For up to 30 points on the final, consider each of the 13 discussions we have had. What historiographic issue were there in that discussion – or, to put it another way, what is the ‘traditional’ view of history about that topic, and what are the alternate ways of interpreting it or other ways of viewing it that you read or considered?
You may ONLY use Frankopan, Harari, Diamond, and the textbook you have been using for the course – NO OUTSIDE SOURCES. If you use anything else, your grade will be zero – UNLESS you email me with an argument for why the outside source you want to use is a good source AND you provide me with a way to view it. Pre-Approval of outside sources in ONLY available until Monday, April 29, so you want to get on this a soon as possible. As this will be checked by Turnitin – and it does check for AI as well as quotations – please don’t waste our time by using sources other than those allowed.
Citation is, as always, required, internal and a Works Cited.
These are the 13 discussions.
Discussion 1. The Denisovans
Who were the Denisovans and why are they important? What do they tell us about human development? What do they tell us about ourselves? How are the authors of your textbook and Hurari alike and different in their discussion of the Denisovans? How and why is the origin of man important to us today and why is the mystery of the Denisovans relevant to us still?
The other required reading to go along with the section on the prehistory is from Harari’s Homo Sapiens, and it is the first section (which includes multiple chapters. The file is attached, here: “Part 1 – The Cognitive Revolution – Chapters 1 through 4.pdf
Discussion 2. Agriculture
Agriculture? WHY? Comparing your four sources (Hurari, Diamond, your textbook of choice, AND your multimedia component) why did hunter-gatherers decide to give up “the good life” of hunting and gathering to live with the stress and hard work of growing food? What benefit did agriculture bring to humans? What detriments? How does agriculture change human society? Are these changes for the better or for the worse?
Diamond, Chapters 4 and Chapter 5, below; AND
Hurari, Section 1 (Chapters 1-4), below, as “Part 1 – The Cognitive Revolution – Chapters 1-4)
Week 3 – What is Civilization?
What is civilization? How and why do civilizations differ from each other? What are the most common “symptoms” of civilization and how do they evolve? Of the civilizations we have studied so far, from EurAsia’s Fertile Crescent to Asia to South America, which civilizations have the most in common and why? The least in common and why? What are the most “successful” civilizations we have studied so far, and why?
Hurari, Part 2 – the Agricultural Revolution (Chapters 5 – 8)
Week 4 – Collective Fictions
What are “collective fictions”? Why are they necessary? How do they bind societies together – and how do they destroy them? How are they reflections of cognitive dissonance? What collective fictions do we still have today and why?
Hurari, part 3 (chapters 9-13)
Week 5 – Trade
What role does trade play in the creation and maintenance of empire? How is it related to the “standard of living” (what is a “standard of living”?) of the average person in an empire? How do different societies and culture view trade and merchants? Other than wealth, what are some of the benefits of extensive trade? What are the detriments? Overall, is trade “good” or “bad” and why?
Frankopan, Chapter 1 -attached here.
Week 6: War
What role does war play in the creation and maintenance of empires? Why is there so much war in the Classical Age – and what purpose does it serve? How does it affect the average person of this time period (who is the average person of this time period?)? Is it a “good” or a “bad” thing and why?
Frankopan, Chapters 2 and Chapter 3.
Week 7 – Classical Civilizations
The Question for the seventh discussion: What are “classical” civilizations? What makes them different from ancient civilizations? What qualities do they have in common that make them the basis of contemporary societies? How and why are they the beginnings of the modern idea of “eastern” and “western” culture?
Diamond, Chapter 16.
Week 8 – Nomads
The Question for the eighth discussion: One of the consistent issues through this course is the conflict between settled, agricultural peoples, and nomadic peoples. Since the Agricultural Revolution itself, through the end of this course, nomadic peoples have challenged – and sometimes defeated – the great empires we have been discussing. Trace the history of this conflict from the beginning of this course to the spread of Islam. Why are nomads still – well, nomadic? Why have they no “settled down” and adapted to the “benefits” of an agricultural society? What advantages do they get from maintaining their nomadic ways? Are they truly the “bad guys” that history often makes them out to be? Why or why not?
Frankopan, Chapter 4 and Chapter 5
Week 9 – Standard of Living
The Question for the ninth discussion: What is a “standard of living”? How is it related to “quality of life”? How is it measured? How and why do we use it to judge the “success” of a society? Who has the highest “standard of living” in this period? Who has the lowest? Where would you want to live in this period and why?
Frankopan, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, and Chapter 8.
Week 10 – Syncretic Religions
The Question for the tenth discussion: What are syncretic religions? How and why do they evolve, especially in this period of forced conformity to theocracies? How are they representative of the “common people”? How are they related to the growth of trade? To social mobility? What effect do they have on societies and cultures as a whole? How do they affect us today?
Frankopan, Chapter 9 and Chapter 10,
Week 11 – Slavery
The Question for the eleventh discussion: Trace the history of slavery from the beginning of the course to the 1600s. How and why does it develop? How and why does it change with the European expansion into Africa and the Western hemisphere? Compare and contrast the different types of slavery that exist in the 1500s; how are they affected by the changing economy? By the changing nature of religions? Is slavery a “natural” part of human society? Why or why not?
Frankopan, chapter 11.
Week 12: Intellectualism
The Question for the twelfth discussion: What is intellectualism? Trace the history of it through this course. What advantage does it give to a society (does it give an advantage?)? Which societies have been the most intellectual and why? How is intellectualism related to the “standard of living”? To “collective fictions”? How is the intellectualism of the Europeans in the early modern period related to the control of the Western hemisphere? To trade with “the East”? Were the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution truly “revolutionary”? Why or why not?
Frankopan, chapter 12.
Week 13: Historiography
The Question for the thirteenth discussion: what is historiography? How is it reflected in the readings you have done for this course – the textbook, Hurari, Diamond, and Frankopan? What is the bias of each of the authors (from what perspective do they approach the story of history)? Which perspective d you like best and why? Which one do you like least and why? (NOTE: I am not asking you which BOOK you like best; I am asking you which perspective/bias you like best.) What does this say about your bias about history – and about the world today?
Frankopan, Chapter 13 and Chapter 14.
