Along with this World History class I am also taking a French culture, USA vs France at NDNU. We have learned so much about France, the culture, business and personal and we have also talked a lot about the history of France which has set the foundation for the way the French live and operate their country today. This beng said I was particularly interested in the section in Chapter 17 about the French Revolution. The only real exposure I remember about the French Revoution in high school was the movie and book "Animal Farm", which is the negative side of Napoleon Bonaparte and the French Revolution. Of course there are positives and negatives to every change that happens. Especially when it comes to something as big as a revolution and war. Being from Canada and living in a province that was previously under the Brittish rule, it makes sense to me now that this was the picture that was panted for us about the french Revolution under Napoleon. However this revolution was painted it did have its ups and downs. Come to know now that the French as a whole tend to be very proud and grateful of this time in French and European history. The French Revolution of 1799 - 1815 put into place many of the systems that the French still have today. The revolutions marked the beginning in the separation of Church and state for France, which is sill true today. France is considered a country with no defined religion as a culture or a stated power, and some even consider an atheist nation. One of the major things that this particular revolution brought to France was the education system that France has today.
Per Strayer, the French Revolution was similar to that of the American Revolution in the way that it was fought and the tactics used since some of the French fought alongside the American colonists. They also differed in the ways that they wanted to spread a influence other regions and countries.While the Americans were working to build upo the past and grow, the French revolutionists wanted to begin from square one and redifine things by starting over and making the time of the revolution year one. The French revolution created one of the worlds largest army's at the time and all adult men were required to serve. It definitely was not a time of freedom in the same way that Americans view freedom. From what I have learned of France, the general population doesn't seem to mind the way the country is run as a whole and the systems that have been put in place in the country, many of which were born of the French Revolution. The French have a deep respect and pride for their country and support the way it is run. This may be due to the fact that they know nothing different in their own country or they really do believe that it is the best way to run a country.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Blog #5
While I was reading about slavery in this weeks reading, it reminded me how sad and twisted our society has been and still is. There have been so many wins and changes over the years, mostly due to the revolutions and awareness of the issues at at. Even though our world has made many strides in the direction to help ed slavery, even still slavery is still a major problem everywhere in the world. I was already interesting to me how Strayer chose to add slavery to a chapter that was discussing trading. Interesting and at the same time discouraging. Discouraging since slavery is not trad but it was and in a lot of ways still is seen that way. Reading the information about slavery back then, and knowing about what goes on today, made me wonder if we will ever really be rid of "people trading". My hope is that we will and that more people like William Wilberforce, Martin Luther king and many more who have helped to bring slavery or opression in some way to some sort of stop. I wish I could say they brought it to an end, but this is just not the reality unfortunately.
Millions of children today are take captive against their will and forced to work in sweat shops and or forced into the sex trade. Even in the US, or maybe I should say especially in the US, since we do have one of the highest rates of human import and export in the slave trade, people are sold and bought every day against their will. Craigs list, a resource that so many know and trust and rely on, is involved in this trade. People are conned into come to interview for a "nanny" job, only to never return.
Parents who feel they cannot upport their children are also conned into believeing that their children will be given a good future if they "sell" them to these people who seem so caring. This happens most prevalently in some of the poorer Asian countries but also happens in many other affluent countries.The whole thing just sickens me really, and the worst part to me is that high powered officials, politicians, service agents such as police, fire, school teachers, and even the FBI and CIA, to name a few are involved in this type of thing. It is sad to know that our country and really this world is party run by these people. We are supposed to look up to those of some of those professions and do as they do in society, follow the rules and laws. To see the enforcers of the law doing something so against everything they stand for is really sick.
In so many ways our world and societies have evolved in many different ways and made many wonderful discoveries, like the discoveries of the solar system and the earth being round. I hope that one day the slave trade will be abolished. what would you call that kind of era if not Modern as we discussed in class. Perhaps the Sexual Perversion Era?
Some good news though, here is an email that I just ironically received from IJM - International Justice Mission.
Just this week, a powerful front for trafficking in the Philippines was shut down permanently, as the government forced the closure of a popular bar where girls as young as 15 were sold to customers for sex.
The closure order is a direct result of a recent operation in which IJM and the National Bureau of Investigation (the Philippines’ equivalent of the FBI) secured the rescue of 14 girls trafficked to the bar for sex.
Charges have been filed before the Department of Justice against 27 suspected perpetrators, from the floor managers and pimps to the owners and incorporators of the bar.
The rescued girls continue to receive counseling and medical care. IJM attorneys will fight for justice for these survivors. And the lock on this bar’s doors means the abuse will no longer continue.
--------
This is a sign of hope after discouragement.
Millions of children today are take captive against their will and forced to work in sweat shops and or forced into the sex trade. Even in the US, or maybe I should say especially in the US, since we do have one of the highest rates of human import and export in the slave trade, people are sold and bought every day against their will. Craigs list, a resource that so many know and trust and rely on, is involved in this trade. People are conned into come to interview for a "nanny" job, only to never return.
Parents who feel they cannot upport their children are also conned into believeing that their children will be given a good future if they "sell" them to these people who seem so caring. This happens most prevalently in some of the poorer Asian countries but also happens in many other affluent countries.The whole thing just sickens me really, and the worst part to me is that high powered officials, politicians, service agents such as police, fire, school teachers, and even the FBI and CIA, to name a few are involved in this type of thing. It is sad to know that our country and really this world is party run by these people. We are supposed to look up to those of some of those professions and do as they do in society, follow the rules and laws. To see the enforcers of the law doing something so against everything they stand for is really sick.
In so many ways our world and societies have evolved in many different ways and made many wonderful discoveries, like the discoveries of the solar system and the earth being round. I hope that one day the slave trade will be abolished. what would you call that kind of era if not Modern as we discussed in class. Perhaps the Sexual Perversion Era?
Some good news though, here is an email that I just ironically received from IJM - International Justice Mission.
Just this week, a powerful front for trafficking in the Philippines was shut down permanently, as the government forced the closure of a popular bar where girls as young as 15 were sold to customers for sex.
The closure order is a direct result of a recent operation in which IJM and the National Bureau of Investigation (the Philippines’ equivalent of the FBI) secured the rescue of 14 girls trafficked to the bar for sex.
Charges have been filed before the Department of Justice against 27 suspected perpetrators, from the floor managers and pimps to the owners and incorporators of the bar.
The rescued girls continue to receive counseling and medical care. IJM attorneys will fight for justice for these survivors. And the lock on this bar’s doors means the abuse will no longer continue.
--------
This is a sign of hope after discouragement.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Bolg #4
I know that some people critcize the way that Strayer portrays the historical events. This is the first real in depth experince I have had with some of the history we are learning and I am actually enjoying the way that he writes and the analogies he uses to describe the people and the events.
It was really interesting to learn about the mongols while doing this weeks readings. I have never learned about them in this way before, nor have I heard much about them in general. They were a very intriguing culture. They were sorta revolutionary I would say in building an empire even though they were a nomadic society. At that time it was not very common for a nomadic community to be so organized and have such resources as the mongols did. They re-invented the wheel a little when in came to agriculture. Some may calling it stealing but others would call it innovation and efficiency. One of the ways that they sustained themselves as they were travelling from oe place to another was to take from other communities that were settled. They also were known for their amazing horse back riding skills, they had many horses and really changed the idea of what it meant to ride horseback and really took it to the next level for their time. They were able to heard other animals since they had horses which allowed them even more food supply along with the agriculture they grew themselves as well as took from others. They allowed women to ride horses as well, which enables them to be an even stronger army due to having mmore resources. They were able to mobile since they had built their community that way and were able to move from place to place while still sustaining themselves and their peoples. They had lots of skilled craftsmen, educated people and missionaries which made them a very diverse community.
They helped to bring the two ends of Eurasia together more than everr before. They helped make it safe for travellers ad tradesmen to travel on the roads, probably since they were the ones stealing or bargaining from people, and making sure others were not. But none the less, they did help make it safe, in whatever the definition of safe was in that day. They were considered a Eurasian network to trade, travel and many other things.They had relay stations which better enables commuication amoung communities.
There was a dark side to the mongols however, while they were revolutionizing the silk roads and building a one of a kind nomadic empire they were also stealing and pillaging and killing, ans waging war for mor ad more power and resources. With power and more "stuff" also comes greed and the need more more power and more "stuff". This has not changed even today in the world, wars are still wage over land power and titles and even poeple. Even though the mongols were not the first to fight for what they wanted they sure helped to set the stage and build on the foundation for many years and societies to come since they had such an impact on the Eurasian world at the time.
It was really interesting to learn about the mongols while doing this weeks readings. I have never learned about them in this way before, nor have I heard much about them in general. They were a very intriguing culture. They were sorta revolutionary I would say in building an empire even though they were a nomadic society. At that time it was not very common for a nomadic community to be so organized and have such resources as the mongols did. They re-invented the wheel a little when in came to agriculture. Some may calling it stealing but others would call it innovation and efficiency. One of the ways that they sustained themselves as they were travelling from oe place to another was to take from other communities that were settled. They also were known for their amazing horse back riding skills, they had many horses and really changed the idea of what it meant to ride horseback and really took it to the next level for their time. They were able to heard other animals since they had horses which allowed them even more food supply along with the agriculture they grew themselves as well as took from others. They allowed women to ride horses as well, which enables them to be an even stronger army due to having mmore resources. They were able to mobile since they had built their community that way and were able to move from place to place while still sustaining themselves and their peoples. They had lots of skilled craftsmen, educated people and missionaries which made them a very diverse community.
They helped to bring the two ends of Eurasia together more than everr before. They helped make it safe for travellers ad tradesmen to travel on the roads, probably since they were the ones stealing or bargaining from people, and making sure others were not. But none the less, they did help make it safe, in whatever the definition of safe was in that day. They were considered a Eurasian network to trade, travel and many other things.They had relay stations which better enables commuication amoung communities.
There was a dark side to the mongols however, while they were revolutionizing the silk roads and building a one of a kind nomadic empire they were also stealing and pillaging and killing, ans waging war for mor ad more power and resources. With power and more "stuff" also comes greed and the need more more power and more "stuff". This has not changed even today in the world, wars are still wage over land power and titles and even poeple. Even though the mongols were not the first to fight for what they wanted they sure helped to set the stage and build on the foundation for many years and societies to come since they had such an impact on the Eurasian world at the time.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Blog #3
“Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need. I say love, it is a flower, and you it's only seed” (Bette Midler - “The Rose”). The revolutionary Silk Roads, China’s powerful and innovative dynasty and the spread of Christianity, were formed by just a seed. They all blossomed from one small idea into a majestic flower, all in their own ways. But what does love and hunger and an aching need have to do with those three things? Which is the greater accomplishment? And which if the three; silk roads, china’s dynasty and the spread of Christianity is the most important? I guess that would remain in the eye of the beholder and perhaps in the impact that each one had on the world in its baby phases as well as today.
Strayer described the Silk Roads as “land-based trade routes that linked pastoral and agricultural peoples as well as the large civilization on the continent’s outer rim.” (Page 219) This meant that people could move about as they pleased a lot more efficiently and quickly. Trade between many different cultures and countries made a mark on the world. We could say that the Silk Roads were arguably the most impactful and extensive idea or expansion of a new idea and invention during the years 500-1500. We could say this and people would be satisfied with the argument. However we still have two other very important factors that impacted this particular time frame to consider.
Strayer says that a leading world historian described Tang dynasty as “the best ordered state in the world.” An “economic revolution” that made Song dynasty China “by far the richest, most skilled, and most populous country on earth.” (Page 244) Italian visitor Marco Polo described Hangzhou, China as “beyond dispute the finest and noblest city in the world.” (Page 245) These are pretty amazing observations or opinions about China, especially for their time. China was, and in some ways still is, an undisputed power in the world that helped revolutionize and really grow the trade industry and the exchange between people and cultures. I would also venture to say that they would not have been able to expand and trade as much as they had, if it were not for the roads that had been created to enable that trade. We see here already that the Silk Roads and the success of China are greatly intertwined and I am sure we will see that same concept with Christianity.
Christianity in the classical era took on many shapes and forms, much as it does today. It was adopted by many people and then dropped culturally by some. Different types of practices were created and spread throughout the world as people knew it; Judaism, Islam, Roman Catholic, and Greek Orthodox to name a few. Unlike any other religious or spiritual practices in the world at the time, Christianity was unique. One rule under one God, contrary to many other practices with multiple Gods, with the son of God Jesus Christ as the center of many of them. Strayer said that “nothing more dramatically revealed the European expansiveness and the religious passions that informed it that the Crusades, a series of “holy wars” that captured the imagination of Western Christendom for more than four centuries. (Page 286) This is a very big statement that urges me to want to stop right there and say that without a doubt the spread of Christianity was the most significant and impactful of its time. To say this however would be saying that the Silk Roads and routes built for travel would have been of no significance, which would not be fair to say. Without the Silk Roads the spread of Christianity would not have been what it was. It spread to more people in the world than any other practice or religion. Even today it is the most widely spread and un-segregated practice in all the world. In the year 500-1500, it was similar to trade and the power of China and it was just as important as the Silk Roads, in fact the Silk Roads created more freedom for the world to hear of the “good news” of Jesus Christ and God the Father since there was a clear path set forth for it to be brought to the masses.
You see, they don’t all necessarily link together in a completely distinct way, but Silk Roads, China’s powerful dynasty and the spread of Christianity are all just as impactful and in my opinion just cannot be compared. Each of the three had a very specific purpose and therefore are all on different playing fields. They each had a very high impact, especially for their time, and each brought a beautiful richness of its own to the culture and peoples in the world at its time. People believed and grew in their faith in the new concepts and innovation that each proved to be and each was just as important in building the foundations of our world today as the other. I can’t argue that one of these three big achievements or events or inventions, or really whatever else they can be called, really all were intertwined and in the powerful and beautiful flowers that they are if it were not for the other. Each one of their inventors or idea makers or believers, hungered for a new way a new life and a new world and made it all possible with the help of other and a little sun and water, and love of course for the seed to blossom in the ways that it did.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Part 2 Chapter 5
Part 2 Chapter 5
Eurasian Cultural Tradition
Eurasian Cultural Tradition
- In 2004, about 180 married couples in Beijing, gathered in front of a picture of Confucius, whom they considered their country’s ancient sage, they all took an oath, pledging fidelity to each other and promising never to divorce.
- This took place in a small communist country, which had not honored Confucius and his teachings for a while before.
- A lot of political leaders that were communists began encouraging “social harmony” as the country’s cultural landscape was changing.
- Buddhism has also had resurgence in China. Many temples were destroyed during the beginning of communism but they have since been reopened.
Religion/Philosophy | Religious figure | Location | Key points |
Zoroastrianism | Zoroaster | Persia | One God, conflict between good and evil |
Judaism | Hebrew prophets | Middle East | High God, chosen people, justice |
Hinduism | Upanishads | India | Brahmins, karma, moksha, goal of liberation, rebirth |
Confucianism | Confucius | China | Social harmony, secular, education, family is a model |
Jainism | Mahavira | India | Creatures have souls, nonviolence, opposed to caste system |
Buddhism | Gautama | India | Suffering is caused by desire, end by moral living and meditation |
Daoism | Laozi, Zhuangzi | China | Withdrawal from the world, into nature simple living |
Greek Rationalism | Socrates, Plato, Aristotle | Greece | Secular explanation of nature and human life |
Christianity | Jesus | Palestine/Israel | Love based on intimate relationship with God/Jesus |
Christianity | Saint Paul | Palestine/Israel/East Rome | Religion for all under one God, savior is Jesus Christ |
Cultural traditions in more detail:
China and the search for order - tradition of state building
- Zhou dynasty - 1122 BCE - Mandate of heaven
- Political Unity
- Zhou dynasty - weakened - 500 BCE
- Unity that China had before was gone, period of chaos, violence and disharmony
- Legalism was seen as the answer to the chaos
- laws and rules laid down and strictly enforced
- Pessimistsic view
- Legalistic approach cause harsh reunification of China under he Shihuangdi and the Qin dynasty - 221-206 BCE
- After legalism no philosopher or ruler presented or advocated their ideas ever again
- Figure was Confucius - 551-479 BCE
- Key in solving disorder in China
- Confucius was a thinker and a teacher
- Teachings were called the Analects
- Created a body of thought
- No laws and punishment
- Moral examples
- Unequal relationships
- Relationship between superior and inferior such as father/son, husband/wife
- Analogy relationship between superior and inferior is that like the wind and grass, the grass must bend when the wind blows
- Education was the key to moral betterment
- Became a central element of education system and people had to take examinations to gain official positions
- Set the tone for defining the lives of women - Ban Zhao - 45-116 BCE
- Usually the only women that could afford the education needed to pass the exams were that of wealthy men
- Figure was Laozi - 6th century BCE archivist
- Writings were called the Daodejing
- Zhuangzi philosopher - 369-286 BCE
- Thinking was counter to Confucius thinking
- Encouraged spontaneous, individualistic and natural behavior
- Focused on nature
- Central focus was the Dao - the way of nature
- Encouraged people to withdraw from society and education
- Valued self-empowerment and encouraged people to retreat to nature
- High powered figured considered Daoism and Confucianism, the yin and the yang of Chinese symbols, during the say they practiced Confucianism and at home after work they retreated to nature and practiced Daoism
- Embraced the divine and spiritual things
- Main religion - Hinduism - had no historical founder
- India was known for embracing diversity
Discussion questions:
1) Name at least two (2) Thinkers/Philosophies from the Classical Era and discuss their practics and beliefs.
2) When comparing Jesus to Buddha what do you find to be the most significant differences?
3) What was distinctive about the Jewish religious tradition?
4) In what ways was Christianity transformed in the five centuries following the death of Jesus?
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