Sundiata promotional video

http://youtu.be/q5qE2G9GqXg

Link to my promotional video for Sundiata

MAP

Ques:

- Which nation embraced imperialism the most?

- When do we see a decline in imperialism?

- Where does this decline begin

Page 913 Response

Not sure why this did not post earlier...

Compare and contrast the sorts of adjectives Kipling uses to describe native peoples as opposed to Europeans; How does his very language usage convey his sense of white superiority.

The adjectives that Kipling uses to describe native peoples suggests that he is an white supremacist.  By saying that the natives kings are "tawdry", it shows that Kipling's belief in the fact that imperialism was better than the native government. Also calling the native people 'half-devil' and 'half-child' suggests that Kipling is belittling the natives and further reinforcing his white supremacist view toward the natives. Kipling also mentions that Europeans have 'wisdom', which indicates that Kipling believes that Europeans are intellectually superior whereas the natives are not. Overall, it is clear through his diction that Kipling is in fact a white supremacist. 

Letter of Lin Zexu to Queen Victoria

How does Lin Zexu convey his distaste for opium in the descriptive terms he attaches to the drug, and how do the punishments inflicted on opium peddlers suggest Lin Zexu's perception of opium's threat to China.

It is clear within the beginning of the letter that Lin Zexu holds a distaste for opium. This is evident since he is quick to relate opium to terms such as 'harm', 'threat', and 'poison' which each hold a strong negative connotation. Lin Zexu wishes to punish opium peddlers with death, since they are the 'cause of other people's death'. This indicates that Zexu perceives opium as a deadly weapon that kills, which is why he wishes to punish those in the possession of it with death if they do not get rid of it. It just seems as if Lin Zexu is being very protective of China and wishes to eliminate threats such as opium.

Industrial Revolution Changes

The Industrial Revolution would bring about large changes that would have a dramatic social and economic impact. First off, the innovation of technology would drastically decrease the amount of labor positions that are replaced with technological means. This means that competition for jobs will also increase. The Industrial Revolution would also allow for greater transportation, which would allow for culture to spread easier. Also, agriculture production decreased as some people began to focus on producing manufacturing goods. Additionally, since food is no longer an issue since very few people work on farms, there is more specialization of labor. Another significant change is that wealth shifts away from land because land is no longer as valuable as agriculture is now handled by a small group of people.

The responses towards to the Industrial Revolution in a variety of ways. The Luddites were a group that opposed the integration of technology within the work force. They felt as if technology established a threat toward textile artisans. The Luddites were probably considered reactionary since they completely opposed the change. A radical response to the change would be if someone/some group wanted to accelerate change and actively promote it, i.e. making more factories.

Nial Ferguson's TED Talk

Niall Ferguson asserts the several factods leading to the success of the West in comparison to the rest of the world. The six major “apps” (factors) that led to this Western domination are scientific revolution, property rights, modern medicine, consumer society, and work ethic. I agree with Ferguson when he mentioned that the list of these 6 factors were unable to be condensed, since they all played a powerful role in the the West becoming powerful. I also agree with him in that it was not geography that lead to this domination, since geography has nothing to do with the ideas developed within a region. I also found it convincing that a reconvergence will occur once these non-western powers obtain the six killer apps to step back into the competition. This will be interesting since it may greatly affect our economy since materials from China are bought because labor there is cheap. Once Chinese laborers get to the point where they are paid just as much as American workers, our debt might become much more difficult to pay off.

Fabian Fucan's Attack on Christianity

Discuss the various religious, cultural, historical, political, and social aspects of Fabian Fucan's attack on Christianity

Fabian Fucan uses various religious, cultural, historical, political, and social aspects in order to carry out his attack on Christianity. Fucan mentions how Christianity is trying to get rid of "The Law of Buddha" in Japan, which is evident of his religious aspect of the attack. In the social aspect of his attack on Christianity, Fucan mentions how Christianity will cause the destruction of the social structure in Japan. Additionally, Fucan goes on to mention that politically that Christian countries are taking over lands in Mexico/Central America. Furthermore, Fucan also mentions how Christianity prohibits murder, which is contradictory to the religion since killing people happened while conquering other lands. Culturally, Fucan mentions how Christianity is bringing down Japanese culture. Overall, Fucan asserts many points that suggests his attack on the religion.

Page 710 Response

On the basis of Equiano's account, what measures did the crews of slave ships take to ensure maximum profits from their business of transporting human cargoes?

The crews of the slave ships would go very far in order to maximize profits from their business of transporting human cargoes. For example, they would whip slaves that would not eat food - this would ensure they remained strong. Slaves would also be chained so that they were unable to commit suicide. Basically, both these methods were meant to keep slaves alive and attempted to maximize profits.

DBQ Reaction

This was probably the hardest essay in my opinion. It was probably because I did not carefully review the directions before coming in on class friday to take it. However, I was uncertain as to if I was getting points or not when I was writing. The time limit was also very constraining so that was another issue; it was difficult to write 3 well developed body paragraphs without going over the time limit. I think with practice I should be able to handle it however.

Promotional Videos

I would assess a promotional video on the basis of the information it provides and the time in which it is give. Information is the most important in a promotional video, so you actually know what you are doing or buying. However, information should not be too detailed or specific and should just underline the main idea of the subject being advertised. Next is the way in which it is given - and by that I mean how this information is displayed. Is it just a dull a boring promotional video that lacks enthusiasm? Or a video that shows people speaking with confidence. Another important thing to some people might be comedy - it sure does grab a lot of attention, but personally, it would not affect my decision on doing or buying something. The time is the next most important thing next to information, are the advertisers spending 10 or 2 minutes? A video too long or short would be bad.

Personally - I really liked Aman and Hiren's promotional video the most. They displayed a concise, confident, and informative presentation that did not stray away from the main idea of the video.

Overall I believe the two main factors that alter my perspective would be time and information given, although too much information is bad. 

Lies My Teachers Told Me - Christopher Columbus

I find Loewen's argument convincing for many reasons. First off I do not buy the fact that textbooks are trying to sympathize with Columbus. This is due to the fact that the textbooks remain very factual for the most part, and do not show any biased opinions. Bentley and Ziegler do a good job of presenting Columbus since they show how he influenced global trade. Most textbooks ignore the fact that other explorers such as the Vikings may have reached Newfoundland America before Columbus did. The bias of many textbook is evident because they leave out the fact that ancient Egyptians and Phoenicians sailed around Africa and traded with the Canary islands before any other European explorer might have. However I do like how Bentley and Ziegler portray Columbus, because they are not as biased as most textbooks and they do mention the impacts of Columbus's voyage that were unintentional and intentional.

Did the Chinese reach North America First?

Do you buy Menzies' argument that Zheng He's fleet made it to North America? Evaluate the evidence he offers and explain why or why not?

I believe that Menzie's assertion is plausible that Zheng He's fleet made it to North America, however some of the evidence he provides leaves his argument questionable. First off, he mentions that the ships of the Chinese were superior in size, however that does not mean that these ships had the ability to avoid natural disasters that would impede them. Additionally, large ships did not make a substitution for the ability of navigators to travel the ocean. However, one piece of evidence he provides that does seem reasonable is the fact that the wreckage of Chinese ships could be seen at Bimini. However, one questionable piece of evidence that Menzie provided was that Native American DNA was more related to Chinese DNA than African or European DNA. This molecular form of closer connection between Native Americans and the Chinese absolutely meant nothing to me, and makes it seem as if he was just trying to add useless coating on top of his argument. Although, I would agree his one solid evidence was the wreckage of ships at Bimini, but some of the other evidences he supplies leaves me questioning his argument. 

Not sure exactly where all this highlighting is coming from and I can't get rid of it, but I apologize if it hurts your eyes.

Pg 560 ques.

How would you characterize the political, social, and cultural significance of two-way voyaging between Tahiti and Hawai'i?

I would characterize Tahiti and Hawai'i as sharing a strong political bond, similar social structure, and culture. This strong political bond is evident when the Mo’ikeha of Tahiti was able to become the ali’i nui of Hawaii. The social similarity is also evident since both societies are patriarchal, however women did have more leeway which is depicted when Ho'oipoikamalanai and her sister were able to chose their husband. In terms of cultural signifiance, it is clear that culture was transferred between islands since the son of Mo'ikeha, La'amaikahiki travelled from Tahiti to Hawaii and brought hula dancing to Hawai'i.

Muslims on Christians

Based on reading the documents from the Muslims and examining their perspective on the Christians, I do not think it would be possible for the Muslims to have a positive view on the Christians. First off, seeing as the doctor cut into a woman's head to expel a demon would be seen as insane to the Muslims. Not only that but the Christians did not practice veiling, so this significant societal difference does suggest the distance in their beliefs. Also, the text did mention that a Christian doctor cut off someone's leg, which seemed insane. Through examination of the texts written by the Muslims, I believe that it would be difficult for Muslims to have a positive view on the Christians after reading them.

Griots of Africa

I would not want to learn history the way the griots of Africa did. First off, it would be far too difficult to remember things via songs or orally. Next, it would be easy to make a mistake after several recitations of a story. If text was written correctly the first time - it would be good for a long period of time because it does not have to be re-told. Additionally, I have gotten used to reading as opposed to listening. Not to mention, reading is faster

Ideal Shape of History

The ideal shape to consider the progression of history until this point in time would probably be the usage of charts (rectangles, squares..). This is because a line would not suffice for all the various regions that have established civilizations that grew independently of each other. Likewise, I do not feel as if something like a graphic organizer (the one with bubbles, etc) would be good enough either. The chart provides a nice template, more space, and makes it easier to see the differences/similarities between regions.

Essays Progress

https://docs.google.com/a/bps121.org/document/d/1jAoqJxm2gFSnH_gcPzfxHL2guTMuCEtb0Axa4G5cEOc/edit

Above is the link to my essay progress spreadsheet (Only accessible to Mr. Whitten's email). Looking at the data, I have noticed that starting off in term one, I was missing the analysis part of the compare essay the most, which lead to me not getting any of the expanded core points. Same issue with the global context for the COT. I was not clear enough on the first one, therefore did not proceed onto the expanded core. For the mid-terms, they were better than the essays I have written in the past - however could have been better if I had managed my time better, since the time limit on the midyear was very constraining. Additionally, I think I will focus more on making sure I get all the normal core points before focusing on trying to get the expanded core.

Trial is over

I think the trial was pretty interesting, I did learn from the other characters about what they did, and a lot for my own character - Mongke. However, I wish I got called up for cross examination because I prepared to answer any kind of question that was thrown at me.

1/13 update

trial went pretty well today...ripped up part of my script because I did not want the persecution obtaining some information that would harm me. Additionally, going to prepare to talk with the cross examiner today.

Weekend update

sorry...should have posted this earlier. Only thing I really did in regards to the trial is prepare for questions that the cross-examiner would have asked me. Additionally, started making a study guide with some friends for the mid-year. 

Trial update 1/10

Made note of some stuff that would hurt the persecution during the trial today.

Trial update 1/9

Just made up answers to questions the cross examiner might ask me today. Hopefully I don't blank out tomorrow on a question...

Trial update 1/8

Today, just working on finding a decent source to draw information for Mongke from. I discovered that wikipedia will not be a good idea because there is a large amount of information in which the other team can pull out information from, and use it against me. So I will look for a better source.

Trial update 1/7

Things are getting intense, the persecution team has started trash talking. Just realized Mongke is insignificant...so I will have to use external sources now- which I will do today

Trial update 1/6

Today I did research and thought of ways to answer questions that I would expect from persecutors.

1/5 Trial Update

Didn't really do much regarding the trial today...looked over the instructions carefully and thought about tactics on how to win.

Mongol Trial Process (daily work over 2 weeks)

In this blog post, I will list everything that I have done over the course of 2 weeks regarding the Mongol Trial. I did research on each of the main characters (defense and prosecution) in order to get a better understanding of their background. I wrote down information (4-5 sentences, main points on each, more for my character - Mongke). I also re-watched the videos in order to jog my memory.

12/22 - did research on Guillaume Boucher (P)
12/23 - did research on Abbasid Caliph al-Mustasim (P)
12/24 - did research on Pope Innocent IV (P)
12/25 - did research on Subedei (D)
12/26 - did research on Ogodei (D)
12/27 - did research on Hulegu (D)
12/28 - did research on Mongke (D)
12/29 - did research on Berte /Kublai/ Yelu Chucai (D)
12/30 - did research on Friar John on Plano Carpini (D)
12/31 - started "World Conquerors"
1/1 - finished "World Conquerors"
1/2 - watched all of "Tartar Crusaders"
1/3 - started "Khan of Khans"
1/4 - finished "Khan of Khans"

Additionally, I have reread chapters 1-5 and starting re-taking notes (since my notes for 1-6 were not that good) for the mid-year exam.