Why did Garibaldi become such a national hero to the Italian people? How does Garibaldi’s comportment as a political and military leader prefigure the conduct of later revolutionary leaders and military activists?

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Why was Great Britain the first state to have an Industrial Revolution? Why did it happen in Britain when it did? What were the basic features of the new industrial system created by the Industrial Revolution?

2.     How did the Industrial Revolution spread from Britain to the continent and the United States, and how did industrialization in these areas differ from Great Britain’s industrialization?

3.     In what ways does Twain’s Life on the Mississippi illustrate the impact of the transportation revolution on the daily life in the United States?

4.     What effects did the Industrial Revolution have on urban life, social classes, family life and standards of living? What were working conditions like in the opening decades of the Industrial Revolution, and what efforts were made to address these conditions and improve them?

5.     What are the major similarities and differences between the attitudes toward business of Samuel Smiles and Shibuzawa Elichi? How do you explain the differences, and what are their implications?

6.     What kind of working conditions did children face in the textile mills during the early Industrial Revolution? Why were they beaten? What kind of working conditions did children face in the mines during the early Industrial Revolution? Why did entrepreneurs permit such conditions and such treatment of children?

 

 

1.     What were the goals of the Congress of Vienna and the Concert of Europe? How successful were the characters gathered at Vienna in achieving those goals?

2.     Based on Metternich’s discussion in his Memoirs, how would you define conservatism? What experiences conditioned Metternich’s ideas? Based on the selection provided, what policies do you think Metternich would have wanted his government to pursue?

3.     Based on Mill’s discussion in On Liberty, how would you define liberalism? How do Mill’s ideas fit into the concept of democracy? Which is more important in his thought, the individual or the society?

4.     What regions saw a great deal of revolutionary activity in 1848-1849 and which regions did not? What are the reasons behind this distribution?

5.     Based on the principles outlined in Mazzini’s Young Italy Oath, define nationalism. Why have some called nationalism a “secular religion?”

6.     What were the characteristics of Romanticism, and how were they reflected in literature, art, and music?

 

 

1.     Why did Louis Napoleon’s argument to the French people have such a strong popular appeal? What are the similarities in the practice of Realpolitik by Louis Napoleon and Otto von Bismarck? What are the noticeable differences in their two approaches? What can you learn about Realpolitik from the two selections?

2.     Why did Garibaldi become such a national hero to the Italian people? How does Garibaldi’s comportment as a political and military leader prefigure the conduct of later revolutionary leaders and military activists?

3.     What changes did Tsar Alexander II’s emancipation of the serfs initiate in Russia? What effect did Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation” have on the Southern “armed rebellion?” What reason did each leader give for his action?

4.     How did Marx and Engels define the proletariat? The bourgeoisie? Why did Marxists come to believe that this distinction was paramount for the understanding of history? What stepds did Marx and Engels believe would lead to a classless society?

5.     How did Realism differ from Romanticism, and how did Realism reflect the economic and social realities of Europe during the middle decades of the nineteenth century?

 

According to Martin, how does the process of essentializing work through the projection of an essence, labeling, attaching characteristics, and defining social roles? Discuss a religious and non-religious example. 

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According to Nye, what is the problem with making “belief” central to the study of religion? In what ways might doing so reflect Christian biases in the study of religion?

2. According to Nye, in what ways do the the theories of Feuerbach, Marx, and Freud, along with cognitive approaches to the study of religion, exhibit reductionism?

3. According to Nye, what are some different ways in which the term “belief” can be used or understood?

4. Why, according to Nye, can’t belief and practice be separated?

5. Nye discusses eight particular ways of looking at rituals. Summarize and discuss each of these. Note: this will require a longer than normal answer, and is worth 50 points of the total.

6. Why, according to Nye, is it important to look beyond canonical texts in the study of religion, to those woven into other cultural outlets?

7. What are some of the issues that arise in translation? How do our presuppositions impact translations?

8. What does Nye mean when he says that “reading is not necessarily a neutral activity, but happens within a sphere of political relations”? Explain.

1. According to Martin, how does the process of essentializing work through the projection of an essence, labeling, attaching characteristics, and defining social roles? Discuss a religious and non-religious example.

2. What is group bias, according to Martin? How does it foster in-group behavior? Discuss at least one example.

3. How, according to Martin, how is socialization internalized? How does this internalization reinforce social positions and roles? Discuss at least one example.

4. According to Martin, what key elements do all social groups share? Make sure to discuss, not just list, these.

5. What is naturalization, according to Martin? How does naturalization function in terms of domination and social reproduction?

6. What is meritocracy, according to Martin? Why does Martin suggest that meritocracy is largely a myth?

7. What is habitus, according to Martin? How is habitus linked to class differences in society, and how does it reinforce what is considered “normal”? Discuss at least one example.

8. What is the relationship between habitus and religion, according to Martin? Discuss at least one example

Discuss whether the figures fit into the space, whether their movements seem believable, whether their clothes fit their bodies properly, and whether there are shadows that make sense. 

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For this week’s discussion assignment, you will explore the characteristics of Early Renaissance art in both Northern and Southern Europe. Address each part of the assignment below:

Part 1  Two of the great innovations of the Renaissance in painting were the artist’s ability to depict a more contemporary world, and to create the illusion of a three-dimensional world in a painting. By studying and comparing paintings created in Italy from the fourteenth and the fifteenth centuries, you can see how this innovation developed:

•Giotto. Lamentation Fresco in the Scrovegni (Arena) Chapel, 1305–06

•Masaccio, The Tribute Money, c. 1427

•Perugino, Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter, 1481

In a minimum of 2 well-developed paragraphs, identify and describe at least 3 specific details or elements that progressively illustrate the artist’s concern for depicting a more natural world and for creating the illusion of three-dimensional space on the two-dimensional surface of the painting.

Part 2  As we learned this week, art historians analyze a work of art using a specific vocabulary to describe its physical and visual properties, and by interpreting its subject matter, symbolism, and socio-historical context. Select one of the following paintings:

•Jan Van Eyck, Double Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife, 1434

•Master of Flémalle, Mérode Altarpiece, 1425-28

•Hugo van der Goes, Portinari Altarpiece, 1474-76

For your selected painting:

1.In a paragraph of 4-6 sentences, describe the composition of the painting, including its use of color and light, and the representation of space. Explain why some artistic elements in the painting look realistic to you and some do not look realistic. Discuss whether the figures fit into the space, whether their movements seem believable, whether their clothes fit their bodies properly, and whether there are shadows that make sense.

2.Read about your selected painting in the course textbook and/or through reliable online resources. In a paragraph of 4-6 sentences, describe the overall subject matter of the painting; the meaning of some of the objects in the painting; and any social, historical, political, and/or religious factors that are important to understanding the painting.

Be sure to provide citations for any outside sources you reference in this part of your response.

Some historians have called the Crusades “successful failures.”  Using what you learned from the textbook readings this week, explain how these historians could justify such an opinion.  Do you agree with them?  Why or why not?

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Please choose ONE of the following questions to answer for the Discussion Forum this week.  After you post your own answer, you will need to respond to three of your fellow classmates.

1. Given what you have read in our textbook, do you believe that the Roman Empire declined and fell?  Or that society, politics and life in general simply evolved-for the good or bad – after Odoacer overthrew Roman Emperor Romulus Augustulus in 476?  Use specific details and examples from the book to support your opinion.

2.  On Christmas Day, 800 CE, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, a title that seems to imply a great deal.  In what ways was Charlemagne himself “holy” or “Roman?”  Does he fit either description?  Why or why not?

3.  Some historians have called the Crusades “successful failures.”  Using what you learned from the textbook readings this week, explain how these historians could justify such an opinion.  Do you agree with them?  Why or why not?

 

 

Student Response #1 

I believe referring  to the Crusades as a “successful failure” is a stretch. The purpose of the Crusades were to win Christian control of the holy land, Jerusalem. The Byzantine emperor, Alexius reached out the Pope Urban II for help in recruiting troops. Pope Urban told crowds those who made the trip would be offered forgiveness of their sins, “the pains of the trip would substitute for ordinary penance” (Hunt, p331). Somewhere between 60,000 and 100,000 people left their homes for a rough journey “to the Holy Land to fight for God” (Hunt, p331). The First Crusades did accomplish getting the holy land under Christian control but in the way Alexius had hoped. The leaders of these expeditions kept the newly conquered territories for themselves instead of handing to Alexius as he had hoped. Many more unsuccessful crusades happen later. The Muslims regained control in the middle east and the Christians lost the holy land. With the main goal of these holy wars being to gain control of the middle east, its obvious it was a failure. The Christians control of the holy land was short lived. In my opinion a “successful failure” can be defined as not accomplishing the main goal but still having a positive outcome in someway or another. Some historians do credit some positive advancements to the Crusades. Its they inspired “far-flung expedition like Columbus’s in 1492” (Hunt, p335). Its also been said that the Crusades stimulated trade and shaped our modern taxation systems. Our textbook states that “the commercial revolution would have happened with out them (the Crusades)” (Hunt, p335). I’m positive all of these things would have happened even without the Crusades. I feel the Crusades were a very dark time in history and the only real “success” we can take away from it is the need for separation between church and state.

References

Hunt, L., Martin, T., Rosenwein, B., & Smith, B. (2012). Commercial Quickening and Religious Reform, 1050-1150. In Making of the West: To 1750 (4th Ed., Vol. 1, Ch. 10). Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s.

 

 

Student Response #2 

This week I chose to answer question two about Charlemagne. Charlemagne was crowned the Holy Roman Emperor on December 25, 800. Charlemagne could scarcely be considered Roman, at best. The Carolingian dynasty was allied with the Roman papacy and followed the Roman Christianity virtues and values [1], but the Byzantine dynasty was depicted as the most accurate representation of the “old” Roman Empire. Though Charlemagne did put a lot of stock into the liberal arts, education, architecture, “sponsored building programs to symbolize his authority, standardized weights and measures, and acted as patron of intellectual and artistic efforts.”[2] He adopted quite a few aspects of old Roman leaders such as Julius Caesar, but he was hardly Roman himself.

 

It is fairly easy to argue Charlemagne’s holiness. He conquered much of Western Europe, bringing Christianity wherever he won. After thirty years of fighting the Saxon people, he forcibly won and immediately started forcing the baptisms of all Saxons with threats of death. [3] Charlemagne was a man for justice and church. He put a lot of faith in Christianity and the church. During the Carolingian Renaissance, Charlemagne had finally merged Christianity with the traditions of Rome and the Germanic people. [4] Scholars were studying religion and teaching religion in the church as well as looking back at old writings. Artists were also doing more with paintings of religious figures or mosaics of religious icons. Charlemagne was a devout Christian; it could even be argued that he was an extremist. He made leaps and bounds in establishing religious education throughout his empire and that speaks for his holiness.

 

Sources:

Hunt, Lynn et al. Making of the West, Volume I: To 1750, 4th Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. VitalSource. 287.

Hunt. Making of the West, Volume I: To 1750, 4th Edition. 288.

 

 

Student Response #3 

 

On Christmas Day, 800 CE, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, a title that seems to imply a great deal. In what ways was Charlemagne himself “holy” or “Roman?” Does he fit either description? Why or why not?When Pope Leo III placed the crown on Charlemagne’s head in 800 AD, he was doing so not as the holiest leader of Christianity, but as a man driven, as we all are, by personal ambition and a desire for greater power.  Charlemagne himself had risen to his supreme position of power by the consequence of this same desire for power and prestige.  The Eastern Roman Empire, or the Byzantine Empire as it was known, was led by Empress Irene of Athens.  The Pope was uncomfortable with the head of a power descended from the Roman Empire being of Hellenic descent, and blamed them for its downfall.  Crowning Charlemagne ‘Imperator Romanorum’ had the double effect of diminishing the power of the Eastern Empire and deeming the coronation as a gift from the most powerful man in Europe, the Pope himself.  The fact that Charlemagne followed the teachings of Christianity is not, I think, a fair requirement by itself for the man to be seen as ‘holy’, especially in regards to his position, and especially when it was a requirement for every man in Christendom to follow the basic tenets of Christianity in the 9th century or be found shunned or outright murdered out of religious intolerance.  In this way, Charlemagne was not given this great title because of his holiness or piety, but as a consequence of his powerful and influential position as the king of the Franks and Italy.

 

 

Charlemagne did not fall into this title as a result of his being in any way descended from the old leaders of Rome either.  Charlemagne was born either in what is now Belgium or in western Germany.  He was descended from a long line of Frankish rulers.   Francia, which was ruled by the Merovingians after the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD, had been a part of the Roman Empire and it is this geographical ancestry that is all that Charlemagne shared with the original Roman people.  In these ways, it is hard to see Charlemagne as either ‘holy’ or ‘Roman’, even as he sat at the throne of the new Holy Roman Empire.