Blog #8!!!!!

I still can’t believe that we have covered 24 chapters in a 10 week period. 756 pages that’s crazy!!!! Although it has been stressful at times and it seemed like some of these things I did not quite understand, in the end with all the class discussions and blogs that I have seen make me understand some of the questions I had a lot better.

            In chapter 21, the thing that stood out the most was the section on Hitler and the Nazis. This significant event that happened in history is an example of EXTREME nationalism. With the discussion in class, I cannot believe that Hitler took things so extreme as he did and that people actually believed and complied with everything that was going on. When we discussed how some people did not know that they were in fact playing a role in the murders of hundreds and thousands of people is dumbfounding. I could not comprehend how some people did not know or just chose to look the other way while this was all going on. The most interesting part is how this massive system of mass murders was organized and how they psychologically got people to feel that they were not playing a role in their evil plan. I have learned about some of the camps that people were held out, especially through the story of Ann Frank that most people have probably read in high school. What today looked like a horrific nightmare was the reality for many people during this time. This chapter was very sad but as always full of relevant information.

Chapter 22 was on the Rise and Fall of World Communism. Here we learned that the Russian Revolution took place in a single year, 1917 and was led by the charismatic leader, Vladimir Ulyanov also known as Lenin for short. Here a substantial number of members fought for the end of their role in WWI. Next China’s revolution took several decades but finally ended in 1949 also lead by a charismatic leader by the name of Mao Zedong. Although they only started with 60 members, their support grew enormously. China had been fighting for foreign imperialism and peasant exploitation which was a radical social change.

Chapter 24 dealt with Accelerating Global Interaction. Here the most interesting things that I took from this chapter were on relevant issues that we are facing today. The section on global environment transformation and going green were the ones that are key issues that are in headlines every day and will continue to be until something is changed and done about this issue. The whole idea behind people changing their habits is not so the government can be in complete and utter control in every aspect of our lives. These changes need to be made so our earth can be enjoyed for the many generations to come.

QUIZ #4 STUDY GUIDE

Sheila, Noel, Katrina, and I got together the Saturday before the quiz and made this study guide for the test.... GOOD LUCK!!!

Quiz #4

1- Discuss the roots and development of Renaissance humanism.


Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems. The Enlightenment thinkers in eighteenth-century Europe had become increasingly critical of slavery as a violation of the natural rights of every person. The abolition of slavery made a remarkable transformation in human affairs. Enlightenment thinkers were increasingly critical of slavery

-religious groups, especially Quakers and Protestant evangelicals, became

increasingly vocal in opposition to slavery

-growing belief that slavery wasn’t necessary for economic progress

- notion that slavery was out of date

2. 1348 and 1492 as pivotal years in the transition to the Modern Era.

1348 the plague

1492 Columbus came to America in search for gold, god, glory

3- God,gold & glory as motivators of colonial expansion into the Americas. True

Iberians: from Spain and Portugal they led the way Western Hemisphere. The

main motivations for coming to America was the search for God (networks of

trade), gold, glory.

The impoverished nobles and commoners found opportunity for gaining

wealth and status in the colonies. Missionaries were looking to enlarge the

realm of Christendom and Persecuted minorities were in search of a new

life

4. Discuss The Great Dying.

The Great Dying; was genocide. The majority of people died of diseases due to lack of immunity, they didn’t have the kinds of animals to help then develop that immunity, they were forced out of their environments, they were force to adapt to new environments. Some adapted to Christianity to survive. Some intermarried to survive. 90% died: most died from smallpox plague, the rest died from hunger.

5. What were the various strategies for commercial exploitation developed by Europeans during the early Modern era?

Beyond the multitude of individual tragedies that is spawned-capture and sale, displacement from home cultures, forced labor, beatings and brandings, broken families-the Atlantic slave trade transformed the societies of all of its participants.

The Atlantic slave trade represented and enormous extension of the ancient practice of people owning and selling other people

6. What were some of the abuses of the early Industrial Revolution?

At the heart of the Industrial Revolution lay a great acceleration in the rate of technological innovation leading to an enormous increased output of goods and services. A “culture of innovation,” a widespread and almost obsessive belief that things could be endlessly improve.

7. What does Strayer mean by the "echoes" of Atlantic Revolutions?

They expressed ideas of republicanism, greater social equality, and national liberation from foreign rule. Beyond this limited extension of political democracy three movements arose to challenge continuing patterns of oppression or exclusion. Abolitionists sought the end of slavery; nationalists hoped to do away with disunity and foreign rule; and feminist tried to end, or at least mitigate, male dominance. Although they took root first in Europe, each came to have a global significance in the centuries that followed.

8. Discuss the events and significance of the Haitian Revolution.

Saint Domingue was widely regarded as the richest colony in the world. It produced 40% of the world’s sugar and half of its coffee. Given the enormous inequalities and its rampant exploitation set in motion a spiral of violence for more than a decade. Surrounded by confusion, brutality, and massacres the power gravitated to the slaves. Haitian Slaves revolted against the French control and successfully became free. Free and independent citizens.

9. In what sense were the "Arab Spring" and "Occupy" movements echoes of the Atlantic Revolutions?

The Arab Spring is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on 18 December 2010.The protests have shared techniques of mostly civil resistance in sustained campaigns involving strikes, demonstrations, marches, and rallies, as well as the effective use of social media^[21][22] to organize, communicate, and raise awareness in the face of state attempts at repression and Internet censorship.^[23]

The Occupy movement is an international protest movement against social and economic inequality, its primary goal being to make the economic structure and power relations in society more favorable to the underclasses. Different local groups have different foci, but among the prime concerns is the claim that large corporations and the global financial system control the world in a way that disproportionately benefits a minority, undermines democracy and is unstable.

What they share in common with the Atlantic Revolution:

- they also shared a set of common ideas

- grew out of the European Enlightenment

- notion that it is possible to engineer, and improve, political and social life

-the core political idea was “popular sovereignty”—that the authority

to govern comes from the people, not from God or tradition

-and ruled should last only as long as it served the people well]

-but in the long term, the revolution gave ammunition to groups without

political rights

10. How did the move from traditional forms of production to the "cash crop" system affect Africans under colonial rule?

p. 601

Colonial rule, created conditions that facilitated and increased cash-crop production to local farmers. Many colonies came to specialize in one or two cash-crops creating an unhealthy dependence, what traditional used to be an independent life style.

BLOG 7

BLOG # 7

Chapters 17, 18, & 20

Chapter 17 discussed the various revolutions during the 1700’s: the North American (1775-1787), the French (1789-1815), Haitian (1792-1804), and Spanish American Revolution (1810-1825). The most interesting of all the revolutions that were talked about during this chapter was the Haitian Revolution were the slaves revolted successfully. In this revolution took place in a French Caribbean colony of Saint Domingue. Saint Domingue  was one of the world’s richest plantations that produced 40% of the world’s sugar and half of its coffee during that time. Here the population of slaves (500,000) outnumbered the rest of the population which were divided into ranks. Whites, poor whites, free people of “color”, and then on the bottom of the totem pole was the slaves. But here, “socially, the last had become first. In the only completely successful slave revolt in the world history, the lowest order of society –slaves- became equal, free, and independent citizens. Politically, they had thrown off the French colonial rule, becoming the second independent republic in the Americas and the first non-European state to emerge from Western colonialism” (Strayer pg. 509). This entire revolution is inspiring in so many different ways. The fact that in a world that never thought it would be possible to have slaves actually come out top succeeded. It is nice to see that in history the slaves came together in a common goal to attain a certain goal with all odds stacked against them. Once again this is AMAZING!!!

BLOG 6

BLOG # 6

Chapters: 14, 15 & 16

            This week we read chapter 14 on Empires and Encounters and, chapter 15 which was about Global Commerce, and chapter 16 which was on Religion and Science. Although all three chapters where full of interesting information, the one that interested me the most was chapter 14.  Talking about maritime expansion voyages that took place in the early 16^th century. The story that is taught in every history class is the voyage and conquered territory of the US by Christopher Columbus. When people say that Christopher Columbus discovered the new world I always want to tell people that statement is not really true. Although Europeans conquered this land, in all reality they invaded what was already the home of Native Americans. Going even further into the chapter it leads into the section on the Great Dying. Although this event is a combination of many factors the main idea to get from this is that through the invasion of the US by Europeans, we spread diseases to the Native Americans that caused their population to dramatically decrease. “Long isolation from the Afro Eurasian world and the lack of most domesticated animals meant the absence of acquired immunities to Old World diseases, such as smallpox, measles, typhus, influenza, malaria, and yellow fever” (Strayer pg. 407). Reading about this chapter made me reminisce on the childhood movie that a loved as a child, Pocahontas. Watching that movie makes it seem like Europeans coming to America was always good, along with plays during the times of Thanksgiving when they show the pilgrims and Indians coming together peacefully at a table to have a feast. Reading this chapter portrayed the complete opposite. As a child they do not tell you of all the brutality and suffering that the Native Americans had to endure.  It is sad that entire tribes have died out and that land that was once theirs is still conquered by those who invaded it. Even the Native Americans who managed to survive and develop the necessary immunities needed for the spread of diseases, life still was not easy. They were forced to adapt to European ways of life and convert to religions such as Christianity. Even today there are few numbers of distant generations of those that once roamed the US territory before it was discovered and conquered by Christopher Columbus and other voyagers in search of a new world.

BLOG 5

BLOG # 5

CHAPTERS: 11, 12, 13

               This week’s readings were chapter 11, 12 & 13. These chapters focused on the Worlds of Islam, the Mongols and other nomadic people, and the Worlds of the 15^th century. Islam seemed to be the hot topic of this week’s readings and topics discussed in class. Here I learned that Islam is one of the largest religions so I found it very interesting how it all started and how it was spread worldwide. Unfortunately with the terrorist events that took place on 9/11 the Muslim people and the Islamic religion get a bad reputation. Although there are some groups that are extremists that believe in terrorist acts to get their point across, there are many other people out there who believe in Islamic traditions that were started from the beginning that do not deal at all with any forms of terrorism. Other stipulations that follow are the negative restrictions that are believed to be against women. Although we see some women not being able to show their faces, dress a certain way, and have certain roles in society, it has not always been this way. In the beginning, there were rules that protected the women of Islamic culture and in a sense put them higher up in society and their roles.

In this blog I am going to primarily focus on Chapter 11 since this was the one chapter I found to be the most interesting and relevant to things going on in today’s world.

The religion of Islam was started by a man named Mohammad who believed that he was the prophet of God. Like Christianity, the Islamic religion is also monotheistic (believing in one god). The god that was praised in Islam was Allah. Muhammad delivered the messages of the Quran (which is the Islamic religions scriptures; like Christianity has the Bible) in its most sacred traditional language which was Arabic. As he claimed to be the messenger of the Quran, Mohammad started to gain many followers. As a merchant he traveled all over to gain more followers that would believe in his teachings. In the Islamic tradition there are five requirements for those who believe in this faith which are called the 5 Pillars. Throughout Mohammad’s life, he gained many followers but nobody ever discussed what would happen after his death. There was great controversy on who should take over as the messenger of Allah. Some felt that it should be someone who was related to him while others thought that one of his religious advisors would be the best person to take on this task. The best idea that Islam portrayed, that should also be taken on by everyone in the world is to not look at the world and what best helps yourself; but rather what helps society and the community as a whole.

Chapter 12 focused on the nomadic people which primarily focused on the Mongols. The Mongols strategically moved around according to season but did not have a place that they could necessarily call their own. Even though they moved around from place to place they had the structure and communication skills to stay in contact and come together to protect their own. With their military, they were able to conquer Persian and Russian civilizations along with many others. The Mongols adopted religious ideas, military strategies, and the structure of prospering societies, and turned them into one. Taking bits and pieces of things that worked in other civilizations helped spread other ideas practiced by various civilizations where ever the Mongols traveled.

PRE-INTERVIEW

BLOG # 4

(SORRY ABOUT THE LATE POST…I WROTE ALL OF THIS ON A PAPER AND FORGOT TO PUT THIS AS A PART OF MY BLOG)

Before Interview:

Before this assignment the only things that I’ve really learned about gay marriage were the things that I see on TV. I see all of the issues that deal with PROP 8 and have relatives and friends that are in homosexual relationships; but I have never really looked into the legality of everything and asked questions as to what it was like to be in a homosexual relationship and the struggles that they have to face. Before the interview I am going to look up more about PROP 8 and what the ruling behind that is.

Before the interview I am going to look up via internet and through text books about the different kinds of struggles that one may go through. By doing this interview face-to-face I hope to learn enough to put myself in their position and understand what it is like. I can only learn so much through a text book, but when someone tells you their personal experience it makes the situation much more real and easier to understand.

I will conduct my interview with a man named Jonathan who is a friend of my best friend’s mom. I will conduct the interview at the hospital where he works. For this interview I will print out my interview questions and write down important things he says and take notes about the entire interview. I will ask some of the following questions:

1.      How long have you and your partner been together?

2.      Had you guys ever thought about marriage?

3.      Are you married?/ If so…How long?

4.      Where did you grow up?...Where do you live now?

5.      What age did you “come out”?

6.      What was your family’s reaction?

7.      What were your friend’s reactions?

8.      What are the public’s reactions? Both positive/negative

9.      What do you feel about the term marriage?

10.   When do you think people will change their opinions on gay marriage?

Reflection #3

This week we read three chapters from Robert Strayer’s book the Ways of the World. Chapter 8: Commerce and Culture discussed the importance of trade. Chapter 9: China and the World, which talked about China’s relations/impacts with other countries. Chapter 10: Worlds of European Christendom which discussed how Christianity spread throughout Europe and the rest of the world during the collapse of the Roman Empire.

The Chapter that fascinated me the most was chapter eight which talked about how trading goods was all started. Although today technology has impacted the way we produce, import and export goods, the idea behind it is the same as it was back then.  Different areas all generate different products that are needed in other regions such as China with their production of silk, Southeast Asia and their spices, and Sahara for their salt. During this time they did not necessarily always sell their goods for money, in some cases they traded one good in exchange for another.  For example West Africans needed salt so they turned to Sahara for their salt and in return gave them the gold of their region.  It was interesting that as trade became more popular, people started specializing in a particular product that they knew would be in demand.  Trade caused consumers to become less self-sufficient and heavily rely on those who produced the goods that they needed. The biggest thing that came out of trade to me was the idea that certain items would now symbolize wealth and status. For example silk had become a highly desired commodity that symbolized a person’s wealth/status.

As I continued reading, chapter 9 caught my attention when they contrasted women during the Tang dynasty to the women in the Han dynasty.  Images during the Han dynasty depicted images of female submission and passivity where as in the Tang dynasty they described paintings and statues depicting women having been a part of a social life and given more freedom than they had in classical times. The quote by Sima Guang, “The boy leads the girl, the girl follows the boy; the duty of the husbands to be resolute and wives to be docile begins with this,” really stood out to me. The whole idea that man was dominant and women were just basically along for the ride was really apparent during this time period. It made me thing how lucky that today we as women have so much more freedom than women had in the classical times. I can’t even imagine what someone from the classical era would say if they knew how we lived today.

After reading the assigned chapters I still cannot believe how easy this book is to understand. I am so used to taking a history class and trying to decipher what the author is trying to say but this is not the case. I feel that I am able to truly grasp the ideas and am gaining a lot of insight on things that I have not learned before. I look forward to next week’s readings.