World History hw essay2
World History
History Essay
Essay about What is World History?
World History in Context Essay
The Importance of History Essay
World History Reflection
1. World History hw essay2
Korey Neal
Dr. Eric Mayer
World History to 1500–51337
February 24, 2015
Rise of Civilizations
Egypt and Mesopotamia were two civilizations existing during the time period of 2000–1200 BCE.
These civilizations were shaped by their environment, involved with trade, and faced changes in
government after the 100 year drought; however, they differed in that Egypt was shaped by the Nile,
traded goods for goods and changed their outlook on the pharaoh who was ruler of all; whereas,
Mesopotamia was shaped by the Tigris and Euphrates, traded money for goods, and had a ruler over
rulers. It is undeniable that the natural environment of ancient Mesopotamia had a profound effect
on the earliest civilizations known to the world. Humankind's ability...show more content...
Wandering groups of people happened to come upon this fertile land. The warm temperatures
allowed a permanent civilization to begin. Mesopotamia is a region which has a huge variety of
geography combined into one expanse of land. There are rivers, valleys, mountains, floodplains,
deserts, and marshes splotched around the region. Mesopotamia was known in antiquity as a seat
of learning, and it is believed that Thales of Miletus (known as the 'first philosopher') studied
there. As the Babylonians believed that water was the 'first principle' from which all else flowed,
and as Thales is famous for that very claim, it seems probable he studied in the region. Intellectual
pursuits were highly valued across the region, and the schools (devoted primarily to the priestly
class) were said to be as numerous as temples and taught reading, writing, religion, law, medicine,
and astrology. Men and women both worked, and because ancient Mesopotamia was fundamentally
an agrarian society, the principal occupations were growing crops and raising livestock. Other
occupations included those of the scribe, the healer, artisan, weaver, potter, shoemaker, fisherman,
teacher, and priest or priestess. The temple, at the center of every city (often on a raised platform),
symbolized the importance of the city's patron deity who would also be worshipped by whatever
communities that city presided over. Mesopotamia gave birth to the
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2. World History
World History helps serve as markers of what we have become today as well as hints to what we
will become. Ironically, it gives us a close perspective, while at the same time giving us a broader
one. If we focused solemnly on American history, we would only be informed about situations
only occurring in our country and would be closed off to the rest of the world. It helps us keep a
large record of past events as either successes or failures and help us make decisions regarding the
future. Some of those important markers that help us keep track of our history include literature,
competition, unity, and expansion. One reason World history is a marker is because it of literature.
It is a reason why we have managed to pass knowledge to later...show more content...
We've managed to be more open to change and managed to move from "the traditional" to the
"modern" because of new technology and the ability to store this information. History has
allowed us to write our own future. Americans have learned that slavery is not correct and is one
of the reasons why we have managed to make it part of our Amendments. We have managed to
include women in our voting because we have learned that women are an important part of
society and it would be foolish not to accept them as such. We have also managed to have a black
president. It would be ignorant to say history is not important. History is very complex and
without little changes like this we could have continued to be a much more segregated country.
Its not to say that racism doesn't still exist, but that people are finding out that if we have things
in common with people from the same area, we might also have things in common with people
from across the country. Events are what help bring us together. What help us decide on who we
are going to vote for the next election. We look at events and situations that help us decide if we
are content with what it means to be "American". It helps us decide whether or not we will partake
in a world event like the Civil War or the
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4. Analyze the changes and continuities in commerce in the Indian Ocean region from 650 C.E. to
1750 C.E.
Revised Question
Analyze continuities and changes in the commercial life of the Indian Ocean region from 650 C.E.
to 1750 C.E.
Rationale for Revision: The revised question is slightly broader than the
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5. Essay about What is World History?
What is world history? Bruce Mazlish contends that "world" history, as opposed to "global"
history, is the study of systemic processes of interaction among diverse peoples, best typified by
the work of William H. McNeill. By contrast, "global" history is the history of globalization, a
process that Mazlish argues did not begin to occur on a significant scale until at least the 1950s, and,
more plausibly, the 1970s. Citing prominent economic historians, Nicholas Kristof asserts that
globalization actually started in the second half of the 19th Century, when steamships, the telegraph,
the railroad, and European, North American, and Japanese empire–builders brought humankind into
a single densely interwoven community of trade, investment,...show more content...
To me, this is globalization, the global diffusion of humankind and human cultures. In only a few
thousand generations, Homo sapiens was everywhere, and everywhere essentially the same, despite
superficial differences such as skin color or width of nose or degree of hirsuteness. Globalization
outran evolution. The sheer mobility and versatility of Homo sapiens precluded significant
differentiation.
Accordingly, I would like to define world history as the history of all the doings of the species Homo
sapiens on (and off) the planet Earth, the globe Earth, since its emergence in Africa more than
100,000 years ago. In all these millennia, humankind has swarmed over the whole planet and has
exchanged ideas, institutions, technologies, and languages back and forth and every which way,
often making it difficult if not impossible to ascertain which idea, institution, technology, or
language first arose where or when. In short, we have been globalizing from the beginning, although
I freely acknowledge that in certain periods, such as the middle of the 4th Millennium B.C., the 16th
Century A.D., and the second halves of the 19th and 20th Centuries, we have seen significant
upsurges in the tempo and scale of globalization.
All this means that the subject matter of
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6. World History in Context Essay
Rebecca Nichols
HIS 140 – A History of Humanity
Essay 1
World History in Context, written by David Christian (2003), questions the context of world history
as well as the complexity of human history and the societies with which they live. In Christian's
article he argues that looking at world history in its global context, rather than one specific moment
in history, is the way it is intended to be interpreted and allows historians to recognize reoccurring
patterns and themes. World history is meant to be an unbiased account of only one specific species,
humans (Christian 2003, 437–438). Historians often struggle with this challenging topic and tend to
produce works extremely biased, usually towards stable 'western civilizations' and...show more
content...
Though more complex, they are also more fragile and rare because the consumption of large energy
flows is a challenging task (McNeill 2003, 319–320). For example, the colossal increase in size of
the human brain over the past four million years has left us with the most complex structure in the
universe, consuming the largest amount of energy proportionate to its size (Ponting 2000, 24). 'The
brain consumes twenty percent of the energy necessary for the body but only accounts for two
percent of its body mass' (Christian 2003, 455). This statistic clarifies doubt that the brain is anything
other than an energy–hoarding structure, just as others of similar complexity.
Human societies have also evolved from simple structures of early hunting–and–gathering
communities to the more complex cosmopolitan cities of today. The hunting–and–gathering
communities were fairly simple societies demanding the minimum of resources. Complexity grew
with farming communities and more energy was necessary to sustain the larger populations and the
demands of a stable, non–nomadic life. Early civilizations saw an increase in complexity with the
introduction of specialization and trade. Which, again, required more energy to sustain even larger
communities. Cultural evolution has evolved so much that cities today are only possible because of
humans' ability to control energy by the movement of food across large distances to easily
accessible locations (McNeill 2003, 320–321).
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7. The Importance of History Essay
What is history? Should we study history? Who creates history? Is history relevant?
The definition of history, is a question which has sparked international debate for centuries between
the writers, readers, and the makers of history. It is a vital topic which should be relevant in our
lives because it?s important to acknowledge past events that have occurred in our world that deeply
influences the present. This essay will discuss what history is, and why we study it.
History is the study of past events leading up to the present day. It is a research, a narrative, or an
account of past events and developments that are commonly related to a person, an institution, or a
place. It is a branch of knowledge that records and analyzes...show more content...
Focusing on the people involved in a time, place, and series of events makes history. Biographies
and historical fiction may popularize these entities/figures with descriptions of people who lived in
the past or events that happened in the past. Such Historical figures and events include King Leopold
II of Belgium and The Scramble of Africa in the late 19th century. Among other things, King Leopold
II of Belgium (1835–1909), is known for the exploitation of Congo and the mass murder of its
citizens as told in King Leopold?s Ghost by Adam Hochschild. King Leopold II of Belgium, created
and ironically erased history by ultimately slashing the area's population by ten million during his
reign in the Congo, and still managed to shrewdly foster a reputation as a great humanitarian. In
telling this story, Hochschild gave detailed descriptions, especially of the individuals involved,
both good and bad. Set in the palaces and boardrooms of Europe and in the villages of central
Africa, it tells the story of the tragedy that took place during Leopold's so called rule. This ?horror?
story gives and reveals the utter most secrets of the respected King Leopold. Prior to his
colonization, In the mid–1870s, the King hired then world renowned explorer Henry Morton Stanley,
who was familiar with many parts of Africa, to help him go about conquering. During the following
years Stanley stayed throughout in central Africa, talking various tribes into signing over their
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8. World History Reflection
On June 26th, I started my first online college class. I thought World History would be a great
place to start and relatively easy course to pass. I had no idea how the class would make
significant changes in my life. This class was far from a few easy credits I thought I would
acquire in the short 8 weeks. The few weeks with Professor Jared Harrington increased my
literacy towards topics I would have given up in the past. This class affected my world view,
improved me as a student, a learner, enlightened my view on world religions, forced me to
analyze information from readings, and helped me formulate my own thoughts. The amount of
material covered in this course was immense and I now believe I have a better view of religion,
its role in history, and where the world is heading due to all the historical events of the past. The
first couple weeks of class were really interesting to me because we covered the first humans, the
rise of ancient civilizations in Southern Asia, and the beginnings of religions that are still practiced
today. The first society started in Mesopotamia in a lush, fertile, river valley. I learned about the
Paleolithic Age, Neolithic Revolution, and the Mesolithic age. The Mesopotamian societies wanted
to be able to explain things in nature so they created polytheism. This helped bring together a group
of people who shared the same beliefs, forming a civilization. During the first couple of weeks, I
learned of the major religions and philosophies we
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