WORLD HISTORY

Together Again: The reemergance of a unified china: In this section of the reading I learnt about the "Golden Age" of China and women in the society. The reading was interesting and a few things stood out to me, especially in the women's section. In China's golden age political fragmentation didn't remain a problem for them unlike the western Roman Empire. China was able to reunify and was solidified due to the extension of the canal system. China's canals linked northern and southern parts economically and contributed much to its prosperity. China's golden age was a time of great prosperity and developments such as their art and literature. The most interesting part of this section to me was the officials and the selecting of officials. I found it interesting to read that even though there were tests to examine and individual, most positions went to the sons of the privileged. The last shocking thing in this section was in the part about women in the d...

"The Worlds of christendom" The non-muslim regions of Africa witnessed an explosive advance of Christianity during the twentieth century. Europe and North America have been increasingly outnumbered in the census of global Christianity.  "Christian contraction in Asia and Africa"  Europe was the principal center of Chrisitan faith. "Asian christianity" It was in Asia that the decimation of earlier christian communities occurred most completely and most quickly. in both areas, the majority of people turned to Islam voluntarily, attracted perhaps to its aura of success.  The Mongol conquest of China in the thirteenth century offered a brief opportunity for christianitys renewal as the religiously tolerant mongols welcomed Nestorian Christians as well as people of various other faiths.  "byzantine christendom" the contraction of of the christian faith and christian societies in Asia and Africa left Europe and Anatolia, larg...

Key points of this chapter: "The Worlds of Islam": The many faces of contemporary Islam reflect earlier history of this newest of major religions. The world of Islam took a central position in the larger international arena interacting with other civilizations.  The burgeoning Islamic world thrust the previously marginal and largely nomadic Arabs into a central role in world history. "The Birth of a New Religion": Christianity and Islam emerged from the margins of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civilizations. "The Homeland of Islam": Recognized a variety of Gods, ancestors, and nature spirits, valued personal bravery, group loyalty, and hospitality.  Mecca came to occupy a distinctive role in Arabia.  Mecca was the site of the Kaaba, the most prominent religious shrine in Arabia which housed representations of some 360 deities and was the destination for many pilgrims.  "The Messenger and the Message": Muhammed had ...

For this blog Ive decided to do the main point and key ideas of each section: This chapter addresses the role of exchanging goods and its effects on human history, for example: trade diminished the economic self- sufficiency of local societies even as it altered the structure of those societies as well. trade had the capacity to transform political life. trade became a vehicle for the spread of religious ideas, technological innovations, disease-bearing germs, and plants and animals.  Silk roads: exchange across Eurasia: The growth of the silk roads: Eurasia gave rise to one of the world's most extensive and sustained networks of exchange among its diverse peoples.  products of the forest and semi-arid northern grasslands were exchanged for the agricultural products and manufactured goods of adjacent civilization. silk road trading networks prospered most when large and powerful states provided security for merchants and travelers.  the Mongol empire b...

I am going to approach my blog a little differently this time and put the main points of each section that I found interesting. The first section, "Continental Comparisons" Human cultures evolved in quite similar fashion around the world.  Almost everywhere hunting, gathering, and fishing remained the sole basis for sustaining life and society.  The absence of most animals capable of domestication meant that few pastoral societies developed in the Americas.  Eurasia, Africa, and America had the momentous turn of the Agricultural revolution.  The next section, "Civilizations of Africa" Africa was the most tropical of the worlds three supercontinents.  Climate conditions spawned numerous diseases. "Meroe" A Nubian civilization almost as old as Egypt.  Queens appeared in sculptures as women with prominence and power equivalent to their male counterparts.  Meroe had a reputation for great riches. Declined because of deforestation c...

The first section of the chapter is . This section was interesting because it was beneficial to learn how Chinese society was set up. Chinese society was seen as unique in the ancient world and had immense political power and social prestige. In all societies there are officials. The officials in China were a big deal and established its authority in 200 BCE. Chinese rulers were required to send men of promise to the capital and from there the new officials would be selected. This system of choosing officials became the first professional civil service and was a leading example for other civilizations. The process of becoming an official was a difficult one and involved many exams and a certain wealth to pass. Apart from the officials, Chinese society had many classes. The Landlord class was made mostly of officials and since wealth in China meant land, they were called the landlord class. This class was often able to avoid paying taxes which put a tax burden on peasants. The landlord ...

http://www.awakin.org/read/view.php?tid=940 This article talks about "helping" and "serving". Helping someone is creating an inequality in a relationship and makes the person you're helping have less strength. People feel an inequality when being helped. The solution to "helping" is "serving". When serving someone, instead of putting yourself on a different level as that person, you are collaborating and responding to that person. I didn't love this article while reading it because I feel like it is a subject looked to deep into. When you're helping someone you are doing a GOOD thing but I feel as though it was putting a bad light on something that really has no harm. I understand the meaning the article is trying to convey between helping and serving but I feel as though it is made into a problem that isn't a true one.

The first main section this reading opens with is "China and the search for order". This reading was interesting. Through this I learned that China was one of the first civilizations and that their royal court was weakening. This reading stems from Chinas downfall of power and from that emerged classical traditions. One of the solutions to Chinas fall is legalism. Legalism provided inspiration that would help with the reunification of the civilization. The next solution to emerge was with Confucius. Confucius' answer to Chinas problem was a moral example of superiors. Confucius watched many relationships of superiority and saw that if the superior could act with sincerity and had concern then the inferior would be obedient. In opposition to Confucius, the Daoist idea made fun of Confucius ways and encouraged behavior that was spontaneous, individualistic, and natural. The central concept of Daoism was nature. Though many ideas were not shared between the two, both daoism ...

The document, "Germania" starts off by emphasizing the purity of the Germans and pointing out that they are not mixed by any means with other races. While reading this document I learnt many facts about the Germans and how they lived out their life. The first thing readers were told is that the Germans are purely their own race and they are all the same, blue eyed, red haired, and big framed. Some German characteristics were they couldn't bear as much labor as a different type of person, couldn't tolerate heat and thirst, and cold and hunger. The next fact told about the Germans was that kings were chosen by birth but did not have unlimited powers. One interesting fact that came soon after was their view on women and how they saw women with a certain sanctity and prescience. The next thing told about Germans and their lifestyle was about fighting. When the Germans entered into battle the chief must never pass the valor and his followers must equal the valor of the chi...

In the start of "State and Empire" the readers are posed with a question that asks "Is the United States the new Roman Empire?" An empire is simply a state, a political system that exercises coercive power. Before the chapter truly begins we are introduced to the second-wave era of the Eurasian Empire.  The first empires and civilizations to be addressed are the Persian and Greeks. The Persian empire began in 500 B.C.E and was the largest and most impressive out of all the World's empires. The Persians centered around an elaborate cult of kinship and had many distinctive ways. Their empire was more than conquest and royal decree. Something that made the Persian Empire standout was their development of satraps. Satraps were the eyes and ears of the king and and gave lower level officials the opportunity to be the imperial spies to the king. The Persian empire loved luxury and instantly made it their own.  The next empire was that of the Greeks. The Greeks ...

After reading "Caral, a city of Norte Chico", it sparks reconsideration of the Andean civilization. When archeologists published reports in 2001 it sparked major conversation. Caral was a city of amazing architecture, a city of plazas, temples, residential spaces, and amphitheaters. Caral was an amazing discovery that made people look back at the Andean civilization. Caral had an intricate irrigation system and found plants that enhanced sexual performance and hallucinogens that were thought to be used in religious ways. All of these findings by archeologists hinted at the religious ways of the Andean people, they had an etched drawing of a staff God and drugs were used in the ceremonial celebrations. Those findings made researchers review the religion of the Andean people. Another thing that made people review the Andean civilization was the lack of walls, fortresses, weapons, and signs of destruction. Caral had very little in terms of violence and left the archeologists thi...

This chapter was very interesting and started off by addressing the seven First Civilizations: the Sumerian civilization- most likely gave rise to written language Nubia-unified territorial state, cities were less prominent  Notre Chico-cities were smaller than those of Mesopotamia and show less evidence of economic specialization Indus- generated no palaces, temples, elaborate graves, kings, or warrior classes China- created a distinctive political ideology, Son of Heaven Oxus- distinctive cultural style expressed through its architecture, ceramics, burial techniques, seals, and more. Olmec-based on an agricultural economy and many ceremonial centers This chaptered questioned the rise of civilizations and wondered where they come from. It is believed to be that civilizations had their roots in the agricultural revolution. Civilizations created their cities from agricultural resources.  As civilizations developed, so did classes. People did work outside of agric...

This chapter was incredibly  interesting and was a way of noticing how far we have come. In the "Breakthroughs to Agriculture" section we learn about the unfolding of agriculture and the speed in which it all happened. Agriculture replaced the basic "gathering and hunting" and transformed it into a more complex system that cultivated plants and tamed animals. Agriculture created a new type of relationship between humankind and living things. Homo sapiens directed the progress of evolution and changed and tamed nature for the benefit of human kind. A lot was in perfect timing for evolution and agriculture became effective when the last ice age ended. This chapter showed us the variations of agriculture and regions turned fully agricultural within as few as 500 years. Agriculture spread globally and with the combination of diffusion and migration, agriculture jumped to each region and spread language by doing so. The agricultural revolution led to an increase in human...

While reading First peoples; first farmers, "out of Africa" and "the ways we were", I was very interested and also surprised by some of the facts I learnt such as 95% of the time our species has inhabited the earth was during the Paleolithic era (ways of the world). The first section, Out of Africa, discussed how "human revolution" took place in Africa and shaped human behavior. It was then interesting to read about people leaving Africa and the lifestyle changes people had to make. When reading "out of Africa" I learnt that people started moving into warmer regions which changed their hunting habits and developed new styles. In the next section, "the ways we were" I read about the impressions the Paleolithic people left behind and the foundations they laid out. They set up distinct societies, each with its own culture, language, and stories. I learnt that in the Paleolithic communities they were so small that it created equality betwee...

Yay, I'm done.