Lesson #33 - Checking In on India and China

We'll have the Unit #2 Exam information available tomorrow.

This first item is a carry-over from first time I taught this course four years ago, but you might be interested. Basically, as part of Minnesota's 150th anniversary as a state in 2008, the Minnesota Historical Society came up with a list of 150 "things" that have shaped Minnesota: MN150 (It's the alphabetical list of the items that were featured at the Minnesota Historical Society's exhibit.) I'll be honest. I was surprised by how many items were completely new to me...

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We'll wrap up our look at the Conrad-Demarest Model in the "big groups." "India" will have time to walk us through the model as it pertains to the Mauryan and Gupta Empires. Following that, "China" will walk us through the Han Empire. This will be our final look at the material.

With the remaining time, I'll be interested in your feedback and opinions on these questions:

• How well do these empires fit the model established by Conrad and Demarest?
• Given the criteria established by Conrad and Demarest, how effective were these empires?
• Which of the empires do you feel had the greatest accomplishments? Why?
• Does having a model like this help in studying a subject like this? Why or why not?
• What ways, if any, do you believe the model could be changed and/or improved?
• If you were to apply this model to modern America, what conclusions would you draw?

We'll spend the next two days working on a variety of activities related to Africa. Initially, I'm interested in the preconceptions and first impressions you have/had regarding Africa, as well as whether reading in Chapter 8 has changed those thoughts in any way.

Second, I've got several maps so that we can take a look at the geography of Africa. Draw upon what you know and what you read, as well as what you see. We'll look to identify some of the dominant geographical features, as well as make inferences about how they may have affected the development of Africa and the course of its history.

Terms to know: Sahara, Sahel, savanna

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You can use any remaining time to continue working on your "Fakebook" projects. (You can access all the information back on Lesson #28.

HOMEWORK for tomorrow: Friday, January 7th

Continue your reading in Chapter 8 with Section 2. ("Migration") Tomorrow's quiz will be fill in the blank. (You'll receive the 8:3 quiz to compete as a take-home assignment. I'd like it back no later than Monday.)

Remember that your "Fakebook" assignment is due on Monday.