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.