Last blog post

The twentieth century was a very depressing century. This century consisted of World War I and World War II. As well as the Holocaust, Great Depression and Hiroshima. It's extremely scary to think about what could happen if we were to go into another World War. With the discovery of nuclear weapons it's terrifying that if one person or country pushes the wrong button the world as we know it could disappear. Although the twentieth century had a lot of negative, there were definitely some positive outcomes for women especially. In the Soviet Union there was a women's movement that put new laws in place. These laws included making marriage a "civil procedure". Divorce was legalized as well as abortion. Women were not forced to take their husband's last name and working women were entitled to maternity leave. We have come a long way as far as equality but I do think that we still have an even longer way to go. I hope one day we realize that we are all the same. We are all human and all trying to live our lives to the fullest while working towards success. I hope that one day war, injustice, inequality and discrimination become a thing of the past. All we can do is hope for the best but with everything that is currently happening in the world it is at times difficult to hold onto this idea of things getting better. There's no denying that the world we live in right now is a scary place and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried for our future.

Take home quiz

1) “Hallmark Five: We Embrace The Gift Of Diversity.” In what way does Strayer’s textbook, Ways of the World, reflect Hallmark 5 of the SND de Namur?

I think that Strayer’s textbook reflects Hallmark 5 because this Hallmark is about diversity and this book is exactly that. Strayer doesn’t just talk about history in one voice. He tries to discuss historical events through the perspective of all different kinds of peoples. He tries to make us understand what the people before us went through and how they struggled. It’s not just history through the eyes of a dominant white male.

2) Please refer to the learning outcomes in your syllabus for this class. Did the course meet these outcomes? Were any of the outcomes not met? In answering this question, cite specific course activities or assignments that stand out to you.

I believe that all of the learning outcomes were met. Specific ones that stood out to me were Weigh and interpret evidence and present a sustained argument supported by historical evidences” this wan was was met when we had to do the activity with trying to find evidence to support whether or not Paleolithic peoples were more egalitarian than later peoples. This was also demonstrated when we had teams and debated whether or not the Classical Era marked a period of rebirth in China that was just as significant as the Renaissance in Europe or not. And again when we had a debate about the Mongol’s bad rap. I think we demonstrated “the ability to effectively communicate historical knowledge and reasoning orally and in writing” when we took our quizzes and also when we got into groups daily to discuss the topic of the class that day. We conducted research to write our final paper. When we were separated by gender we were able to “analyze the ethical implications of past events from diverse points of view”.

4) Are we moving into a new historical era? Do the items listed under “Post-Modern” reflect the world we live in today and the future we seem to be working toward? Why or why not?

I think we are definitely moving into a new historical era. I don’t think we’re quite there yet but definitely moving toward something different. Whether it’s good or bad, is a whole different question. The world we live in today is completely consumed with technology and business so the second category of what makes an era would be a technological revolution. The third category could transition into te rise of multinational corporate empires and the fourth category being multiple civilizations across the world battle for superiority as our group decided on in the class activity. Our group chose category one to be “Major companies establish social values guiding competitions” but that is the category I’m not sure about. I think this is the category that is holding us back from being a new era. I think that it could be companies establishing social values but I also think it could be we become a place ruled by one person or somehow technology takes over. It’s pretty scary to think about where we could possibly end up.

Chapter 16

The American Revolution and the French Revolution were very different from each other. Strayer states that “the American Revolution expressed tensions of a colonial relationship with a distant imperial power, the French insurrection was driven by sharp conflicts within French society.” The people of France had issues with monarchy and were not afraid to show it. The wealthy had issues with all the new taxes, the middle-class were offended because of the privileges they were not allowed to be a part of and the lower-class were struggling because of the increase price  of bread and increase in unemployment. The French Revolution was much more violent than the American Revolution. What really caught my eye in this chapter was the persistence of the women fighting for equality compared to the women in the American Revolution. Women were a part of the storming of Bastille in 1789. They were more active in major events. Women made political demands and were supported by a few males. They signed petitions about their lack of education, prostitution and the price of bread and soap. They even demanded to bear arms. Somehow, slavery was abolished and the Catholic church was replaced as the place for major events but women were not granted equality. Some men argued that women that tried to fight for their rights were “domineering” and should not be considered to be women at all. I cannot even imagine what it would have been like to live at this time as a woman. Slavery was ended between 1780 to 1890 because of the enlightenment thinkers and it is baffling to me to think that it took them this long to realize that it was not ok to enslave people. 

Chapters 13-15

Chapter 15 caught my attention as soon as I read the title. I have always found religion to be a fascinating topic. I personally am not religious and cannot say that I believe in “God” but find it intriguing as to why others do. My family believes but for some reason I have never believed just because I was told to by my mother. I asked questions. To this day, I still don’t understand why they believe. She has told me that she has had encounters and was able to just know that God was there and I asked her to explain how but she couldn’t. I have nothing against those that are religious, I just, for some reason, am not. I have recently began feeling like an outsider when it comes to religion because it seems that everyone I know is religious and believes in a “God”. I found it very interesting and almost comforting to know that the number of those who believe has been declining. I felt that I was one of the only ones. You go on social media and everyone and their mothers are posting about how they thank God for where they are and for the opportunities that he brought to them whereas I believe that hard work and dedication gets you to where you want to be. Slayter talks about how people from all around the world have been are are currently traveling in order to spread the word of God and I’m not sure that I agree with that action. It’s one thing to practice your own beliefs but one of my biggest pet peeves is when someone tries to shove religion down my throat and tells me that I’m bad or I’m going to hell just because I don’t believe in what they believe in. Nevertheless, I found this chapter to be very interesting. I thoroughly enjoy learning about religion and have made it a point to go to different places of worship to learn more about others’ practices.