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.