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.