Part A
Deep Dive Chapter 11 (500 words Choose any of the options below to deep dive.)
- Go beyond simple summaries of the item you selected
- Share what you found interesting, surprising, or significant about what you read (or viewed, or heard)
- Connect the item back to what we read and/or viewed for this module.
Let’s be sure that our conversations are informal, open, and engaging dialogues (and keep in mind you are more than welcome to use the video function to record yourself—note that it may take a few minutes to save). You can review the tips for conversations here—remember to check back through the module.
Deep Dive options (remember, select one of these nine items to read, watch, or listen to):
Reading:
- Glenn Hodges, “Why was the ancient city of Cahokia abandoned? New clues rule out one theoryLinks to an external site.” National Geographic
- David Alire Garcia, “Stylish Suburbs: How Ancient Mexican Metropolis Dodged Inequality TrapLinks to an external site.” Reuters
Listening:
- Podcast on a French silversmith in the Mongol capitalLinks to an external site. from Footnoting History
- (Europe) Wonders Podcast, “The Bayeaux TapestryLinks to an external site.”
- (Africa) Wonders Podcast, “The Madrassas of TimbuktuLinks to an external site.”
- (Central America) Wonders Podcast, “The Pyramid of Kulkukan at Chichén ItzáLinks to an external site.”
Watching:
- Crash Course History of Science: “The Americas and Time KeepingLinks to an external site.”
- Crash Course Philosophy, “Natural Law TheoryLinks to an external site.”
- Crash Course Philosophy, “Aquinas and the Cosmological ArgumentsLinks to an external site.”
- Crash Course Philosophy, “Anselm and the Argument for GodLinks to an external site.”
Part B
Global Literacy Research and Reflection Assignment – Final Step
- Submitting a file upload
- Available until May 7 at 11:59pm
Purpose: To assess yur ability to interpret the global past, to assess aspects of global diversity, global heritage, and global interdependence, and to select evidence and construct an argument using historical evidence, you will prepare a short essay that pursues a research question and reflects on global literacy and being “enlightened citizens, globally astute leaders, and engaged solution creators.”
Research questions and historical evidence must be approved by the instructor in advance of final paper submission. Some factors to consider in developing a research question:
- Global diversity: Does answering the question involve examining more than one region? (East Asia, South Asia, Southwest Asia, Europe, Northern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Austronesia, South America, Mesoamerica, North America) If it doesn’t incorporate regional diversity, does pursuing the question involve exploring religious, linguistic, cultural, social, or gender diversity?
- Global heritage: Does answering the question involve examining a cultural, social, or political institution, artifact, movement, idea, architecture, piece of art, or leader of lasting significance?
- Global interdependence: Does answering the question involve exploring interdependence in world history, involving connections either between societies, civilizations, and regions or within them?
Some general topics that have worked well include:
- Pastoralism and agriculture
- Writing and oral tradition
- Religion
- Free and unfree labor
- Gender relations
- Political power and legitimacy
- Trade and travel
Papers work well when analyzing two or three examples from different parts of the world or one example across an extended period (i.e., more than one textbook chapter).
Practical considerations include identifying a question that can be answered using historical evidence, such as maps, images, and primary sources included within Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, with context from the textbook and/or other course materials.
The final paper should be between 750 and 1000 words (typically 3-4 pages of double-spaced, 12-point font). This word count does not include footnotes or bibliography. You must indicate the page numbers from which you gather and/or quote material. Copying from any source without proper citation is plagiarism and will result in a 0 on the assignment. A grading rubric will be utilized on this paper.
What you’re submitting: a research paper, 750-1000 words in length, that uses examples and sources from within Chapters 1-13 of Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, the student site, and/or Deep Dive options to answer a research question related to world history prior to 1700.
If you use AI: while most students find attempts to use AI to be a time waste, you may use it up to Level 3Links to an external site., but note that you need to use examples from Chapters 1-13, the student site, and/or Deep Dive options and you need to include any prompts and AI-generated results you used for this project as an appendix at the end of the paper.
Rubric