Homework for the long weekend, 11/30

Over the weekend, finish reading the chapter, pages 418-428.

We will have an in class essay on Wednesday.  It will be Change Over Time.  The time period will be Classical through Post Classical Era, and the regions will be Rome-Byzantium, China/East Asia, India/South Asia, Middle East/Dar-al-Islam. (It will only be one of those regions across two time periods.)  You will be able to re-write this essay, but it will be for an averaged mark between the first time through and the re-write, it will not be for an all new grade.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Homework for 11/29

For tonight please read pages 410-418 in the textbook, covering the economic systems of the Indian Ocean basin.

Homework for 11/28--The Idol Smasher

The textbook doesn't really do a lot with a very controversial figure in Indian history, Mahmoud of Ghazni.  So for tonight, look at two views of Mahmoud of Ghazni (a.k.a.: the Idol Smasher) to read. First:

http://www.indianmilitaryhistory.org/kings_master/kings/mahmud_ghaznavi/Mahmud%20Ghaznavi.html

Second from a professor at UCLA:
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Mughals/mahmud_mughals.html

Read them both tonight.  We will work with the contents of each in class tomorrow. Bookmark them so you can get to them easily from your iPad.

Homework for 11/27

For tonight's homework, we are moving on to India, the next chapter in the book.  Please read 405-410.

Tonight's homework

For tonight, read pages 383-389 in the textbook.

The description of the book report is linked up here. Remember, you can substitute the word "book" with the word "film." You may do up to 2 fictional books, and 1 non-fiction and 1 fiction film. The rubric I'll use to score it is linked up here.  Remember the difference between meeting expectations and exceeding expectations!

The list of books is linked up here.  You may use another book, but you must have it approved first before you submit the project.  You must also have approval for your film if you choose to go that route.  An email conversation is sufficient for attaining approval.

The scoring guide for the COT is linked up here.  We will practice with it next week, and then write one for real the week following.

In class and homework 11/16

This chapter contains lots of information that you need to know.  There are many names, terms, and ideas that are new and important.  Working in a group of no more than 4, design a quiz that would cover this chapter. (You probably can use a google document, but as long as you all can share it with me, I don't care what you use.)  Your quiz must have the following three sections:

      1. Terms/names--you must ask questions or design an activity that checks to see if the person taking the quiz can successfully identify the terms/names and their significance.

      2. Timeline--you must ask questions that allow the quiz-taker to place the important events in order of occurrence.

      3. Themes--you must cause the quiz taker to articulate how the themes of this course (Remember them? They are posted waaaaay back at the start of the class) show up in the dar-al-Islam in this time period.

      Oh, and the quiz should be do-able in 20 minutes or less...That means you don't have to cover everything!  Just cover what you believe to be important! That also means it doesn't have to be even--you could decide that the themes are less important, so you have fewer questions.

How you design the quiz (the format of the questions, etc.) is entirely up to you.  The quiz you make will be graded as a (gasp) quiz! It will be worth 30 points total.

So your information must be:

• factually correct (no wrong information or incorrect spellings!); 
• you must have the three sections with questions/relevant activities; 
• and you must include a key/answers to the quiz.  

All of your names must be on it, and everyone will get the same grade for the work. It must be done and shared with me by the end of the class. Any not done and shared by the end of class today will automatically lose 5 points. You aren't going to be taking these quizzes, so don't worry about making them super easy so you don't become less popular...

For homework, dive into the next chapter. We are going back to China, but adding in Japan and Korea as well. Read pages 375-383.

In Class and Homework 11/15

It's Harun al-Rashid day!  In class, find and read Harun's Wikipedia page. (The wikipanion app can make this easier, or you can go through...lightspeed...) He is mentioned in the textbook, but only briefly.

After you read the wikipedia entry, turn to your trusty blog and think and compose the following:

First, evaluate this as a quality source. Is it a good one, mediocre one or a bad one? Note how the page is organized.  Is it evenly written? Is there any evidence of bias or is it an objective source? What tells you so?

Second, do some thinking about what you read. Having read this entry, what questions do you have about Harun, his life, his importance? Does this Wikipedia page answer questions or generate more?  Where would you go to find out more about him?  When you google search his name, you get over 490,000 hits...how would you filter it? (explain the process of refining your search.)

Lastly, ponder: Why does Harun al-Rashid spark such imagination? Why is he so prevalent in pop culture? How do you explain his "fame"/notoriety? Does this wikipedia page serve to add to it, or temper it?

For homework, read pages 365-370. Feel free to start this if you complete the above task.

If you are interested, A Thousand and One Nights is linked up here. It is from the gutenberg project, which means you can download it in a couple of different formats and read it here! For those of you who get all nostalgic for the Disney version of Aladdin, this would be a very interesting read for you!

Homework for Wednesday

For tonight, read Benjamin of Tudela's description of Bagdad on page 358. Consider the information provided about the author in the preface of this and his description of Constantinople on page 329. On your blog, discuss his qualifications to discuss these cities. Should we take him seriously as an objective viewpoint? Is he in fact unbiased? Use evidence from the texts to support your points. Does he like one city better than the other? How can you tell?

Homework for the long weekend

For the long weekend, you are to read the selection in the book from the Quran on page 350. Answer the italicized question at the end of the reading on your blog.  Then read pages 352-365 in the textbook.

And thank a veteran!

Homework November 8

For tonight, read pages 345-352.  It provides a more in depth look at the formation of Islam than the packet provided last night.

Parent-Teacher meetings sign up form

Please use the spreadsheet linked up here to sign up for a time to meet with me on November 13th. Times are first-come, first-served, and parents are on the honor system to not alter other parent's pre-existing appointments!

Reading again? Yep...

For tonight's assignment, please read the article entitled The Islamization of the Silk Road by Richard C. Foltz.  As you read, keep in mind Bentley's argument that the three ways people convert to a new religion are through Voluntary Association, Assimilation/syncretism and Pressure/Force.

Write up a blog post in which you argue that Foltz does or does not help to prove Bentley's point. Does the spread of Islam support or refute Bentley's argument?  Be sure to incorporate evidence into your point!

Some fun for election night

Time for another experiment in reading what Historians Like to Write About!

Tonight and tomorrow, please read the following piece linked here.  Written by Jerry H. Bentley, titled The Spread of World Religions, it argues that people convert to a foreign religion in three main ways/for three main reasons:

1) Voluntary association
2) Syncretism
3) Pressure

He is going to use Buddhism and Christianity in the Classical Era as evidence to support his claims.

Your task tonight is to just read this piece.  As you read, know that we are going to work with his three ideas in class tomorrow to determine if he makes a good (well supported and well reasoned) case or not.  You will need to have access to your blog during class, as you will be posting answers to questions posed to you in class, so be sure that you can do so!

We will be looking at this article in class, so if you prefer paper copies to work with, please print them at home and bring them in to class.

Vote if you are eligible, and stay informed regardless!

A light weekend to recover from halloween

Over the weekend, read pages 336-341 in the textbook.  We won't be talking about this section unless you have questions, so be sure you read carefully and to remember information!

Monday we will start in on the formation of Islam...

on your own today

Hi folks-

Sorry to not be with you today.  So we'll take this slightly out of order.  After Rome falls, the city of Constantinople becomes the remaining, fully-functional urban center in the Mediterranean region.  In fact, people all over just called it "The City."

Below are three different descriptions of The City, from three different chroniclers of the time, all non-residents of the Constantinople.  Your task in class today is to read all three.  On your blog, I'd like you to write about the perspectives of the author of each piece (so don't write about them as an aggregated whole, but take each article individually).  What does this author think about Constantinople? Is it a positive or negative or neutral article?  You must support your assertions with specific evidence from the articles. Lastly, do you think you can trust each of the descriptions as accurate? Why or why not?

The articles are linked up here:

1. First article Ibn Battuta's description
2. Second article Benjamin of Tudela's description
3. Third article Liudprand of Cremona's description

For homework, start on Chapter 13 about, you guessed it, the Byzantine Empire. Read pages 317-325.