Paul Brockmann Extra Credit

Paul's presentation was not only interesting because we got to hear what it was like in Sierra Leone and how the Ebola camps were set up but I also gained new insight that in fact gave me the hope and confidence I needed. In other words, after hearing that you do not have to be a doctor to manage doctors and do something that important for a community, I was inspired. He seemed like a nice guy that I could relate to. I was reminded that like him, I too have skills such a people skills and public speaking skills that will also take me far in life. I remembered that school and textbooks are not all there is to life. Thinking this way really pushed me to cease comparing myself and my "book smartness" to others. 

Blog 2

The sugar plantation economy began in the Mediterranean. After observing its success, the Portuguese brought this economy to the Atlantic and brought it to islands where African Americans resided. Because In the late 1400s the Portuguese began to trade enslaved African labor, they used this to their advantage and had them work in sugar cane plantations. Black labor then became associated with sugar. The Portuguese then served as the model for later nations to follow. From Portugal, black labor made its way to Brazil and the Caribbean. Then Spanish and Portugal was displaced as the economic leader by Britain. The British were then in control of sugar production. Because sugar was cheap and addicting, the demand for it increased. In Europe, when sugar was combined with tea, it gave the illusion of a hot meal when there was no time or money to fix a real one. This made it ideal for even the poor to afford and desire sugar. By the late eighteenth century sweetened tea became a part of the diet of all classes of the British society. Because sugar cane had to be planted year round so that it could be harvested year round, there was always a need for plantation workers. Cheap and unjust labor took place in order to meet the high demands for sugar.

Blog 19

I found it interesting that religion, global modernity, feminism and government were all talked about in this chapter. Although it seems they have nothing to do with one another, they have everything to do with one another. The problem is where to start. My theory is that because religions have set rules and guidelines followers are expected to abide by, they are taken seriously. However, what about religious freedom? It seems that for the most part, California has that down. That is why a secular government has been so attainable. In other nations however, religion is an essential part of everyone's life. It even becomes essential to many policy maker's lives. This can lead to policy makers establishing rules and regulations in correspondence with religious beliefs. However, the problem with this is that there may be some individuals that do not practice the same religion or are atheist. In the eyes of many, religious texts should be taken seriously however, we must keep in mind that religious texts may be ambiguous and can be interpreted differently by many. In relation to feminism, religious texts and many religious rules are patriarchal. This is why a secular government is important and needed.

Blog 18

In the early 1900s, dissent against the government began to arise. It began with Gandhi's return to India from South Africa in 1915. From this time on, people began to revolt as other key characters and exemplary figures arose like Nelson Mandela. The ending of the Empires fueled a demand for a democracy. In addition, the economic disappointment many nations faced led to more support for a democracy. However, one of the nations that is still in bad condition is South Africa. There is a great divide between the educated since they earn a substantial amount of money compared to those who are not. In addition, in the modern day, Africans have little trust in their government and are not as enthusiastic about their democratic government like once before. However, a lasting legacy from history is Ghandi's wisdom and courage that we still admire today. Ghandi's actions are in accordance with many of the hallmarks of the sisters of Notre Dame. For example, he abides by the hallmark that states "we educate for and act on behalf of justice and peace in the world".

Blog 12

The first wave of colonialism took place during the 16th and 17th centuries when the European powers, mostly the Spanish and Portuguese, colonized the Americas. The first wave was responsible for the beginnings of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Not only did European influence remain as a long-term effect but also the idea of racism developed. The second wave of colonialism took place in 1750 through 1914 in Africa and Asia. The European powers Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the United States and Japan were the main actors. Unlike before, the second wave involved military force, or at least the threat of it. Furthermore, new economic interest in cash crops introduced the idea of capitalism. The second wave colonizers also believed they were bringing a superior religion to the Americas. During this time, social Darwinism, the theory that rooted from Darwin’s survival of the fittest theory, justified conquest stating that some are superior over others because they are more evolved.

Blog #4

Though some slaves were treated better than others and some were able to gain status, 12.5 million slaves were traded in the Atlantic Slave Trade. Not only was this a huge amount of people who were treated badly and in many cases killed, slavery continued through generations. In other words, people were born into slavery so, the children of slaves were automatically slaves as well. In the documents section of the chapter, primary sources are presented so that the readers could get a better sense of the situation. In the documents, one notices that slave owners treated slaves like items, depriving them of their dignity. For example, Olaudah Equiano explains "after about a month, I was again sold... The people I was sold to used to carry me very often, when I was tired, either on their shoulders or on their backs" (pg 701). In another source, a slave owner, Thomas Phillips, describes the business of slave trading. During this process, we see how slaves are dehumanized and treated like items when slaves were being marked as property. In addition, he explained how palm oil was placed on the area to be marked before being marked. He states that this made it less painful however, a burn to the skin is always painful. Here, we can see how slaves owners tried to justify their actions and make their actions seem trivial. Similar types of reasoning and justification can be seen in World War II during the holocaust.

Blog 16

The Five Year plan seemed it would helpful in many ways. Especially because Stalin had a strategic way to pitch this idea. His ideas of capitalism might have seemed to benefit society. It seemed that early society at the time were not aware of the dangers that capitalism were going to bring. Although there are a dew benefits to capitalism, it drives society to be money hungry and competitive. When these two things are combined, corruption could easily happen. With the existence of the divided peasants, being forced to work a job sounds all too familiar for this generation. A society where the poor has a poor quality of life due to the demanding means of production seems like something history and the present shares. Those living in a capitalist society do not only comply to the manipulation of advertisement but to the big industries who negatively affect the lives of many. In many cases today, the job industry seems to be corrupt and focused on producing quickly and efficiently rather than ethically. In the case of the article "Red Bread" by Maurice Hindus, it references a kulak that explains how the new capitalist government is ripping families apart because work and production has consumed their lives. The change in attitude and sense of morality was noticed by some kulaks however which caused them to defy capitalist ideas. In the article "Nadya Speaks", it is evident that communist leaders try to advertise and convince peasants to join the Kulaks. During this process, they use a manipulative  advertisement technique that makes the listener seem like they are being left out of society if they do not comply to the capitalist ideas that everyone else seems to be doing. In today's society, this is strategy is most used on television commercials and in social media. 

Blog 15

The opening of part six was interesting to me because I know yesterday is history and history is history but to think that we may be living in another phase of historical development where current day events are the present and will later be marked on a time line seems so far away when in fact it is not because it is the present. It is also always interesting to realize just how much one person can influence the course of events that are later written down in history text books. The new Anthropocene era mentioned in the book where "...human activity is leaving an enduring and global mark on the geological, atmospheric, and biological history of the planet itself"(p 976) is actually scary and something that needs to changed immediately. Further, this era will probably be judged negatively by some in future generations. In addition, the book proposes and important question: "Will global inequalities and rivalry over diminishing resources foster even greater and more dangerous conflicts?" This is another question I have yet to ask myself.

It was also interesting to learn just how much war affected political and social life. Learning that "British women were encouraged to present a white feather, a symbol of cowardice, to men not in uniform, thus affirming a warrior understanding of masculinity" was interesting because it looks like this action supported gender roles whether they knew that or not. Further, I also learned that Mothers Day was created to encourage childbearing after the men returned from war so that men would not have to compete for "men's jobs", ultimately resulting in the encouragement of patriarchy. Further, if capitalism during the Great Depression was seen as such a devastating system, why do we still practice it? It is also nice to see that when a pressing issues arises, people strike and express their concerns. 

http://truththeory.com/2015/03/28/one-of-the-most-important-videos-you-should-watch/

Blog 14

It is interesting to know that Chinese officials that governed China were elected through examinations. If this kept occurring, the governmental institutions would be all over the place because they might have gotten a leader that was corrupt and maybe a benevolent and understanding leader next. With governments, there must be stability and they must keep in mind the best interest of the people. Further, the examination system that it was based on was very conservative as a result making the people be more conservative not allowing them to express. Further, a document written in 1898 that critiques the examination system states that the way exams were programed were very corrupt and students found it difficult to balance out their social life and responsibilities with these examination systems. Further, they saw themselves falling behind in comparisons with other countries. It is nice to know however, that citizens oppose and express their concerns. The document that I found most interesting was Qiu Jin's document on women's rights. She mentions foot binding and explains that on a woman's wedding day, people compliment the father on doing a good job on his daughter's feet not really the daughter or the mother. This is interesting because he may not have even played a part in the foot binding other then ordering that the mothers do it yet he still gets credit. This is patriarchy taking its course. Further, women were seen as someone else's property in the 1900's. With the roaring 20s on the rise and the abolition of slavery in the United States, it is hard to crazy to know that women were seen as property still being treated that way in other parts of the world. Women in China had no say in what their future would look like. Women in China were not living, they were surviving. It is also brave and courageous that Qiu tells her readers to no longer depend on men and to stop binding their daughters feet.

Blog 13

I found it interesting that although some believe they are helping by donating to third world countries, it turns out that the best way to help third world countries is through developing programs and provided jobs and resources in place of bandaging the issues. In addition, it is believed that one of the reasons third world countries have issues is due to historical colonialism. Colonialism itself was damaging however, the attitude behind colonialism such as the hunger for power, domination a  has been passed on through generations. Today, it seems that competition is becoming more and more of an essential key to success. Further, as John Paul II explains, sinful greed and evil structures are largely contributing to poverty in third world countries. Advice


- resource exploitation destabilizes especially when factories are destroying their enviro
- forced religion
Although research shows that many preachers and ministers denounced injustices including slavery, this was more than conversion this was about control
- understanding is important
2: the church repeatedly insists that all people should care about poverty and do all they can do address this as part of common humanity bc all members of human family. Church believes all people in first world countries should donate a bit to help third
- far away so not relevant to individuals life
- inviting believers to ponder causes of poverty and offer suggestions for improvement
- advice by church leaders changes over time which is not good because no concise
- bishops Vatican council on how to change poverty
- chuches concerns in maldistribution
- what should be done by church and nations to address global development

- some blame put on colonialism
- need vs wants of affluent
-more concerned in profit for the few not for most useful for the many
- most efficient: micro development self improvement is how to fix (ex: employment opportunities) not put a band aid over and donate because that makes them dependent
- faith based organizations
- christians must provide opportunities to disinherited
- John Paul II wasteful materialism "super development"
- evil: arms race, debt, economic domination = neocolonialism
- global probs: thirst for power and materialism
- modern day christians: guilt but probably struggle for suggestions for immediate solutions
- no individual can change so each person has to pitch in
- call to all christians to help poor inhabitants of the world
- official voices of the church
-

Blog 3

The fur, spice and silver trade was beneficial to many nations however it gave rise to slavery. Although we still benefit from these trades today, enslaving others was detrimental to humanity and society then and today. Further, it led to competition and the desire for control between nations. Perhaps this was where racism and/or prejudices all started. The desire to control people and use them in order to make an individual’s life easier was desirable. It seems that humanity took steps leading up to this. In other words, control over the living progressively got worse. For example, it might have first started with Paleolithic people’s taking advantage of nature and the environment. One example could be seen in the burning of plants in order to keep warm. Although this was vital to their survival, it still harms the oppressed group that cannot speak for itself, nature. Then, perhaps the next step was controlling another oppressed group that cannot speak for themselves, animals. For example, the domestication of animals, such as horses. Then perhaps, it led to the control over humans. Perhaps there is something within us that feels the need to control something whether it is humans or the way we look. Perhaps the control of fire was where it all started… who knows?

Blog 11

I found it interesting that Strayer reflects upon the benefits and disadvantages of being the first. He mentions that students and historians are often fascinated by "firsts"; in fact, I happen to be one of them. However, he explains that being the first does not always mean anything good. In many cases, being the first is unhealthy because the first person to invent something believes they have superiority over those subsequent to discover the invention. He quotes, "In terms of human ability to dominate the natural environment and to extract wealth from it, the Industrial Revolution marks a decisive turning point in the history of our species"(pg 859). It seems that the mentality of the Industrial Revolution never left. In other words, societies continue to believe they dominate the natural environment and extract wealth from it. A relevant example would be the first humans to land on the moon. It was said that they would own space. A recent article also mentioned the same when explaining the space elevator. The space elevator that is being built by a private corporation and by NASA, is a literal elevator that takes people up to space. The article mentioned that those who would be the first to build it, would be the owners of space. Many believe that humans have the ability to own the environment and to an extent they do. However, the more humanity thinks the way, the more destructive we will be to the environment resulting in an inability to live on earth. If space elevators thrive, I wonder if humanity will pollute outer space and not care like we do on earth.

Blog 10

Although Simon Bolivar was successful, I cannot help but to wonder what Spain would be like if they were successful in building a federation like in North America. I also like the way Simon Bolivar's letter "The Jamaica Letter" is written. He uses many metaphors and personifies the earth which gives the readers and listeners a good image. This is a powerful tactic and is helpful in rallying people up because it helps the listener paint a picture in their head. Doing so connects them to the reality of the situation helping them disregard any manipulated postulations enforced by the authority. I find it impressive considering this letter was written in 1815. 

However the line "we were never leaders, never financiers, hardly ever merchants..." and saying that "America will succeed in merging the entire New World into a single nation with a single unifying principle" does not help his cause in rallying the people. Instead, his letter is complacent and relinquish. Further, it gives the people no hope and deprives them of their pride and dignity. Although he attempts to give the Spaniards hope immediately after, those two lines were too realistic and damaging to his purpose. 

Blog 9

I find it admirable that the sisters who formed the SND congregation had revolutionary hearts and fought for what they wanted and believed in. It is also interesting to see just how much the family household dynamics can affect the children living in that household. For example, Francoise’s father was an "englightened" man who taught good moral values. As a result, Francoise became a women of action and acquired the confidence to do so. Her confidence in her own voice shows when for example, she stated the food given was "Good for dogs and chickens, but not for Sisters of Notre Dame, who are tired and need to be well nourished” (McCarthy 99). Further, the fact that her parents did not force her to marry made a big difference in recognizing her freedom and enjoying it. Also, she found the importance in being humble and respectful, just like her dad. Even when she was "living large" she did not let material things change the person she was inside. I feel that although all these great role models who do great things should be honored, in many cases people forget to honor and applaud the parents who raised such an inspiring child. 

Blog 5

It was interesting to learn that the women who had served as priests, shamans or ritual specialists no longer could have a role in the Catholic church. Since early Christianity rooted from European males with authority it only makes sense that they would make efforts to exclude women. Further, Christianity's destructive aspect is seen in Mexico when tolerance for any other religion was seen as idolatry. As a result, the bishop of Mexico destroyed 500 pagan shrines and 20,000 idols. It is also seen in the Andean region when religious images and ritual object were destroyed. What is most appalling however, is the fact that they went as far as publicly urinating on native "idols". It is difficult to tolerate that these people believed God supported these actions. Further, once the Empire supported the church, it was easier for Christianity to expand. The strategies used to execute the expansion of Christianity was also followed by gruesome and unjust actions. For example, the genocide of many Native Americans and the conversion of that took place in Spanish American.
In other words, it is difficult to recognize the purity of Christianity when it has had such a bad reputation. Although the church has become more virtuous throughout the years, it is still difficult to abide and support a religion with a history of such corruption.

Blog 8

I believe it is safe to say that the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries marked the beginning of social movements. Like in social movements today, people are brought closer to one another when they share common passions. It is also interesting to see more influence the European Enlightenment had on other countries. The ideas that animated the Atlantic Revolution derived from the European Enlightenment and were shared across the ocean by newspapers, books, and pamphlets. I believe the idea that individuals could think and learn for themselves ignited a flame in revolutionaries making them desire the freedom to be more independent from the state and church. Perhaps they might have felt like they were behind and thought if Europeans could do it then they can too. Also, the idea of a democracy was vital to a thriving and self-thinking society. It was also interesting to know the truth behind the American Revolution and to learn facts that we did not learn as American children. Also, it was interesting to note that popular sovereignty, natural rights and the consent of the governed, Enlightenment ideas, also influenced this revolution. Although these revolutionaries were vital to the freedom and rights of an individual, one cannot forget that for a long time only "traditional gentlemen" benefited from these movements and women and people of color were not considered. This example is still seen in the Bill of Rights today were it does not specify that rights are applied to people of color and women but only men. If America claims to have equal rights for all, I propose that the Bill of Rights be changed to specify that all men and women be granted individual rights. By doing so, perhaps Republican men would not feel entitled to choose whether or not women have the right to pro-choice; that is a decision women should have more influence on.

Blog 6

I thought it was interesting how science and religion were in the same chapter. In the book it said "science became a universal world view"(pg 740) just as religion did so it makes sense that they're together. I never would have thought of them otherwise like that. Interesting how far science has come since then. It is sad that "science also was used to legitimize racial and gender inequalities, giving new support to old ideas about the natural inferiority of women and enslaved people" (pg 740). By the twelfth and thirteen centuries, Europe developed a legal system that guaranteed a measure of freedom and independence which then allowed emerging universities to freely study and dictate. The freedom to explore other cultures (Islamic world and translations of Greek classics) is
interesting because learning and exploring always sparks ideas which makes sense in relation to the growth of the scientific revolution. I wonder if Galileo was the start of the war between science and religion like it is today because back then it was a difficult concept to grasp when Galileo challenged the traditional idea that the earth was the center of the universe. Then it was Newton. It was also interesting to learn that none of the earliest scientists rejected Christianity. However some early writers would go as far as calling Jesus, Moses and Muhammed impostors. This marked the beginning of going against traditional beliefs and thinking for yourself. An idea that seemed to be prominent during the enlightenment. Kudos to Rousseau for taking steps towards gender equality and openly stating that human virtue will not advance unless women are also educated.
Enlightenment led to some vital discoveries and inventions of the nineteenth century that were the building blocks to many of today's discoveries.