Themes in World Civilization
Themes in World Civilization
Order Instructions:
Instructions:
This is an open-book exam. Feel free to use the assigned readings, lecture outlines, and notes. Do not use outside sources (like online encyclopedias) – they will lead you astray and weaken your answers. I will be looking for answers that come from the assigned readings and lectures.
Work on the exam alone.
Type your answers in the space below the questions. Use the same font type, size, and color. Do not delete any of the questions.
Please upload your exam to the Turnitin link for the final exam on Learn by Sunday, September 7th.
What I am looking for:
In your answers, relate specific details from the lectures and readings to the broader themes of the history of world civilization. If you quote directly from the course materials, you need to cite the source, for example (Balcer, pg 55). You do not need to cite the lecture material. You will need to be efficient in your writing. The best strategy is to write a general statement answering the question, then provide the best examples from the reading and lectures to support this statement.
NOTE: The questions come directly from the Discussion Board—This is more than another chance to evaluate those readings, it is an opportunity to relate them to the lectures and other readings.
Part I – Writing History. (500 Words, 60 Points)
Using a selection of the following sources and questions assigned for the Weekly Responses write an essay that discusses the general challenges and process of writing history for the medieval period. In your essay address the following points:
A) The Questions: What questions (or thesis) did the historians we have read this quarter ask in their essays and books? How do you think they chose these questions? That is, are they responding to ongoing debates in their fields?
B) The Sources: What kinds of sources did the historians use to answer their questions? Are these sources new ones, or are the historians using the usual sources but interpreting them in a novel way? Do you think these are the best sources available, or are they too limited or the wrong ones?
C) The Answers: What is new about the historians answers to the questions they posed? Do you think that they made the best answer, or is something missing? What would you like to have read to make it a better answer? That is, are you convinced by their arguments?
*** Make sure to cite the essays you are using (author, page number).
1. “Isolation” Mike Paine, The Crusades (Pocket Essential, 2001), pp. 7-46. Available as an e-book at: http://records.library.drexel.edu/record=b1415916~S9
2. “Frontiers in Motion I” George Saliba, Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007), Chapter Five, ‘Science between Philosophy and Religion: The Case of Astronomy,’ pp. 171-192. Available as an e-book at: http://records.library.drexel.edu/record=b1834128~S9
3. “Frontiers in Motion II” Jacques Gernet, Daily Life in China: On the Eve of the Mongol Invasion (Stanford University Press, 1962); pp. 13-112. (http://quod.lib.umich.edu.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=acls;idno=heb01844)
4. “Empire Building” — See Donald Ostrowski,’ Chapter 1 of The Military and Society in Russia, 1450-1917, edited by Eric Lohr and Marsh, pp. 19-40: Use the file (pdf) on the course website, or visit http://records.library.drexel.edu/record=b1539587~S9
5. “The Plague” — See Philip Ziegler, The Black Death (Harper & Row, 1969); Chapter 1, “Origins and Nature;” and also one additional chapter of your choice. Find the readings on the BbVista course website in the Readings Folder, or on Google Books at: http://books.google.com/books?id=NgF42WlOaWMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=black+death+ziegler&client=safari&rview=1&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
6. “Ecological Revolution” — In Visions of Savage Paradise: Albert Eckhout, Court Painter in Colonial Dutch Brazil, Rebecca Parker Brienen analyses Eckhout’s images of native people. How does her story relate to the history of the ecological revolution. See Rebecca Parker Brienen, Visions of Savage Paradise: Albert Eckhout, Court Painter in Colonial Dutch Brazil. (Amsterdam University Press, 2007), “Introduction,” pp. 11-26; and Chapter 5 “Black, Brown, Yellow: Eckhout’s paintings of African, Mestizos, and Mulattos,” pp. 131-161. Use the files on the course website, or visit http://records.library.drexel.edu/record=b1834647~S9
And an additional one I did not cover in class:
7. “Political and Social Change” — In her monograph, Jocelyn Hunt describes education during the Renaissance. In what ways is the term “Renaissance” an accurate portrayal of history, and in what ways is it not? In your answer provide examples of what things changed during this period (for example, art, science, architecture). See Jocelyn Hunt, The Renaissance, (London ; New York : Routledge, 1999) in the series Questions and Analysis in History, read the ‘Introduction,’ ‘The Beginning of the Renaissance,’ and ‘Humanism,’ pp ix-32 : Use the files on the course website or visit http://records.library.drexel.edu/record=b1589349~S2
lucy:
SAMPLE ANSWER
Themes in World Civilization
Writing History
The Questions
The historians used a wide array of questions and theses for the purpose of guiding and shaping the research they did. These questions were based on already existent knowledge about the events that took place in the past. For each of the topics discussed in the books, the researchers had to ask questions about how current societies in different parts of the world came to be and how their current state may have been influenced by historical occurrences. The thesis statements that the historians and authors had during their preparation of the different publications highlighted sought to highlight the significance of the historical events being illustrated. In “Isolation” for instance, the historians’ thesis statement was about the significance that the religious affiliation had on the fight for control of Jerusalem (Payne, 39). Questions that were asked sought to establish a link between apparently separate historical issues. In “Frontiers of Motion 1,” the historians want to establish if Islamic science of the time had a profound impact on Europe’s Renaissance.
Sources
To answer the questions and investigate the theses that had been forwarded, the historians relied on both primary and secondary sources of data. Most of the historical events highlighted in the publications have been researched over and over again in different contexts such as anthropology, religion, culture, geography, archeology and also political history. The sources of information that the historians used were the typical ones, the only difference being that they did their investigations in a novel way based on the titles that they were operating under. This narrowed down the material they highlighted during authoring to information relevant to the title and possible hypotheses they had developed (Saliba, 178). The use of primary sources is mostly based on government documents that were published during the periods when the historical events in question took place. These sources were the best and it was only practical to use them. Looking for fresh primary information for events that took place is tantamount to reinventing the wheel given that other respected historians had gathered the same.
The Answers
The answers the historians gave to the questions are quite satisfactory since they maintain the theme and provide solutions to the titles they were operating under. As a reader, I have to admit that my knowledge on the topics discussed was expanded in line with the direction taken by the respective historians. Their narrowing down of the topics from broad areas that I had general knowledge about brought my attention to specific elements and I got to see them from a different perspective. From “Frontiers of Motion 2” I got to empathize with the victims of the invasion and also better understand the motives that the Mongols had in as far as territorial expansion was concerned (Gernet, 19). It was a strategy that had proven effective and there was no need to attempt another method. With respect to the answering of questions posed, I believe that all the historians did an excellent job. My understanding of the dynamics that directly impacted world civilization is deeper based on the arguments I was exposed to.
References
Paine, Mike “Isolation”, The Crusades (Pocket Essential, 2001), pp. 7-46. Available as an e-book at: http://records.library.drexel.edu/record=b1415916~S9
Saliba, George “Frontiers in Motion I”, Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007), Chapter Five, ‘Science between Philosophy and Religion: The Case of Astronomy,’ pp. 171-192. Available as an e-book at: http://records.library.drexel.edu/record=b1834128~S9
Gernet, Jacques “Frontiers in Motion II” Daily Life in China: On the Eve of the Mongol Invasion (Stanford University Press, 1962); pp. 13-112. (http://quod.lib.umich.edu.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=acls;idno=heb01844)
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