World History 9 (Vergin)

Today's lesson will probably carry over a bit into tomorrow's class, but we'll see how far we get today. We'll begin with a look back at the Muslim "Gunpowder" Empires you worked on yesterday. Then, the Age of Exploration (and its consequences) is basically our topic for the rest of the way.

Here's the completed version of Muslim "Gunpowder Empires" matrix.

The Age of Exploration: We'll do a number of things to try to understand how and why the Europeans (particularly the Spanish and Portuguese in the beginning) began to venture further from home, forever changing the course of history.

For those of you thinking about the reading and the Unit #4 Objective Exam, I'd be sure I could define the following terms and answer the following questions:

Defining terms: "God, Gold and Glory," Prince Henry the Navigator, Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, Treaty of Tordesillas, Dutch East India Company

• What motivated the Age of Exploration?
  
• What scientific and technical advancements made the Age of Exploration possible?
  
• What were the early claims of the Portuguese? The Spanish? Others?

"Seeing" the World: This first activity will help us see just how differently people saw the world of five hundred years ago as opposed to the GoogleEarth outlook of today. You will get a copy of a map to show us on the overhead. (If you want a better look at the little writing on your map, go to the original source at A World History for Us All and scroll down to pages 22-30.)

Preparing for the Voyage: First, let's make sure we've "packed" what we need in terms of new technologies and knowledge...

Discussion question #1: If you were planning a long-distance sea voyage during the second half of the 15th century to little-known destinations along unknown routes, what problems with the physical environment would you expect to have to deal with during the voyage? What problems of human-to-human relations would you expect to have to deal with on board and on arrival at your destination? What might you do to minimize or deal with these problems?

Discussion question #2: What personality traits do you think would have been helpful to the long-distance mariners of the 15th and 16th centuries? How would they have been helpful? Who, if anyone, in modern society is called upon to possess a similar set of qualities?

Discussion question #3: How accurate is this statement? "It was adopting and adapting the ideas and technologies of earlier times and other peoples, rather than anything they came up with on their own, that made possible the long distance voyages of the Iberian mariners in the 15th and early 16th centuries."

Discussion question #4: How would you rank the following in terms of importance to voyages such as (#1) da Gama's reaching India and returning and (#2) Columbus' crossing the Atlantic and returning? Explain why.

• Technological changes in European ship design after about 1400
• Existence of reasonably reliable east-west and west-east wind systems
• Changes in the representation of the world on European maps after about 1400
• Europeans learning to use the stars/ planets to establish their latitude and distance from the equator
• Having guns available on shipboard
• Personal characteristics of those undertaking the voyages

Conquest of the Oceans: We'll make you all "specialists" in one of five voyages from the Age of Exploration.

• Treasure fleets of Zheng He
  
• Prince Henry sends ships along the African shore
  
• First voyage of Cristobal Colon (aka Christopher Columbus)
  
• de Gama's sea voyage to India
  
• Magellan circumnavigates the world

Using both the notes and the sources, try to figure out answers to these questions:

1. Who ordered or authorized the voyage?
2. What reasons were given for making the voyage?
3. How was the voyage paid for?
4. What were the attitudes of the voyagers towards the people they met?
5. What problems were encountered with people they met?
6. Who benefited from the voyage? How?

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Wednesday, May 23rd

Please read Section 2 of Chapter 19, "China Limits European Contacts." The quiz will be true/false.

Be sure the "Conquest of the Ocean" primary source you received is ready to go tomorrow, assuming that we don't get there today.

Today, we'll turn our attention to the empires of the Muslim world found in Chapter 18. There's a perception that, after the Middle Ages, the rise of European power and military might meant that they modernized while the Islamic world was left behind. However, when measured by size, population or military power, the so-called "gunpowder empires" of the Ottomans, Safavids, and the Mughal rivaled or exceeded in power any of the states of Europe. As the age of warfare by well-trained men on horseback gave way to the cannons and guns of a new time, these Muslim empires reached the peak of their power.

Our plan for today will be simple. You'll work on one of the three empires today in class. Tomorrow, we'll look for comparisons across and contrasts among the three. You should download a copy of The Muslim "Gunpowder" Empires to help you in your work. The information in your text should be sufficient to answer virtually all of the questions, but you are free to look online as well for additional help. 

You and your group need to create a thorough chart for your empire.  The information should be well-organized, clear, and comprehensive. Once you group has put this together, EMAIL me a copy of it.  This needs to be done by the end of class today. That way, I can compile a "master" chart for your use in class tomorrow.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Tuesday, May 22nd

It's simple. Read Section 1 of Chapter 19, "Europeans Explore the East." The quiz should be fill-in-the-blank.

Remember that you should return the 18:2 reading quiz to me if you have not yet already done so.

Be sure that you are keeping up with your Current Events assignment as well. This will be week #3.

Welcome to the Fourth (Almost) Annual MPA Renaissance and Reformation Round Table. This will be a graded discussion. You'll find your seat at your name tag. Remember that, in our initial round of introductions, you'll need to provide the following at a minimum:

• Who are you?
  
• What was your significance during this time?
  
• At least one statement of opinion/perspective (For example, "The Renaissance was great for women because...")

In most cases, I'd expect this to be between 30 seconds and a minute. Be sure to TALK to us, not just read something at us.

I may group folks differently, but here is our cast of characters. (You're obviously not all represented in this smaller class...)

Baldassare Castiglione
Desiderius Erasmus
Francesco Petrarch
Giovanni Boccaccio
Girolamo Savonarola
Isabella d'Este
Johann Gutenberg
Leonardo da Vinci
Lorenzo de Medici
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Niccolo Machiavelli
Raphael Sanzio
Thomas More
Vittoria Colonna
William Shakespeare

Elizabeth I
Henry VIII
HRE Charles V
Ignatius of Loyola
John Calvin
Martin Luther
Pope Leo X
John Knox

We can begin with questions like the following:

• What conditions were necessary for the Renaissance and Reformation to have occurred?
• How did the Renaissance impact you? What were its greatest strengths? What were its biggest drawbacks?
• Was the Renaissance really a "new" time, or was it simply a continuation of the Middle Ages?
• How did the Church influence the Renaissance? How was it influenced by the Renaissance?
• Did the Renaissance really affect life for the "average" person? Why or why not?


• Who should be considered the epitome of the Renaissance Man (Woman)? Would it be possible for someone today to match his/her achievements? Explain.
• What work of art or literature best epitomizes the Renaissance?
  
  
• In what ways was the the Reformation foreshadowed by Renaissance thinking?
• Was the Reformation necessary? Why or why not?
• Was the Reformation a positive or negative development? Why?
• How should history judge Martin Luther?
• Did the Reformation really affect life for the "average" person? Why or why not?
• Where should blame be placed for the blood that was spilled in the name of religion during the Reformation?
  
  
• Which event has proven to be more historically significant, the Renaissance or the Reformation? Why?
• Is America undergoing either a Renaissance or Reformation today? Should America undergo one or both of these movements today? Why?

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Friday, May 21st

You should read Chapter 18, Section 3 ("The Mughal Empire in India") for class time Monday. The quiz will be multiple choice.

You should turn in the take-home quiz for Chapter 18, Section 2 ("Cultural Blending") no later than your arrival at class on Monday.

Basically, you can choose to watch and react to one film from my list. You'll post your answers here to the blog, and that's what I'll use to award credit. You'll receive up to ten extra credit points for successfully completing this assignment.

DISCLAIMERS: I'm simply listing films that I believe are appropriate choices. I am not paying attention to the ratings or content. While I have seen some of the films on the list, I have certainly not seen them all. There may be content in some that you find objectionable. Since this isn't a required assignment, I'm not bothering with permission slips or anything. I trust that you can do a quick Google search to figure out if the film is both interesting and appropriate for you and your family. I'd also recommend consulting The Internet Movie Database for more information/reviews, etc.

I am trusting that you will select a film you haven't seen and that you will actually watch it in its entirety. You are welcome to get together with others to watch a film. (Everyone needs to do their individual review, however.)

DUE DATE: I want these reviews emailed to me no later than the end of the evening on Thursday, June 7th.  After that, you get no credit.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER:

• What film did you watch?
• What elements of "World History" was touched on by the film?
• How did the film reinforce and/or change your understanding of that history?
• What did you think of the film? (Comment on whatever you would like.)

You don't need to write a book, but I'd expect a couple of decent paragraphs or so...

FILM LIST: I will certainly add more titles to the list as they come to me. (I will consider suggestions as well.) I might also add some brief descriptions if/when I get a chance. For now, here is a start of films that I consider choices for the assignment.

• Mohammed, Messenger of God (1977 - PG)
• Alexander Nevsky (1938 - Not Rated) This is an OLD Russian film. It's considered a classic, but it's not a modern "Hollywood" film at all.
• Alfred the Great (1969 - M)
• The Lion in Winter (1968 - It's called perhaps the "greatest" of the classic medieval films.)
• Henry V (1989 - version of Shakespeare's play)
• A Man for All Seasons (1966 - life of Thomas More)
• Elizabeth (1988 - R)
• Braveheart (1995 - R)
• Luther (1974 - NR)
• Ran (1985 - R) Japanese film version of King Lear
• Kingdom of Heaven (2005 - R)
  
• 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992 - PG13)
• The Mission (1986 - PG)
  

We're going to hear from the Incans today, and we'll use the rest of the hour to get through some odds and ends, mostly related to the Reformation.

Maya, Aztec and Inca - Early American Empires

Friday, May 18th: Incan Empire

The Impact of the Reformation

We'll lead off with the set of performances that we set up yesterday...

Henry VIII and the Anglican Church (p. 492)
Elizabeth restores Protestantism (p. 494)
Calvin spreads the Reformation (p. 495)
Ignatius and the Jesuits (p. 498)
Reforming Popes (p. 499)

Question: What are the implications of using the term Catholic Reformation and opposed to Counter Reformation? Which do you prefer? Why?

Christian Denominations - Now that we've had both of the major splits that will occur in the Christian faith, we'll take a few minutes to look at two graphic representations of the various branches of the religion.

HOMEWORK for next session: Friday, May 18th

You should be reading Chapter 18, Section 1, "The Ottomans Build a Vast Empire," for Friday's class. The quiz will be true/false.

Tomorrow, we'll have our Renaissance and Reformation Round Table discussions. I want to add one more requirement to the "Renaissance and Reformation Round Table." We'll do a quick round of "introductions" at the beginning. Basically, you'll need to provide the following at a minimum:

• Who are you?
  
• What was your significance during this time?
  
• At least one statement of opinion/perspective (For example, "The Renaissance was great for women because...")

In most cases, I'd expect this to be between 30 seconds and a minute. Be sure to TALK to us, not just read something at us.

It's the Aztecs today, and then back to the Reformation... (Remind me to finish up the Luther material that we may have missed yesterday.)

Maya, Aztec and Inca - Early American Empires

Wednesday, May 16th: Aztec Empire
Thursday, May 17th: Inca Empire

Reformation and Counter-Reformation

Let's make sure all the Luther material we were supposed to go over yesterday makes sense to people...

More events from the Reformation:
Some of you will like this, but it might drive others of you crazy. You're going to be assigned an event from the Reformation. Your group will have your choice of the following ways to transmit to us the "big picture" of what happened.

1. Dramatic skit
2. Opera scene
3. Pantomime
4. Rap song
5. Straight-forward "lecture"

In all cases, you'll have about 15 minutes to prepare, and then we'll go through the events in order.

• Henry VIII and the Anglican Church (p. 492) - 3
  
• Elizabeth restores Protestantism (p. 494) - 3
  
• Calvin continues and spreads the Reformation (p. 495-496) - 3
  
• Ignatius and the Jesuits (p. 498) - 2
  
• Reforming Popes (p. 499) - 2
  

I'll help make sure you all get the "facts" you need for each of these events, but this should help you with the "big picture."

Question: What are the implications of using the term Catholic Reformation as opposed to Counter Reformation? Which do you prefer? Why?

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, May 17th

Please finish your reading in Chapter 16 with Section 4, "The Inca Create a Mountain Empire."

Obviously, you need to be ready for your group's presentation if you are an Inca.

Do a little thinking for the Renaissance and Reformation Round Table scheduled for Friday. Remember that you should think a little about what your figure might say to these types of questions. (Not all apply to everyone.)

• How did the Renaissance impact you? What were its greatest strengths? What were its biggest drawbacks?
• Was the Renaissance really a "new" time, or was it simply a continuation of the Middle Ages?
• How did the Church influence the Renaissance? How was it influenced by the Renaissance?
• Did the Renaissance really affect life for the "average" person? Why or why not?
  
  
• Was the Reformation necessary? Why or why not?
• Was the Reformation a positive or negative development? Why?
• Did the Reformation really affect life for the "average" person? Why or why not?


• What conditions were necessary for the Renaissance and Reformation to have occurred?


• Is America undergoing either a Renaissance or Reformation today? Should America undergo one or both of these movements today? Why?

We'll begin our "Early American Empires" presentations today with the Mayans, as well as starting our look at the Reformation. (We'll also take a look at the final art works from the Renaissance Art Festival.)

Maya, Aztec and Inca - Early American Empires

Tuesday, May 15th: Mayan Empire presentation (+ Reformation)
Wednesday, May 16th: Aztec Empire presentation (+ Reformation)
Thursday, May 17th: Incan Empire presentation (+ Reformation)

Your group will have about 15-20 minutes of class time on your date. (Presentations shorter than 10 minutes or longer than 25 may be penalized.) Your "presentation" is expected to include the following elements.

• an outline of the material in your section (1 page maximum) for a class handout
• at least 10 visual images to project in class
• a 3 - 5 minute "introduction" to your empire
• a 3 - 5 minute "focus" on a topic of particular interest
• a brief discussion among group members on the question: "Were the ____ civilized? Why or why not?" (You can disagree with each other.)
• anything else relevant that you would like to include

Figure that each of the 5 components are worth 5 points maximum. You get another potential of 10 for your use of class time in preparation and your attentiveness as an audience member. There are another five points you can earn for the "anything else" or overall impression, etc. That's a total of 40, but we'll decrease that (probably in half) for the grade book. So, it's probably going to be worth 20 points.

Introduction to the Reformation

We'll look at Martin Luther today, saving Henry VIII and the rest for tomorrow's class. By the time we are finished, you should be sure that you understand the following terms.

Defining terms: Martin Luther, indulgences, Friar Tetzel, Wittenberg, 95 Theses (1517), Reformation, Pope Leo X, papal bull (1520), HRE Charles V, Diet of Worms (1521), Edict of Worms (1521), Prince Frederick the Wise, Peasants' Revolt, Protestant, Peace of Augsburg (1555)

These are the questions we'll work to answer:

• What were the underlying social, political, economic and religious causes of the Reformation?
• How did Luther challenge the Church? What ideas were at the base of his teachings?
• How did the Catholic Church react to Luther's challenge?
• What was the impact of Luther and his actions?
  

• Martin Luther - site from PBS Empires
  
• Martin Luther's 95 Theses - October 31, 1517
• Exurge Domine - Condemning the Errors of Martin Luther - Pope Leo X - 1520
• Martin Luther - excerpts from speech at Diet of Worms - 1521
• Martin Luther - "The Jews and Their Lies" - 1543 NOTE: One thing that is often overlooked in Martin Luther's career is a strong degree of Anti-Semitism in his writings. These excerpts have been posted at a site called the Jewish Virtual Library, and they are linked here not to shock, but rather to get you to think about how these type of writings influence your opinion of Luther.

Renaissance and Reformation Round Table

Remember that we'll be doing this review activity on Friday. All of you should have selected a figure from this time period. You'll be asked to speak from "their" perspective, answering questions and commenting in a way consistent with what they might have done. You don't need to do anything written for your person, but you should certainly know what made them important, how they were affected by the times, etc.

The discussion may go a number of ways, but here are some questions to get you thinking.

• How did the Renaissance impact you? What were its greatest strengths? What were its biggest drawbacks?
• Was the Renaissance really a "new" time, or was it simply a continuation of the Middle Ages?
• How did the Church influence the Renaissance? How was it influenced by the Renaissance?
• Did the Renaissance really affect life for the "average" person? Why or why not?


• Was the Reformation necessary? Why or why not?
• Was the Reformation a positive or negative development? Why?
• Did the Reformation really affect life for the "average" person? Why or why not?


• What conditions were necessary for the Renaissance and Reformation to have occurred?


• Is America undergoing either a Renaissance or Reformation today? Should America undergo one or both of these movements today? Why?

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Wednesday, May 16th

Please read Section 16.3 on the Aztecs for tomorrow's class. The quiz will be back to multiple choice.

Obviously, you need to be ready for your group's presentation if that hasn't yet happened.

We'll have the Renaissance and Reformation Round Table Discussion on Friday, May 18th.

Renaissance Art Festival - Welcome to our annual Renaissance Art and Architecture Festival. You've got a couple minutes to come up and tell us about your work of art/architecture. These are worth 10 points, and I will feel free to penalize poor audience behavior.

Your presentation might consider items like these, as they apply:

• Name of the work
• Name of the artist
• Date of the work (location of creation)
• Description of the work and its creation
• Interesting information about the process of its creation
• Interesting information about materials, style, approach, etc.
• What makes this a "Renaissance" work of art/architecture?
• What Renaissance values, ideas and/or themes does the work depict?
• What is the significance of this work?
• What was its impact during the time when it was created?
• What has been the subsequent impact of the work?
• Where, if anywhere, can the work be seen today?
• What is your reaction to the work? What do you think of it?

Renaissance Art and Architecture
Masaccio - The Expulsion of Adam and Eve (Brancacci Chapel - 1425)
Brunelleschi - Duomo (Florence: 1420 - 1436)
Donatello - David (1430)
Jan van Eyck - Arnolfini Wedding (1434)
Paolo Uccello - The Battle of San Romano (1438-1440)
Leonardo da Vinci - The Annunciation - (1472 - 1475)
Perugino - Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter (1480 - 1482)
Botticelli - The Birth of Venus (after 1482)
Leonardo da Vinci - Vitruvian Man (c. 1485 - 1492)
Leonardo da Vinci - The Last Supper (1495 - 1497)
Michelangelo - Pieta (1500)
Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa (1502)
Hieronymus Bosch - The Garden of Earthly Delights (1503 - 1504)
Michelangelo - David (1504)
Michelangelo - Holy Family (1506)
Michelangelo - Creation of Man (Sistine Chapel - 1510)
Raphael - School of Athens (1510)
Raphael - Sistine Madonna (1512 - 1514)
Michelangelo - Moses (1515)
Raphael - Transfiguration (1520)
Michelangelo - The Last Judgment (Sistine Chapel: 1534 - 1541)
Bramante, Michelangelo, others - St. Peter's Basilica (Rome: 1506 - 1626)

Connection to Today: We've talked a little about the role of patronage in the art of the Renaissance. We have also talked about its significance in the "civic life" of Florence and other cities. Today, while patronage takes many forms, one that has generated a spirited debate is that of governmental funding for the arts. Let's talk about that a bit as time permits...

Here's the homepage for the National Endowment for the Arts. The site features a list of "Exemplary projects funded since 1965" that you might find interesting.

It is currently estimated that each American taxpayer ends up "contributing" less than $1 of their taxes to the NEA.

In the late 1980s, an artist named Andres Serrano generated much controversy for art produced after he received a $15,000 NEA grant. I've linked you to a page of Senate testimony used in a college philosophy course lesson on this topic.

• Should the US government use public money to fund the arts? Why or why not?
• Should there be limits imposed on what types of art will be funded? If so, how?
• What should be government's role, if any, with respect to art?

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Tuesday, May 15th

We're back to reading in Chapter 16 for the next few days. Please read Chapter 16, Section 2, "Mayan Kings and Cities" for tomorrow's quiz. We'll be doing a matching quiz.

Here's a reminder of the remaining schedule for the week. (You can find the requirements for the Americas presentations on yesterday's blog entry.)

Tuesday, May 15th: Mayan Empire presentation (+ Reformation)
Wednesday, May 16th: Aztec Empire presentation (+ Reformation)
Thursday, May 17th: Incan Empire presentation (+ Reformation)

We'll have the Renaissance and Reformation Round Table Discussion on Friday, May 18th.