder it was for the people of hundreds of years ago to rebel as opposed to people nowadays. The Haitian Revolution was the most inspiring to me. It’s hard to believe that Haiti at one point in time was the richest colony in the world despite holding such a large number of slaves in the population. For some odd reason a smile came to my face as I read that the Haitian slaves rebelled and stood up for themselves. I got more satisfaction by reading that all they wanted was “equal treatment” and were not looking to overtake the colony. If only we all had that mentality. It seemed that the more money you had the bigger a person’s ego got. Of course, the color of your skin also mattered then. The slaves rebellion came with a great win for all slaves in that they gained equality, were set free, and became independent citizens, (pg. 509) The slave rebellion of the Haitian people inspired more slave rebellions around the world but none gained as much as the Haitians. Feminism in this chapter also captivated my attention. I get outraged at thinking of how unequal women’s rights were and unfortunately we still see a little bit of that today though nothing in comparison to ancient history.

Chapter 18 – THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION – wow moment. There can never be a good thing that doesn’t come with bad side effects. That’s how I think of the industrial revolution. Though it was one of the most significant things to happen in history it also brought with it a lot of bad side effects. Long working hours, harsh living conditions, and new social conflicts were among those bad side effects. The uproar of industrialization also, to me, further distant the classes of that time. The rich got richer and poor got poorer. Strayer really caught my attention when he spoke about why Europe in terms of being the innovator of the industrial revolution. He mentioned a lot of good points about other countries having the ability to have started industrialization. In my eyes Europeans were hungrier for wealth than other around the world and that motivated them even more to take the first steps into industrialization.

Chapter 20 -  Sad chapter. I got a lump in my throat when I read about the abuse the people of the Congo went through. How could someone be so cruel? After the lump in my throat went away I got really angry and wished all sorts of bad things on those people that tortured their workers. Moving on from this subject that really bothers onto something else that caught my attention in this chapter. Towards the end of the chapter there was a section that talked about how women were starting to show some color in terms of providing for themselves. At one point they even had more then their husbands. That was great to read. I believe that in the near future the gender roles are going to change significantly. Women will be the providers and the men will be the supports of the house. Just my thought. 

Reflection # 5

Reflection # 5

Chapters 14-15

Not interesting enough to blog about. Only interesting thing was reading about the trade routes and how we have all come together to benefit one another with our goods. Thinking about chapter 15 it was interesting to read the section where we are reminded about all the countries that contribute to just a simple cup of coffee.

Chapter 16 – Religion and Science

Much better in terms of interesting reading. Never realized how interesting religion was until I took a religion class here at NDNU. This chapter touched base on that class and went a little into detail in terms of those big thinkers. It seems like there was a lot of war between religions and wanting to convert people in the fifteenth century. Comparing the past to now there are a lot of similarities in terms of what religions are more popular, have the same expectation, and so forth. For example, Islam was and still is the fastest growing religion. Christianity is still in the mindset of converting anyone and everyone possible. There are a lot of controversies about the luxurious lives of the Catholic priests.

I always wondered what “Protestant” mean. I know now. This is yet another religion that was formed by a human that was dissatisfied with the religion that was practiced during that particular moment. Again, I emphasize my confusion with man-made religions. I semi-understand the religions that came about by a person/prophet who had come in contact with the greater Being but not these religions that were created as a result of disagreement with what was currently in place. I almost feel like they are mocking the church by changing what is original.

Scientific Revolution – now this I do understand because these scholars tried to understand the world from a natural science perspective as opposed to making up things in order to understand or believe in. This scientific revolution challenged, in a very smart way, religion down to its roots. Love the paragraph that describes the heart as “a complex muscle that functioned as a pump.” Surprises me that people before this time were not curious to dissect a human and/or animal body to look inside and further study the anatomy of what makes us human.

Enlightenment – below are a few quotes/phrases that fascinated me.

“If human reason could discover the laws that governed the universe, surely it could uncover ways in which humankind might govern itself more efficiently.”

“What is Enlightenment?” Immanuel Kant “…Have the courage to use your own understanding…” My favorite!

Reflection # 4

Reflection # 4

Chapter 11 – Islam

This chapter was great to read as it gave a huge insight on the fastest growing religion in the world. Growing by the thousands without having to go out and try to convert people. Love it. One thing that really caught my attention was Muhammad’s power to capture the attention of his people. I myself would have been a little skeptical if a person came out of nowhere are started to profess the words of this higher divine power. I give him a bow for the way he handled the situation. He could have ran the other direction but decided to preach the word of Allah and change the lives of many people. I also noticed that Islam wasn’t only a religion for the Arab people but a way of life. The Quran is like a guide book for how one should be living. We see this most in what is considered the core message of the Quran which are the Pillars of Islam. One thing that did capture my attention and bothered me a little was the way the Quran was altered by Muhammad’s successors. There was more equality among men and women in the Quran as written by Muhammad. Just like in Christianity, Islam too was divided by the conflict of who should be Muhammad’s successor. I feel as though all the religions I read about are always changed as the years go by which makes me question religion all together.

Very interesting chapter.

Chapter 12 – The Mongols

Interesting group of people.  Amazes me how they were able to grow their empire so rapidly despite most of the population being illiterate and barbaric. I believe that the Mongols are by far the only group of people that actually followed through with their egalitarian ways in terms of men and women.  I like. Another impressive thing about the Mongols was the way didn’t seek to convert people. All they seemed to be interested in was gaining knowledge of practices of other civilization. The Mongols adapted administrative practices, techniques of taxation, and the postal system from the Chinese as stated in our text. I’m very surprised that I had not read about the Mongols before. They left me very impressed. Enjoy this chapter as well.

Chapter 13 – The Worlds of the Fifteenth Century

This chapter was a little less interesting than the previous two. I enjoyed reading about those who there is not much mentioned about in other history books. What was most interesting was China’s rule and imprint in the 15^th century. They did lots to be remembered by. Strayer really left me thinking about what would have been of the world had certain things gone different. I liked his approach there.

Overall great reading.

Research Project Brainstorm

Research Project: Legally Married Same-sex couple

I plan to interview someone in a same-sex legal marriage because it is the biggest growing topic. There are so many controversies with same-sec couples that I would be interesting to hear a personal story of someone living through that situation.

Interview Q’s:

1.       Did you ever try to fight the fact that you were attracted to the same sex?

2.       Was your family supportive when you came out?

3.       What struggles did you face growing up as a gay person?

4.       Are you happy?

5.       Does being “legally” married mean something to you?

6.       What is the hardest situation you have had to face because of your sexuality?

7.       Did you ever have to move because you felt the pressure of being gay?

8.       Is there anything you want to tell me that I haven’t asked?

Reflection # 3

This week’s readings were interesting but in particular Chapter 10 caught my attention the most. I was interested in the division of the Christian faith. I had never really thought about the division between East and West and how their beliefs were so similar yet so far off from one another. Could this be where we as humans began to change the meaning of religion? I’m remembering when I took a religion class here at NDNU and am remembering all the types of religion out there and also the ones that weren’t mentioned in that class. Seems like there are so many so called “man made” religions out there. How could it be that there are so many types of “Christian” faiths? The division between East and West came down to even the type of clothing that the religious people wore. I’m still amazed by that and all other things that divided the church. They seem like non-sense to me right now but only they knew what they were doing thousands of years ago.

Another thing that caught my attention in this chapter was the similarities between China in the 1300’s and now. Technological speaking they were number 1 back then and I can say it is still the same today. The fact that was most interesting was their population figures. Even back then they had an enormous population. I still wonder how they could house so many people.

Women’s jobs are the next interesting thing about chapter 10. The author names a number of jobs that women did between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries but one caught my attention and bothered me a little. He mentions all sorts of fields and his sentence with “and, of course, prostitution” which really bothered me. He makes it seem like a commodity for a woman to be in the prostitution field. I don’t know if it’s just me being too sensitive or if indeed this is offensive to other women reading that sentence. Why didn’t men prostitute themselves?! I assume they were too busy trying to take over the little work that women did have. Women never seem to get a break – it’s like if women dominated a profession there would come a man trying to take over. Would love to hear what everyone thinks about this subject. In terms of prostitution among women and men taking over professions that women were in.