Campus Events and Assignments:
 

Campus Events for Extra Credit	Peer Editing Contract
Year of Wonders Reading Questions	Oral History Tips
Oral History Release Form

Document Questions (for documents in the Human Record, vol.2):
 

WEEK 1

Sample Document: Christopher Columbus’s Letter of 1493 (p. P7-P13)

Is Columbus’s letter a reliable source of information for knowing what happened in 1492?

Document #18: "Chronicle of Guinea, #19: What Columbus and His Patrons Hope to Gain, and #20 "A Discourse on Western Planting"

What are the goals and motives of the Portuguese, Spanish, and English for exploring and establishing colonies (be specific)?  How are the motives similar?  How do they differ?

WEEK 2

Document #27: Benin-Portuguese Salt Cellar and Wall Plaque (p.119)

Based on these works, how did the artists of Benin view the Portuguese? How did they view themselves?

Document #28: King Afonso I, "Letters to the King of Portugal" (p.121)

Why is King Afonso writing to the King of Portugal?  What was the effect of Portuguese trade on the Kingdom of the Kongo? What does he want from the Portuguese?

Document #29: Joao dos Santos, Eastern Ethiopia (p.124)

Why did the Portuguese battle the Zimba? How successful were the Portuguese in this conflict? What does that suggest about the relative might of the Portuguese in relation to the societies of East Africa?

Document #30: General History of the Things of New Spain (p. 65-70)

What were the motives of the Spanish in going to Tenochititlan? How did the Aztecs respond the arrival of the Spanish? What factors explain how the small number of Spanish explorers ultimately conquered the powerful Aztec Empire?

Document #32 & 34: Encomienda Records from Nestalpa, 1547-1565 and Compendium and Description of the West Indies

What were encomienda and mita systems? According to these documents, how were the lives of the Amerindian inhabitants of the Spanish colonies in the Americas affected by the Spanish encomienda and mita systems?

WEEK 3

Document #15, 16 & 17: Martin Luther, Table Talk; Decrees of the Council of Trent, and Protestant Art

What are Martin Luther's criticisms of the institutions and practices of the Catholic Church? How does the artwork communicate those criticism? To what extent would those criticism be addressed by the reforms proposed by the Church in the "Decrees of the Council of Trent"?

Year of Wonder
1. What was the community of Eyam like before the plague arrived? What were its major industries?Who seemed to be the leaders of the community?What was Anna Frith’s daily life like?

2.How did the plague arrive in Eyam?What were the symptoms of the disease?

3. Make a list of all the different treatments for the plague tried by people within the community and offered by medical experts from outside the community. Which cures seemed to be most effective at stopping the plague?Which cures seemed strangest? Why do you think those different methods were tried?

4. What happened to the Gowdies?How do you explain those events?

5. How did the residents of Eyam respond to the plague? Be sure to consider both the plan proposed by rector Mompellion as well as the responses of individual members of the community.

6. How did the plague cause members of the community to rethink their religious views?How did Mr. Mompellion explain God’s rationale for bringing the plagueto Eyam?How did his views change?

7. How would you have responded if you were an ordinary family living in Eyam during the plague years?

Documents #24 & 25: Galileo Galilei, "Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina" and Francis Bacon "New Organon"

What does Galileo feels is the appropriate relationship between religion and science? According to him, which is more reliable--the Bible or the human senses? What should be done when scientific knowledge and the Bible contradict each other?

What does Bacon believe is the best way for science to progress? How are his views similar or different than those of Galileo?

BACKGROUND READING:

You should know what the following people, places, and concepts are and why they are significant to world history. Some of them will be the answers to the fill-in-the blank section that will appear on our next quiz:
 

	Terms and Concepts--Week 3
Protestant Reformation/Protestants	Martin Luther	Witch Hunting
30 Years War (1618-1648)	"New Monarchs"	Constitutional states
Absolutism	Scientific Revolution	Enlightenment
Copernicus	Galileo Galilei	Sir Isaac Newton

WEEK 4

Document #38: Jean-Baptiste Colbert, "Memorandum on English Alliances" and "Memorandum to the King on Finances"

Colbert is describing his ideas on the policy of mercantilism.  Why does Colbert believe that French prosperity can only come at the expense of its economic competitors? What problems does he identify with the French economy?  What solutions does he propose?

Document #48 and 49: "Olaudah Equiano, "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano" and Thomas Phillips, "A Journal of hte Voyage Made in the Hannibal of London"

Based on these two documents, who are the individuals and groups that are involved in the process of capturing, buying, selling and transporting slaves? Who profited from the slave? Who suffered? How did it impact on all the individuals and societies that were involved?

BACKGROUND READING:

You should know what the following people, places, and concepts are and why they are significant to world history. Some of them will be the answers to the fill-in-the blank section that will appear on our next quiz:
 

	Terms and Concepts--Week 4
Songhay Empire	Kingdom of Kongo	Islamic Slave Trade
Atlantic Slave Trade	Triangular Trade	Middle Passage
African Diaspora	plantation societies	cash crops
creole languages	Olaudah Equiano	End of the Slave Trade/Abolition of Slavery

WEEK 5

Handout: Declaration of Independence

What are the rights claimed by the signers of the "Declaration of Independence"?  Why do they argue that all men are entitled to those rights? What should be the relationship between the people and the government to ensure those rights are protected?

Doc. #44 "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" and Traditions and Encounters, p. 829, "Declaration of the Rights of Woman"

In what ways are the arguments of the French "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" similar to those of the American "Declaration of Independence"?  How are they different?  What might those similiarities and differences suggest about the goals of the two revolutions?

What are the rights claimed by the "Declaration of the Rights of Woman"? What does that document suggest are the specific shortcomings of the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen"?

Doc. #47 Simon Bolivar "Jamaica Letter" and Handout: "Declaration of the Independence of the Blacks of St. Domingo"

How are the goals and ideas expressed by the "Jamaica Letter" and the "Declaration of the Independence of the Blacks of St. Domingo" similar to or different from the American "Declaration of Independence" and the French "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen"? To what extent do they suggest that common revolutionary ideals are spreading through the Atlantic World? To what extent do they show revolutionary ideas being adapted to local circumstances?
 

	Terms and Concepts--Week 5
popular soveignty	John Locke	Declaration of Independence (1776)
1789	National Assembly (France)	The Convention (France)
Napoleon Bonaparte	gens de couleur	Haitian Revolution
Toussaint Louverture	Simon Bolivar	Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen

WEEK 6

Doc #61: Testimony Before the Parliamentary Committees on Working Conditions

What are the working conditions for men, women and children in the mills and mines? What are some of the specific problems raised by the witnesses? What is the response of William Harter and Thomas Wilson to the government's passage of laws to regulate working conditions in the factories? Why?
 

Document #39: Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nations", Document #62: Samuel Smiles' "Self-Help" and "Thrift"and Document #63: Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, "The Communist Manifesto"

What does Adam Smith believe is the best and most efficient way for an economy to operate? How would Adam Smith suggest to address the problems caused by the industrial revolution?

What does Samuel Smiles argue is the cause of poverty? Who is responsible for it? What does he argue is the proper role for government in addressing the poverty of the working class. Why?

What do Marx and Engels see as the cause of the hardships faced by workers?  In "Position of the Communists in Relation to the Various Existing Political Parties," what do they advocate as the solution to the problems of the industrial revolution?
 
 

	Terms and Concepts--Week 6
James Watt	cotton textiles industry	George Stephenson
factory system	Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations	Luddites
mass production	Thomas Malthus	urbanization
Utopian Socialism	Karl Marx and Frederick Engels Communist Manifesto	trade unionism

Week 7

Document #9: Ogier de Busbecq, “Turkish Letters” and Doc #50: Mehmed Pasha, “The Book of Counsel for Viziers and Counselors”

What impressed or surprised Busbecq about the Ottoman Empire?

What did Mehmed Pasha identify as the major problems facing the Ottoman Empire?  What remedies did he recommend?
 

Document #54: Kangxi, “Self-Portrait” and Lin Zexu, “Letter to Queen Victoria”

According to the section of document #54 called, “Dealings with Europeans,” what is Kangxi’s view of Europeans and European missionaries in China? How does the treatment of Europeans in China change during his reign?

Why is Lin Zexu writing Queen Victoria?  What does he want?  What arguments does he use to try to persuade her to act?
 

Document #6 & 82, “Closed Country Edict of 1635” and “Reflections on my Errors”

What specific steps does the “Closed Country Edict of 1635” take to redefine the relationship between Japan and the outside world? How does the law regulate the practice of Catholicism and Christianity?

What does Sakuma Shozan argue should be the approach of Japan to respond to the power of the West (Europe and United States). What does he argue should be the response of Japanese society to western science and technology?
 

	Terms and Concepts--Week 7
Ottoman Empire	capitulations (extraterritoriality)	Mahmud II's Tanzimat Reforms
Young Turks	Qing Dynasty	Opium War
Unequal Treaties	Taiping Rebellion	Spheres of Influence
Tokogawa Shogunate	Commodore Matthew C. Perry ("opening" of Japan)	Meiji Restoration

Week 8

Documents #69, 70 & 71, Jules Ferry “Speech Before the National Assembly”, Advertisement and Illustrations, and Royal Niger Company “Standard Treaty”

Why does Jules Ferry argue that the French have the need and duty to expand overseas?

What do the advertisements and illustrations suggest about the way the British thought about their relationship to the rest of the world in the nineteenth century?

According to the Royal Niger Company’s “Standard Treaty,” what were the chieftan’s giving up? What benefits would they receive in turn?
 
 

	Terms and Concepts--Week 8
imperialism	colonialism	"tools of empire"
East India Company & "company rule"	"The Great Game"	French Indochina
Scramble for Africa	Congo Free State/Belgian Congo	Berlin Conference (1884-1885)
Spanish-American War	Russo-Japanese War	Scientific Racism/Social Darwinism

Week 9

Documents #87 & 88: "Poster Art" and "Mud and Khaki: Memoirs of an Incomplete Soldier"

What is the goal of each image? How does each portray the experience of the war in order to advance advance that image?

Based on Clapham's memoir, what was the experience of combat like for World War One soldiers? What aspects of the fighting did Clapham and the other men find most unnerving?  How does the war as portrayed in the artwork compare to the description of the war in Henry Clapham's memoir?

Document #89 & Handout:  "Comments of the German Delegation to the Paris Peace Conference on the Conditions of the Peace" and "Excerpts from the Treaty of Versailles"

What specific aspects of the peace settlement did the German Delegation to the Paris Peace Conference find unacceptable?  Why?  How will the Treaty of Versailles hurt Germany and contradicted the public statements of President Woodrow Wilson?

In addition to the concerns raised in document #89, make a list of other aspects of the Treaty of Versailles that Germans might find particularly unfair or insulting.  Why might the Allies have imposed those conditions on Germany?
 
 

Week 9--Questions for Consideration--Traditions and Encounters Chapter 35

1) How did national rivalries and systems of military alliances contribute to the international tensions that led to World War One?

2) How did new technologies shape the experience of soldiers fighting on the Western Front?

3) How did the war affect life for civilians on the home front?

4) What was the impact of the First World War on people and societies of Asia and Africa?

Week 10

For March 21:  Documents #90 & 91: Lenin, "What is to be Done" and Stalin, "Results of the First Five Year Plan"

What is Lenin's response to the argument that the mass of Russian people are not ready for socialism?  What does he argue is the solution to bringing revolution to Russia?

According to Stalin, what were the goals and results of the Five Year Plan? What does Stalin say are the benefits of the Five Year plan for the Soviet people?

For March 23: Documents #92: Hitler, Mein Kampf

What does Hitler believe are the differences between Aryans and Jews? What does Hitler argue are the ideal forms of leadership and foreign policy for the folkish state?  Why?
 

For March 25: Document 93 & 94: Black Dragon Society, "Anniversary Statement"& "Fundamental Principle of National Policy"

According to the Black Dragon Society, what are the problems Japan has faced since the end of World War I? How does its platform seek to solve those problems?

What are the key goal of Japanese foriegn and domestic policy found in the "Fundamental Principles of National Policy"?  What actions does the document state Japan should take to meet those goals?

How are the ideas of Adolf Hitler and the Black Dragon Society similiar? How are they different?
 
 

Week 10--Questions for Consideration--Traditions and Encounters Chapter 36

1) Why would the authors of the textbook call chapter 36 the "Age of Anxiety"?

2) What were the causes of the Great Depression? How did it affect industrial and primary producing countries differently? How did governments respond?

3) How did Stalin's "Five Year Plan" differ from Lenin's "New Economic Policy"?

4) What were the main characteristics of Italian and German fascism?

5) What were the major political divisions that emerged in China and Japan in the 1930s?

Week 11

Document #95: Rudolf Hoss, "Memoirs"
According to Hoss, what was his role in the mass extermination of the Jews? How did the killing affect him and other German participants? Why did they do it?

Document #97: Iwao Nakamura and Atsuka Tsujioka, "Recollections"
Where were the authors when the atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima? What did each see and do following the bomb blast?
 
 

Week 11--Questions for Consideration--Traditions and Encounters Chapter 37

1) What were the origins of the Second World War?

2) How did the "Total War" of the Second World War differ from the warfare of the First World War? How was it similar?

3) How did the occupation policies of Germany and Japan differ? How were they similar?

4) How did the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union change over the course of the war?

5) What factors contributed to Allied victory?

Week 12

Document #108 & 109: George Kennan "Long Telegram" and Nikolai Novikov, "Telegram, September 27, 1946"
How does Kennan describe the U.S.S.R?  What threats does he suggest the U.S.S.R poses to the U.S.?  How does Novikov describe the U.S.? What threats does he believe the U.S. poses to the U.S.S.R.?

Document #106: Mao Zedong, "Report on...The Peasant Movement in Hunan" and "Strategic Problems of China's Revolutionary War."
What does Mao Zedong see as the challenges of bringing about a Communist revolution in China? What is his strategy for a successful Communist revolution in China?  How do his ideas compare to those of Lenin in Russia?

Document #117:  Deng Xiaoping, "Speeches and Writings"
What does Deng Xiaoping see as the flaws of Maoism? What does he argue are the goals of Communism?  How does he suggest China can best achieve its goals?  What changes will that require in both economic and foreign policy?

Handout, "Vietnamese Declaration of Independence"
What documents do the Viet Minh quote?  What is their purpose in citing those documents?  What reasons do they give for their right to independence?
 

Week 12--Questions for Consideration--Traditions and Encounters Chapter 37

1) How did the end of the Second World War in Europe contributed to the origins of the Cold War?

2) How did the societies and daily life of people in the United States and the Soviet Union differ during the Cold War?

3) How and why did Chinese society change in the decades after World War Two?

4) What were some of the factors that contributed to the end of the Cold War?