At the end of our unit we will come together in role to discuss this inquiry question:
to what extent was the world truly “global” at the time of the Renaissance in Europe, approximately 1500? Who was in it? Who was excluded? Is it fair to call this a global time?
Step 2. Do research on these three questions (point form notes using note-taking template):
Connections to the global world (how your character interacted with parts of the world other than his/her own – could be through trade, exploration, curiosity, awareness, missionary activity, etc.) –
Contributions to the world: positive –
Blind spots / biases / prejudices / global limitations / negative influences and consequences
Step 3: Write up your research in three paragraphs. Cite all evidence in proper Chicago style footnotes.
Step 4: Bring your notes and write-ups to the global gathering and participate in in-role discussion to come up with an overall answer to the inquiry question. There will be jamboards for you to use to answer some sub-questions.
Hints:
When to cite: every time you write something that you gathered from research, you must cite. Otherwise, you are plagiarizing.
Which sources to use: TDSB Virtual Library databases (history reference centre, global issues in context, Britannica)
When to use HTC: HTC is just a tool to help you analzye more deeply. So, whenever you make a connection to continuity and/or change, or view something from the point of view of a particular historical group (historical perspectives), you’re using HTC. The key is to use a wide variety of vocabulary to help you express these HTC connections. You are not limited to these two HTCs, but they are probably the most likely to be used.
Should you use primary source evidence? Since it is the best kind of evidence, yes, if you can. Make sure to cite it. And remember quotes can’t float. Integrate quotes into your writing.
There is no introduction before it since this is not an essay.
TS = main argument + sub-topics described (not listed)
Here’s an example of a good topic sentence that follows the formula:
Ideal writing is a balance of evidence and argument; evidence should be detailed, while argument should be explained.
You’ll also notice that the TS above has a semi-colon (;). Ms. G is a fan of the semi-colon because it’s like having two sentences in one.
Another way to think about topic sentences is to have a strong position on a topic.
Take a look at the following and decide if they are effective topic sentences that meet the criteria:
World history should be a required course for all high school students in Ontario.
2. World history should be a required course for all high school students in Ontario because it gives them a solid grounding.
3. World history should be a required course for all high school students in Ontario because it gives them a solid grounding in how the past has shaped the present.
Tips to Improve Detail
If you are suggesting a “how to” make sure not to just mention it. Give details about how this way of studying works.
Even though the paragraph is NOT about the topics we studied, the examples must include details about those topics. For instance, if you choose to write about the process of inquiring into Mayan society, you will need to include details about something you learned in YOUR inquiry.
Tips to Improve Arguments
Explain means make your thinking clear to the reader. I always say, “don’t just say it, explain it.” When improving your writing you must put yourself in someone else’s shoes in order to look at your own writing more objectively.
Here you must remember to focus on the HOW, not the WHAT. This is where you keep in mind the approach to studying history and how the examples help show that.
Don’t just say it, explain it!
Ms. G
ONLY ONE PARAGRAPH
Ms. G does not want multiple paragraphs; She only asked for one.
Here are some areas that everyone can work on as we continue to improve our skills.
Write in your own words.
AI is not a substitute for your original thinking.
Write your own sentences and generate your own ideas.
Be very cautious.
The solution is to take notes in your own words. When I take notes, it is the thing I spend the most time on. I read a section, think about what it means, and then write it down in my own words in point form. It takes a bit more time but then when I’m working on my outline or draft I KNOW that the words I used are my own and that I don’t have to change them again.
Inquiry-related words: think independently, connect, apply, explore, investigate, take responsibility, etc.
Everyone should look at their see saw to determine how balanced it is. Remember that writing is a balance of detailed evidence and well-explained arguments. Take a look at your see saw and make sure to work on balancing it out.
Start early and work in steps. Ask questions if you aren’t sure what to do.
Hope this helps.
Ms. G
Websites for Paleo/Neo Sites (old unit culminating activity)
Welcome! Check out photos and tweets from the SWSH pd day at #swshpd18
Here’s some shameless self-promotion – I’m the editor of OHASSTA’s blog, Rapport. Please visit and consider contributing. Email me if you’re interested (risa@cabal.org).
Please note the order of activities may be somewhat different.
1. Enlightenment
THE AGE OF REASON?
Recommended textbook pages: 83, 146-150
1: Jean Calas anecdote – from this story, try to grasp the main concepts of the Enlightenment and what enlightened philosophes thought was worth fighting for. CHY4U_Unit2_Activity1_Enlightenment_intro
Jean Calas being broken
2. Locke: read this for context on the social contract and types of government in Europe
3. PSDs – please annotate, looking for connections to enlightened characteristics. Answer the questions below, or at least follow them as they provide clues to what is important.
Political: John Locke, Two Treatises on Government; Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence
In what way did Jefferson ‘plagiarize’ Locke?
English: Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1792
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
Questions:
What did Equiano hope the British government would do?
Under what condition did Wollstonecraft believe society would improve?
French: Voltaire, Superstition; Denis Diderot, Definition of Intolerance
The statue of Voltaire on the internal face of the Louvre in Paris
Questions:
Diderot repeats the word ‘impious’ (blasphemous – against religion) over and over. Why is he using this religious word against the Catholic Church? Think literary styles.
What is Voltaire’s big problem with superstition?
Ruler (Enlightened Despot): Catherine the Great, Proposals for a New Law Code, 1767
Coronation of Catherine II
Questions:
Catherine spends a lot of time arguing why absolute monarchy is suitable for Russia. How does she justify it? Is there anything enlightened in Catherine’s words/intentions?
ARGUMENT PRACTICE
Practice making arguments. Read this and see how you can make it a little bit better by making a sharper topic sentence:
Denis Diderot was one of the main social critics of his time, particularly when it came to the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church. In an article from his multi-volume Encyclopedie called “Intolerance” Diderot portrayed the Catholic Church as hypocritical. In fact, he argued, the Church was intolerant. Diderot and other enlightened philosophes in France held a core belief in freedom of thought; as he said, “Conscience must be enlightened, not constrained.” Neither the state nor the Church should interfere with an individual’s right to his own beliefs and ideas. The problem with the Catholic Church was that it used pacifistic language such as love when in fact it used violent means to achieve its goals. According to Diderot, “Education, persuasion, and prayer, these are the only legitimate means of spreading the faith.” How hypocritical, he implied, was the Church for using violence, hatred, and sowing of division to spread Christianity. These two simple quotes portray Diderot as a hard-edged writer willing to speak his truth to power.
Here’s an interesting little tidbit on Diderot and Catherine the Great- you decide if it made her enlightened at all???
Denis Diderot and Catherine the Great of Russia came together out of necessity. Diderot’s Encyclopedie was heavily censored by the Roman Catholic Church and the French government. The pope even threatened excommunication of purchasers of it (World History, p. 449). At the time in the 1700s, France was still relatively feudal* in its social structure, though people like Diderot from the upper middle classes had a certain amount of influence in intellectual circles. Diderot was so involved in the Enlightenment that he was chased by the police, spied on, and even had to sell his works to the Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great, in order to save them from government confiscation. Catherine, seeing herself as an enlightened ruler, allowed him to retain the books and she paid him a yearly salary. He even went to visit her in Russia for six months in 1773 (Glencoe World History, p. 557). Catherine and Diderot: an likely pair but a duo who found mutual benefit in each other.
*feudal refers to the social structure of western Europe in the Middle Ages in which the wealthy lords owned the land and the poor serfs worked the land. They were stuck in a feudal relationship that, on paper, gave them some benefits, but in reality kept them from moving forward.
4. Did western Europe have a monopoly on enlightenment?
How do Akbar and Suleiman compare to our western European thinkers?
Are there other characteristics of enlightenment we should now add to our list?
How does learning about Akbar and Suleiman contribute to your understanding of the limits of western enlightenment? Does it reinforce the paradox?
What sites should you consult? Keep COR (Civic Online Reasoning) in mind.
2. Slavery and Resistance
Vicissitudes from Jason deCaires Taylor’s website
Minds On: What do you think the underwater sculpture above is meant to represent? Back to your earlier definition of what the word “fight” means in “what is worth fighting for?” Now we are adding the idea of resistance. What is the difference between fighting and resisting? (please, really think about this difference).
Skills: historical perspective, inquiry questions
terminology: slave vs. enslaved person
it is extremely important to choose terms carefully as we must fully humanize, not objectify, the people we are studying
Students are to come up with good, curious, deep inquiry questions while viewing the interactive slave trade map. Remember, these ships were filled with humans.
CHY4U_Slave_Trade_2019 (PPT) – overview of the how the slave trade worked, especially the idea of triangular trade. Triangular trade can also be found in the textbook on page 106.
Triangular trade
Task: take notes on methods of resistance by enslaved persons from pages 108 to 111 in the textbook. Then, put them into categories (such as physical, spiritual, etc.)
Note: Normally at this time Ms. G emphasizes how some historians used to dismiss things such as working slowly or breaking tools as evidence of the slaves’ laziness. Over time, historians have opened up their perspectives to recognize that the enslaved people were doing whatever they could to survive a brutal life, resist conditions imposed upon them and assert their humanity. Recall, historiography.
Fill in CHY 4U Abolitionism Code Noir chart using the PSD in the purple box on page 109 of the textbook (see photos above) – it is part of the actual Code Noir (excerpts).
Note: the preamble (intro) says that God approves of these laws. Therefore, it’s as if God was saying to the enslaved people of the French colonies that they MUST obey the laws in the Code Noir. Also note, this code applied to the French colonies only.
2. How enlightened was Code Noir? (0-10) Explain your rating.
3. How generous did the French government think the code was? (0-10) Explain your rating.
4. Ultimately, in the unit so far, how enlightened is the enlightenment? Think about the paradox or the gap between ideas and reality. Please write a sharp, concise yet precise two-sentence answer.
Additional Questions on Code Noir:
What do the articles in row 1 have in common? Why was religion such a big deal in this code? On the one hand, if a slaver converted his enslaved people to Christianity, what is this admitting in terms of their humanity? On the other hand, if the slaver teaches that Christianity says you’ll get into heaven if you’re obedient, how can this reinforce slavery?
What do the articles in row 2 have in common? Why was control of family such a big deal in this code? Was there any empathy? Does that make the code enlightened at all?
What do the articles in row 3 have in common? Why were there provisions for how enslaved people should be involved in the “justice” system? Was there actually justice for them?
see this article from The Guardian newspaper about its founder’s link to the slave trade.
Also, many parts of the United States are debating and discussing reparations (repayments) for slavery.
See this article from PBS about California’s debate (March 2023).
St. Domingue / Haiti and the Haitian Revolutions
ToussaintL’Ouverture
Le Marron Inconnu (the unknown slave, Port au Prince, Haiti, 1967)St. Domingue, the Caribbean island that brought the most wealth to the French Empire.
Recall, the Code Noir would have been the document that governed the lives of enslaved people in the French Caribbean colony of St. Domingue.
To understand the Haitian Revolutions (yes, more than one revolution) context please read the two documents below and answer these questions on BIG ideas:
why did three empires try to so hard to defeat St. Domingue/Haiti?
why were the Haitians able to prevail?
Then, to get more details, read about Toussaint L’Ouverture and the rebellions in St. Domingue/Haiti (textbook pages 195-197). Note that the origins of the first revolution (starting in 1791) are quite complicated and resulted in the freeing of the enslaved peoples. The second one (ending in 1804) was the fight for independence from France.
Visit Haitian Revolution (Black Past) or The Haitian Revolution (PBS – Africans in America) if you want short overviews of the Haitian Revolutions. There is a Crash Course History video (12 minutes) as well. In it there is some reference to the French Revolution (which we haven’t learned about yet) but you should be able to get the big picture without this fore-knowledge.
Rana Plaza collapse 2013, Bangladesh, signaling the pitfalls of our modern industrialization.
Rana Plaza was full of garment manufacturing workshops producing clothing for export to the western market and the building was obviously not safe for it. That’s what happens when companies want to make profit above all and skilled work is displaced by unskilled work and lower pay. https://cleanclothes.org/safety/ranaplaza
Minds On: How is society affected by the pace of technological change? Think about our own times: do you think we live in a time of fast-paced technological change? If so, what influence does it have on people’s lives, work, the economy, etc.? E.g., AI.
Skill: Progress and decline – the inverse relationship between those who progress and those who decline. Note that progress and decline are aspects of continuity and change.
Introduction to Industrialization:
Industrialization began in Britain in the late 1700s. It began there, rather than elsewhere, for various reasons which are somewhat outside the scope of this activity. However, what’s crucial to know is that many people invested money in new technologies that would eventually power factories to produce a lot more goods, especially cotton textiles, than before. These new technologies pushed for more efficiency/productivity. The demand for goods was high because the population in Britain was growing quickly.
Before the industrial revolution British society was largely rural and the economy was based on agriculture. Power came from wind, water, animals and humans. Some farming families also worked in what was called ‘cottage industries’, meaning they engaged in a small trade at home to supplement their farm income. For instance, they might spin wool from their sheep into yarn. A middle man would help them get the yarn to market or to a producer who’d turn it into something like clothes or blankets. But work was at home and followed the regular schedule of daily life on a farm.
Change came … During the industrial revolution urban areas grew faster as people moved to live nearby their sources of employment – the factories. The sources of power eventually became coal and steam. Coal powered factories and mills where large numbers of workers gathered under one roof were new developments. Workers were now paid a wage, usually per day or week.
The woolen industry had been in existence for a long time in Britain. However, cotton was becoming increasingly popular. Britain did not, of course, grow cotton – it grows in a warmer climate. But some of Britain’s colonies (especially India) and trading partners (such as the US southern states) did grow cotton where it was often nurtured by enslaved people. Thus one cannot separate the topics of colonization, slavery and industrialization. This will become very apparent as you make your way through the chart in the unit 2 handouts. So will the fact that certain types of workers benefited more than others. The world was changing and people’s lives were changing significantly.
Tasks:
Read Early Inventions of Industrialization first. It gives a lot of important background. Early_Industrialization
2. Fill in the chart: Early Industrialization Activity – who was helped and who was hurt by each innovation? The possible answers are indicated for you at the top of the activity. If you don’t have your paper booklet, you can find a PDF version of it at the top of the unit 2 page.
3. There is a list of websites at the bottom of the document (copied below). They contain images related to early industrialization. Please visit some of the sites. If you have any uncertainties about the topic of early industrialization, the third document (oup) gives a fabulous overview of EVERYTHING. *It is not necessary to do this – just for your interest.
ROM exhibit: The Cloth that Changed the World – India’s Painted and Printed Cottons
Explore some of the sites of early industrialization in England:
Skills: HTC – causes and consequences(intended and unintended, direct, indirect, long-term, medium-term, short-term), historical perspectives
key terms:
mercantilism (the economic policy in which countries seek to export rather than import, protect their own markets and industries, and make profit from their colonies)
think of it like a pie: at the time, people believed there was a limited supply of wealth. Each country had its own slice of the pie. The only way to increase the size of its slice of pie was to get it from another country, often through war
global conflict
thus, it should make sense that what began as a minor war in Europe (for reasons that are not even very important to us) became a global conflict about getting more pie for each country (empire)!!! These various conflicts lasted from 1756-1763.
Activity:
Annotate PSDs 1 to 7 indicating cause or consequence (or both) and what kind: intended or unintended, direct or indirect, long-term, medium-term or short-term.
I’ve included some questions to help make sure you understand each document. Feel free to email me if you have questions about particular documents.
1 The state of the English colonies, 1755 from the Maryland Gazette, originally published in London’s Gentlemen’s Magazine (not done 2023)
Remember, this is pre-American Revolution. Virginia is one of the 13 American colonies controlled by Britain.
What are the advantages of Virginia in terms of agriculture, source of labour, government, education?
Who envies how awesome Virginia is? How does this relate to slices of the pie?
Cause or consequence of Seven Years War?
2 Painting:British victory at Plassey in Bengal, on June 23rd, 1757
Note: Bengal was an Indian state. The British East India Company was established to increase trade between Britain and India.
Who fought whom in this 1757 battle?
How did the role of the British East India Company expand beyond trade after this battle?
Cause or consequence of Seven Years War?
3 The Battle of Quebec, 1759
Recall your Canadian history lessons from junior high: The French came to Quebec first. Then, as the British increased their power and territory in North America they wanted Quebec, too. Eventually, the French lost other territory in North America, too. Also note that the painting was made years after the event.
Even though Wolfe (the British General) dies, how is he portrayed in the painting?
Whose slices of pie increase/decrease as a result of the Battle of Quebec?
Cause or consequence of Seven Years War?
4 Minavavana, a Chippewa chief, addressing trader Alexander Henry, as recorded by Henry, 1761 (not done 2023)
Note: Chippewa were one of many different indigenous peoples in North America in the 1700s. Indigenous peoples had diverse relationships with American colonists and the British and French in North America.
How many years before this letter had the English conquered the French?
In the beginning of the letter Minavavana suggests that Chippewa have been allies of _______________.
How does Minavavana suggest that, normally, good relations can be established after conflict?
Why did he make an exception this time?
Why would it be important for both indigenous people and the British or French to have each other as allies in North America?
Cause or consequence of Seven Years War?
5 The Attack of Manilla, October 1762
Note: Philippines was a Spanish colony. Spain was friendly with France, not Britain, at this time.
How did Philippines go back and forth to different ‘possessors’? How does this reflect slices of the pie?
What was the key factor in Britain’s success in this sub-battle of the Seven Years’ War?
Cause or consequence of Seven Years War?
6 Royal Proclamation of 1763
Note: the British took control of French territorial possessions following the Battle of Quebec (1759). These territories were not just in Quebec, but also included part of the now-US, including the Ohio River Valley. In addition, recall that at the time of this proclamation (law), the British controlled the American colonies. Through this law the British hoped to improve relations between American colonists and indigenous people west of the Mississippi River. So they created a line, the proclamation line. *
Lands west of the proclamation line were reserved for whom?
Who is forbidden to settle there or make any other use of the western lands?
Why would some American colonists be offended by this new British rule?
Why would the British feel this was a fair law?
How does this Proclamation relate to slices of the pie?
Cause or consequence of Seven Years War?
The Royal Proclamation has incredible significance for Indigenous peoples in Canada and the United States to this day. However, there are differing perspectives on this topic.
Note: the Seven Years War, known as the French and Indian War in the American colonies, was already over (1763) by the time of the Quebec Act (1774). Also, it’s important to remember that Britain was a Protestant country whereas Quebec had been Catholic. Most, not all, American colonists were also Protestant.
What did this act grant to Catholics in Quebec?
Why would the Protestant British want to do this?
Which part of the act particularly worried American colonists? Why?
6. Cultural Exchanges (New title: French Absolutism) –
Absolutism: think back to what we learned about absolute monarchy at the very beginning of this unit. It was NOT the kind of government John Locke wanted because there were no limits on the monarch. Also note that Catherine the Great was an absolute monarch.
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV will serve as our model of an absolute monarch. Characteristics of absolutism include:
centralization (replaces decentralized feudalism)
uniformity and fixed rules of behaviour
standardization
development of the state
control of power in the hands of the monarch/emperor
often based on the theory of divine right (the monarch is given the right to rule by God, NOT the social contract)
often goes back to the Roman Empire as a model of stability
In this 1684 engraving of Louis XIV by Pierre Lepautre, he is shown as a Roman Emperor. https://www.rct.uk/collection/617003/louis-xiv-as-a-roman-emperor-holding-a-plan-of-a-fortified-town
Information about the ways Louis used absolutism in France to make the country more centralized can be found in the textbook from pages 75-78 under these headings:
Take notes for each heading.
intendants (civil servants)
economy
armed forces
religion
Versailles (see this video as well, only until 3:20)
social system (role of nobles and others) * most important
1. Intro to historical thinking concepts, inquiry, and primary evidence.
Canada’s History
Minds On: What’s the most important word (one word) in the study of history?
How did we get here? First we need to think about where “here” is, meaning what is the state of the world today, with a particular focus on decolonization.
Conclusion on importance of evidence: we need to approach evidence carefully and cautiously. Who wrote it? How reliable is it? What are the biases in it (everything is biased)? How does one piece of evidence corroborate (confirm) another?
Most groups felt their zoo evidence was a 6-8 out of 10 in terms of reliability. There were some concerns about bias or embellishment, ulterior motives (for example, of Cortes in writing to the emperor), uncertainty of origin (the map that was published in Germany but of unknown origin).
We make decisions about certainty. Red light – uncertain. Yellow light – be cautious. Green light – go ahead. Most things in history are yellow!
Seven_Cities_1450 (handout pages on 7 cities so you can see the images in colour)
Skill: Using criteria (one of the most important foundations of critical thinking). Criteria are standards – the standards by which you make decisions. For example, when you choose what to wear to school you may base your decision on criteria such as the weather, comfort level, style, etc.
For annotation, mark up your pages using symbols, key words, definitions, colours, connections to HTCs (and guideposts), PERSIAT, decolonization connections. Annotating should replace note-taking for in-class activities centered around the handouts. It’s very helpful for upcoming quizzes and tests: you don’t have to read over the whole page.
Sample criteria:
economic – open to trade, prosperous, prolific trade
political – efficient government that rules for the benefit of the people, stable government (probably best not to choose authoritarian government because most were at the time)
3. Religion in Europe: The Protestant Reformation and Its Effects
Five Significant World History Events Pulled from Seven Cities Activity
The Renaissance
Background on the Renaissance: The Middle Ages in Europe was a very sacred time (meaning almost everything related to religion – in this case Roman Catholicism). Some time toward the end of the late Middle Ages, especially in the wealthy Italian city states (such as Florence), educated and wealthy people began to be interested in more secular (not related to religion) matters such as philosophy, art, education, and classics (things from ancient Greece and Rome). This was called the Renaissance because it was considered (by later historians) to be the rebirth of interest in the classical world. During the Middle Ages, many regarded classical times as negative because they weren’t Christian – in fact, they called them pagan, a negative term applied to anyone non-Christian or who believed in more than one God. As we learn about the Protestant Reformation, it’s important to know that the criticism of the Catholic Church partially grew from this new way of thinking, often called Humanism.
Textbook pages 15-23 will help you become familiar with the Renaissance if you wish.
Mona Lisa by Da Vinci
2. The Spanish Inquisition shows the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church in Spain and how it become virulently intolerant of Jews and Muslims.
3. In China, the Mongols were overthrown by the Ming dynasty. China was the most prosperous and advanced place in the world.
4. The Byzantine Empire (the eastern portion of the Roman Empire, which was eastern Orthodox in religion and spoke Greek) was overthrown by the Ottomans, a rising Muslim power now centered in modern-day Turkey.
5. Spanish exploration of the New World (north, central and south America) began just as the reconquista (the Catholic unification of Spain) succeeded . We will see see how severely impacted the New World will be.
Minds On: imagine all of western Europe was yellow (Roman Catholic) in the year 1450. What could have happened to have changed it so much?
Skill: learning to annotate a PSD – write little notes to yourself ON your document – your PSD should not be naked. Be an active learner, not a passive body just sitting there in class.
HTCs: primary evidence, historical perspectives.
Skill: Contextualization – what was going on before and at the time of the writing of Luther’s 95 Theses and how did it affect the document and its bias.
if you want to do background reading in the textbook on Luther and Protestantism, see pages 29-41. You can also check out this website.
Don’t forget that we connected the battle for souls in Europe (Catholic vs. Protestant) to the exploration of the New World and Asia and the missionaries that followed.
indulgence = “An indulgence is one way for the faithful to reduce the punishment they have to undergo for their forgiven sins.” (source)
3: What do you think this quote means? Who said it? In what context, perhaps?
“Since then your serene majesties and your lordships seek a simple answer, I will give it in this manner, plain and unvarnished: Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the scriptures or clear reason, for I do not trust in the Pope or in the councils alone, since it is well known that they often err and contradict themselves, I am bound to the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not retract anything.” (quoted in this source)
Make a heading for this list of bullet points
translated the New Testament into German (from Greek) – which became known as the Luther Bible and sold nearly 500 000 by 1550. Then the Old Testament (from Hebrew)
his Bibles were illustrated
he wrote a lot of books (120 volumes)
he reduced the number of sacraments (rituals that were to take place during a person’s lifetime, such as baptism, marriage, etc.)
he was not in favour of priests having to be celibate and remain unmarried
Effects of the Protestant Reformation:
Counter-Reformation – the Catholic Church wanted to get more converts so the Jesuits (Society of Jesus) was created. They were missionaries sent abroad to convert non-Christians to Catholicism. Jesuits became known for being well-educated – many of them being Humanists. Also the Catholic Church created the Index of Prohibited Books.
Current Pope Francis is a Jesuit.
Matteo Ricci (Jesuit) and Xu Guangqi in a 1607 illustration.
Skill – contextualization of a PSD (what was going on at the time that may have influenced the writing of the PSD)
Terminology Notes:
the book uses the term sorcerer/sorceress to mean witch.
Malefica = evil doer (witch).
The kind of witchcraft described in this book is different.
***A NEW belief in the 1400s that sorcerers work for Satan to inflict sorcery on society – main foci below:
A pact with the devil
Sexual relations with the devil
Aerial flight to get to a Satanic gathering where there was incest and promiscuity
Magic for malevolent reasons
Baby killing
The inquisitors (Kramer and Sprenger) who wrote this book were trying to persuade other Catholics that this kind of witchcraft existed. The older belief was that witches just used magic, but not for Satanic purposes. Magic was a common thing in the Middle Ages in Europe; some priests even used magic. So they were promoting a new view and they wanted to get sanction for it to be used by inquisitors.
Malleus_Mal_Notes (context for The Hammer of Witches PSD – more on the bullet points above)
Activity:
Women in Medieval Society (British Library) – find something specific on this webpage that gives context for something specific in Malleus (original sin)
Witch-hunting in late 1500s, Britain
4. Japanand Portugal –Conflict and Cooperation
Zen Master, 1400s (from the Met Museum)
PSD:
Edicts of Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Excerpts from Expulsion of Missionaries, 1587
After viewing the PPT, sort the various events into causes or consequences. CHY4U_Japan_Causes_Consequences (answers are on here)
key words:
social hierarchy, shogun, daimyo, Confucianism, Buddhism, Protestant Reformation, Catholic Counter Reformation, animist (belief that spirits occupy nature and other things), polytheistic (religion with multiple gods), Jesuit missionaries (Society of Jesus), feudalism, lord, vassal (someone who is the subject of someone else – e.g., the shogun distributed fiefs [grants of land] to the daimyo who became his vassals. In turn, the daimyo’s vassals were the peasants)
Questions for Cause-Consequence Sorting Activity
What does today’s topic reveal about the Japanese rulers’ (shoguns’) attitudes toward religious differences?
How is the Japanese attitude similar and/or different to the European examples (Catholic vs. Luther)?
Use the inquiry question grid to construct some interesting questions about today’s topic.
Dutch East India Company (AKA the VOC) – what is its political significance (internationally)?
‘The “trade pass” (Dutch: handelspas) issued in the name of Tokugawa Ieyasu. The text commands: “Dutch ships are allowed to travel to Japan, and they can disembark on any coast, without any reserve. From now on this regulation must be observed, and the Dutch left free to sail where they want throughout Japan. No offenses to them will be allowed, such as on previous occasions” – dated August 24, 1609 (Keichō 14, 25th day of the 6th month); n.b., the goshuin (御朱印) identifies this as an official document bearing the shogun’s scarlet seal.’ (Wikipedia, VOC Opperhoofden in Japan, July 2, 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VOC_Opperhoofden_in_Japan)
Dejima – what does it tell you about isolation in Japan? But also about regional trade opportunities for the Dutch?
Scale model of Dejima Island
Saltpeter – what is it? Why is it significant to the Portugal-Japan relationship?
Arquebus
1635 Closed Country Edict: (don’t forget this is in addition to 1587 edict).
Japanese ships are strictly forbidden to leave for foreign countries.
No Japanese is permitted to go abroad. If there is anyone who attempts to do so secretly, he must be executed….
If any Japanese returns from overseas after residing there, he must be put to death.
All incoming ships must be carefully searched for the followers of padres.
1639 edict – give evidence of “suspicious” behaviour by the Portuguese (according to Japan).
Chronological Events:
1543 Portuguese arrive in Japan
1587 Edict bans Christian missionaries but allows trade
1596 San Felipe incident
1609 Trade pass (allows Dutch to trade with no restrictions) – note Dutch are Protestants
2. Place them on the timeline (progress [+1, +2, +3] or decline [-1, -2, -3] according to where they’d be from the perspectives of (one per group):
a) Shoguns (colour 1)
b) Christian Missionaries (colour 2)
c) Japanese Christians (colour 3)
d) Dutch traders
3. Draw arrows to show continuities (solid line) and arrows to show changes (broken line).
Note vocab of continuity/change: extreme, moderate, evolution, revolution, shift, same, different, add, continue, over time, quickly, slowly
4. in class:
a) The two groups that did each of the perspectives should share and see if their timelines are similar.
b) Each large group sends one or two people to the front to share with the rest of the class.
c) Everyone should record at least one other perspective on their timeline.
d) Now each individual writes a paragraph explaining which hypothesis they support. Use 3 pieces of detailed evidence, each with a well-explained persuasive argument. Hand in at end of class.
5. Aztecs and the Spanish – Conflict and Cooperation and Views of the Gods
Columbus’ voyages
Tenochtitlan – Aztec capital city
Skill: contextualization, historical perspectives
we will practice with Columbus’s PSD (ship’s recorder) handout. CHY4U_Columbus_PSD (note the term “Eurocentric”)
Key Background Knowledge
encomienda was a system in the New World in which the Spanish crown granted the labour of the Natives to the Spanish. The people were used to work the land. The person who controlled the encomienda was called the encomendero. Las Casas was once an encomendero. As you will see, the system was exploitative and cruel. It bore a lot of resemblance to medieval European feudalism with more cruelty.
What did the Aztecs make of the Spanish? (Mexicolore on YouTube) – watch in class or at your table and identify the different ways that Spanish and Aztecs looked at gods. (historical perspectives)
For La Malinche, listen to the audio and answer the questions on the handout.
Translator for Cortes in the Aztec Empire (Diaz del Castillo PSD) – read the blurb and the PSD. Identify how he complements her. Note how complex her background was.
Read the letter by King Afonso of Kongo to the king of Portugal. Note his tone: is it dominant, subservient, other? Does this king write to the Portuguese king as an equal?
Read the summaries of political/economic/social/religious aspects from the British Museum activity). Label each as one of those letters (or use four different colours).
Conclude: what were the dominant motives for Afonso’s actions?
Skill: historiography (theories of history, how history is written, approaches to history) – this time – ‘great man’ theory. Please note: historiography is about approaches to history. Different types of historians approach things (information, data, events) in different ways. You do not have to agree with the great man theory as a way of interpreting history. You just have to understand how that theory does interpret history (according to SPA criteria).
Read the SPA criteria for great man theory (not a good theory, or one Ms. G agrees with; however, it makes the teaching of historiography a bit easier).
Galileo
a) Galileo Galilei (Abjuration PSD)
Apply great man theory to Galileo using SPA criteria.
Read and apply SPA criteria to Ricci then compare to Galileo: Backgrounder on Ricci and China (note: this content on China will be very important in unit 3. Meanwhile, note the difference on interactions between China and the west and Japan and the west).
Historical thinking, or discipline-based thinking, is part of the Ontario curriculum. I love it because it promotes critical thinking, meshes well with inquiry teaching, and focuses on learning rather than memorizing. I was trained by the Historical Thinking Project led by the late Peter Seixas. Their approach is my approach.
Each historical thinking concept has guideposts, meaning tips on how and when to use them. For those who struggle with the concepts, it’s very important to understand FIRST that history is something we analyze, not just something we memorize. HTCs are the tools we use to analyze.
History is complicated and that is why it deserves a set of tools to analyze it effectively and deeply.
History Vs. The Past
History itself is a constructed concept. Do the activity in this video exploring the difference between history and the past to help you understand the entire basis of HTCs.
The HTCs
Continuity and Change Guideposts:
Continuity and change are interwoven – they overlap. They are not opposites. They can happen at the same time, just like you as a person can remain the same in some ways (eye colour) and develop and change in other ways (height, even hair colour).
Different groups of people experience progress improvement in their lives) and decline (worsening in their lives).
There are turning points in change, either in pace of change or direction of change.
Continuity and Change Vocabulary Starter List:
Change: evolution, revolution, stray, develop, speed up
There’s a big difference between the worldviews of people today (beliefs, values, motivations) and the worldviews of people in the past. Recognizing this gap is crucial. Otherwise, we’ll assume they thought or acted like us.
Avoid presentism (imposing our own standards or values on the past). Just because technology might have been different in the past, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t highly advanced for its time.
When you interpret primary evidence, you must look at it within the historical context of its own time and from the historical perspective of who created/wrote it.
Different groups of people had different views on events. Some people may have dissented from (disagreed with) the mainstream views of society.
Historical Perspectives Vocabulary Starter List:
nouns: point of view, perspective, view, worldview, outlook, angle
verbs: experience, believe, value, consider, think, see, perceive
Historical analysis is not always simple. History students are encouraged to have open minds and to make interpretations based on the evidence. However, there are some times when we cannot simply just say that we can’t be presentist. Sometimes, ethics outweigh presentism. Some events in history are just immoral, no matter what the standards of the time were. No matter what time period in history, genocide is always immoral. Slavery was always immoral, even if it was widely accepted in many societies.
Weighing presentism and ethics is kind of like a balancing act. A lot of people, especially these days, want to smooth over the horrors of the past saying that prejudice and discrimination were just normal in the past so we shouldn’t worry about them. That is a very simplistic approach that doesn’t take into account the fact that there were ALWAYS dissenters (people who disagreed) and were possibly acting to counter the so-called normal trends.
In this course there will be many instances where ethics and presentism seemingly clash: slavery and its apologists, imperialism and its promoters, Eurocentrism, etc., etc. Read this article from The Guardian on its founders’ links to slavery.
Primary Source Evidence
Use the SHEG chart in your unit 1 handouts to help you learn how to read (interpret) PSDs. It’s from the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) who produce some of the best materials for historical thinking.
The National Archives (a US governmental body) also has an excellent set of worksheets to help students interpret various kinds of primary source documents. They all follow these four steps:
“Historical Thinking” is a movement within the teaching of history. It has many variants in terms of the specific skills each focuses on. Here are a few, starting with the Canadian version that my students are familiar with.
The Historical Thinking Project – Canadian (my basis for HTCs – the Ontario government chose not to include primary evidence and ethical dimensions when adding to the curriculum)
establish historical significance
use primary source evidence
identify continuity and change
analyze cause and consequence
take historical perspectives
understand ethical dimensions of history
America’s History in the Making (Annenberg Foundation, Learner.org). Uses American topics to teach skills through interactive exercises. – American
placing artifacts in time
analyzing artifacts
reading maps
evaluating primary source evidence
curating an exhibit
balancing sources (this is my favourite interactive – I have gone through the Kent State example)
Remember the Enlightenment? Now we will see what came of all of those enlightened ideas in France.
Causes of the Revolution
Minds On: In this course we have learned about reforms (Protestant Reformation), major changes (exploration of the world), and even uprisings such as those in St. Domingue/Haiti. Do revolutions really re-shape the world? What is revolutionary about this scene (below)?
Abbe Sieyes: What is the Third Estate? PSD – sideways in handouts.
*** Please annotate this PSD according to how each estate (1st, 2nd, 3rd) would react to Sieyes’ speech.
It is such a fantastic document because:
it tells us the about the passion of someone like Sieyes (a member of the first estate but a third estate sympathizer)
it illustrates some of the social, political, and economic causes of the French Revolution.
Here are some questions that will help you work through the Sieyes PSD: If you understand this document, you are familiar with the causes of the revolution.
Using information from the PPT, what is the proof that the third estate had been nothing in the political order “up to the present”?
Who was the privileged order?
What did Sieyes mean by “shackled”?
Given that the third estate constituted the vast majority of the population, do you agree with Sieyes’ assessment that it was everything?
What concerns would nobles have had upon reading this document?
Phase 1 of the Revolution – Constitutional Monarchy
Jacques Louis David, Serment du Jeu de Paume, 1790, portraying the “tennis court oath.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tennis_Court_Oath_(David)#/media/File:Serment_du_Jeu_de_Paume_-_Jacques-Louis_David.jpg
Minds On: What is the bias of the painting above of the Tennis Court Oath? Does it reflect or challenge the values, beliefs and ideas of the time (of the Third Estate)?
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen PSD can be found on sideways in unit handouts. Annotate according to estate (1st, 2nd, 3rd). Which articles did each estate like, dislike, or could just live with? What are the overall biases of the PSD?
Here are some questions to help you work through the document (Declaration):
Make a list of enlightened words that appear in this declaration.
Compare article 2 to Locke’s “life, liberty and the pursuit of property.”
In article 3, the writers insist that sovereignty (independence) resides in the nation NOW, whereas before, under absolute monarchy it would have resided in which person?
Re-state articles 10 and 11 as “freedom of … .”
Article 13 is particularly important from an economic and social point of view. What is meant by this “common contribution” to basically run government? How does it contrast with the burden of taxation you learned about prior to the revolution?
Phase 2 of the Revolution – Jacobins and The Terror
Execution of Louis XVI, 1793 Journée du 21 janvier 1793 la mort de Louis Capet sur la place de la Révolution : présentée à la Convention nationale le 30 germinal par Helman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillotine#/media/File:Execution_of_Louis_XVI.jpg
Minds On: Who is going to lose his head by the end of this lesson? What does that mean for the future of France? What do you anticipate by the word “Terror.”
We will try to figure this out about the Jacobins: were they tyrannical or virtuous? Did the ends (goals) they had for France justify the means (methods) they used? In other words, did they help more than hurt, or vice versa?
Before Louis was executed, he was put on trial. Sideways in handouts, you have an excerpt from “The King Must Die,” a speech made by Robespierre, the Jacobin leader, arguing for the king’s death. Please note that the Republic was declared before Louis XVI’s death.
Republic replaced constitutional monarchy. France was at war with most of the rest of Europe.
These questions will guide you through the document: the King Must Die PSD
In the first few sentences Robespierre uses the past tense and some words beginning with “de” to indicate that ___________ has happened.
What is his main argument? (see end of paragraph 1).
What is his proof that no exception should be given to the death penalty – that Louis should be killed?
At the start of paragraph 3 he mentions “You.” To whom is he referring?
The last line restates his main argument. Of all the political groups in the parliament, who would have agree, and who would have disagreed.
Minds On: historiography is one of the layers of a cake. This course is like a cake with four layers (from the bottom up): the facts, the HTCs, historiography, inquiry.
A Versailles, October, 1789 (women march to Versailles) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_food_riots#/media/File:Women%27s_March_on_Versailles01.jpg
Olympe de Gouges, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu/gouges/
Historiography: feminist historiography – Feminist historians believe that women made many contributions to history. However, these contributions often have to be unearthed/dug up because history has tended to be written by men about topics that focused on men. Feminist historians don’t usually focus on top-down history such as monarchy; they prefer bottom-up or social history, the history of people’s everyday lives.
Note: we said that De Gouges was politically moderate (wanting a constitutional monarchy) and socially radical (urging reforms in many areas of life).
2: Ideologies -Political Consequences of Industrialization
Industrialization Background
Get a sense of how industrialization changed the social and economic conditions in 19th century Britain. Recall back to origins of industrialization in unit 2.
Answer: Predict (guess) what impact these social changes might have had on people’s political views? (their view on government, what it should do for them, what its role is, etc.)
The definitions below might come in handy as we proceed through this short topic.
definitions:
capitalism = an economic system that strives to make a profit and desires little government intervention in the economy
free trade = the opposite of mercantilism – a policy of letting countries trade with whom they want
proletariat = the name Marx and Engels gave to the unskilled workers (working class)
bourgeoisie = the educated middle class that Marx and Engels felt dominated government through their ownership of the means of production (factories)
feudalism = Middle Ages where the nobles owned land and had titles
class consciousness = the awareness of people who have a similar plight to you (e.g., of the workers)
seating arrangements in France’s National Convention in 1792 = the radical Jacobins sat on the LEFT, the moderate Girondins in the CENTRE, and the conservative Royalists on the RIGHT
suffrage = the right to vote
Ideologies
Liberalism and new liberalism show us how an ideology could be affected by the social and economic changes in a country. We’ll also see the connection between ideologies and the lack of full democracy in Britain in the late 1800s. You will need the Ideologies chart from the unit 3 handout package.
Today we will be looking at the impact of the lack of democracy and clout for the working class. We will interpret an excerpt from Marx and Engels’ Manifesto of the Communist Party.
How did this 1910 cartoon illustrate a Marxist perspective?
Source 2: quote below by Indian nationalist (anti-imperialist) Bal Gangadhar Tilak. What disadvantages might a nationalist see of imperialism?
Tilak addressing the Indian National Congress in 1907:
“One thing is granted, namely, that this government does not suit us. As has been said by an eminent statesman – the government of one country by another can never be a successful, and therefore, a permanent government. …One fact is that this alien government has ruined the country. In the beginning, all of us were taken by surprise. We were almost dazed. We thought that everything that the rulers did was for our good …We are not armed, and there is no necessity for arms either. We have a stronger weapon, a political weapon, in boycott. We have perceived one fact, that the whole of this administration, which is carried on by a handful of Englishmen, is carried on with our assistance. We are all in subordinate service. … I want to have the key of my house, and not merely one stranger turned out of it. Self-government is our goal; we want a control over our administrative machinery. We don’t want to become clerks and remain [clerks]. At present, we are clerks and willing instruments of our own oppression in the hands of an alien government, and that government is ruling over us not by its innate strength but by keeping us in ignorance and blindness to the perception of this fact.”
Tilak, 1907
Note on terminology: colonist = someone who lives in the colony but is not native to it (i.e., American colonists in the 13 colonies, not Indigenous people such as the Iroquois; British East India Company officials and their families in India, not Indians).
Nationalism and Imperialism = 2 sides of a coin
Empires like Russia, Austria-Hungary, Ottomans, and Britain controlled a lot of territory. People in the “mother-country – ONE of the small boxes)” might have a lot of pride and nationalism in the fact that their empire was so big. However, people in the colonies might have felt otherwise; many wanted to have independence for themselves.
Empire = big box (the whole)
Colonies = small boxes (the parts)
Intro to imperialism through maps
Create inquiry questions about each map (also think about key connections to the topics of industrialization and enslavement)
Minds On: Think of a resource that is highly prized today that has caused social and environmental damage because of its harvesting/mining? A past example might have been rubber (natural rubber, that is) that was popular due to the late 19th century bicycle craze. See history of cycling.
Skill: analysis of “official” documents: We will look at a lot of PSDs in this lesson. We’ll learn that trusting something because it’s an official document is not always wise. We’ll also see how the intended audience of a PSD can affect its wording, bias, tone, etc.
B: China and Imperialism
Minds On: How can the results of wars reshape the world? Read the Treaty of Nanjing for clues as to how China’s relationship with Britain was re-shaped after Britain defeated China in the first Opium War.
Quick check back with the end of unit 2 – we didn’t discuss this part of the China lesson:
The exchange of ideas and goods was not always preferred by states. Chinese exchange in the 18th century was based on an ancient system of tribute, and the Chinese had no incentive or interest in trading with the European “barbarians.”
What is significant about the year 1793 in this Economist cover?
Below is an excerpt from an edict from the Chinese emperor addressed to George III, King of England, in 1793;
Excerpt from Chinese Emperor Writing to George III, 1793
You, O King from afar, have yearned after the blessings of our civilization, and in your eagerness to come into touch with our converting influence have sent an Embassy across the sea bearing a memorial. I have already taken note of your respectful spirit of submission, have treated your mission with extreme favour and loaded it with gifts, besides issuing a mandate to you, O King, and honouring you with the bestowal of valuable presents. Thus has my indulgence been manifested. …
Hitherto, all European nations, including your own country’s barbarian merchants, have carried on their trade with Our Celestial Empire at Canton. Such has been the procedure for many years, although Our Celestial Empire possesses all things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within its borders. There was therefore no need to import the manufactures of outside barbarians in exchange for our own produce. But as the tea, silk, and porcelain which the Celestial Empire produces are absolute necessities to European nations and to yourselves, we have permitted, as a signal mark of favour, that foreign [trading spots] should be established at Canton, so that your wants might be supplied and your country thus participate in our beneficence. But your Ambassador has now put forward new requests which completely fail to recognize the Throne’s principle to “treat strangers from afar with indulgence,” and to exercise a pacifying control over barbarian tribes, the world over. …
For Opium War: identify and support with evidence:
Causes of the first Opium War (long-term, medium, short?)
Differing British and Chinese perspectives on the sale of opium (see Lin Zexu PSD).
China: Taiping Rebellion
Minds On: what is the difference between a revolution and a rebellion? Can a rebellion/revolution also be a civil war? What would be an example from history?
Taiping Rebellion – annotate using headings : [also for comparison to French Revolution]
causes: social/political/economic discontent
causes: trigger events
major players
obstacles and opponents
consequences: short term
consequences: long term
From Taiping Rebellion to Boxer Rebellion – Why So Many Revolutions?
the Qing government was still weak
the economy was still bad
some people were still feeling left out (this time people who felt that foreigners and Christians had too much power in China)
1898 Cartoon analysis: what does it show about the relationship between China and the world? What is each figure doing? Which are stereotypes?
Chinese civil servant – what is he doing?
Queen Victoria (Britain), Kaiser Wilhelm (Germany), Russian Czar, French woman, Japanese samurai (note what he has under the table)
Note the swords above the table cutting up the pie (Chine)
From Boxer Rebellion to 1911 Revolution
The Boxers were put down by the Qing government and foreign troops. Just over 10 years later, a third revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty. However, it doesn’t mean that the problems went away. Japan was still very powerful and put heavy demands on China in 1915. They were accepted on National Humiliation Day, May 8, 1915.
Do not assume that enslaved peoples just waited for whites to campaign for them. Remember all the forms of resistance enslaved peoples used in their daily lives.
compensation may refer to slaves and/or slave owners
progression refers to small steps (e.g., abolishing the slave trade before abolishing slavery itself)
key words:
abolition = end of slavery
emancipation = freeing of slaves
vested interests = people and groups who have invested money in slave-related industries (such as planters, shipping companies, etc.)
Possible conclusion statements to choose from:
Abolition of slavery in the British Empire was achieved entirely on humanitarian grounds.
Abolition of slavery was motivated by self-interested matters.
Abolition of slavery was done more with the vested interests of planters and other businesses in mind than the welfare of enslaved people.
The role of slaves in their own emancipation must not be forgotten.
True equality was not achieved by emancipation anyhow.
Or write your own.
Women’s Rights
Minds On: What is the current state of women’s rights in Canada? Oddly, some students find it difficult to answer this question as if it is not an issue!?!
Working in teams, go through the timeline and identify answers to the question below. Teams will take turns justifying their answers (no repeats allowed).
In which areas of social life were women’s lives becoming more “modern”? How so?
See timeline of women’s rights
2. Look at the anti-suffragette postcards at the end of the slides above. Explain how the image below makes use of the same themes.
Social Movements for Equality: Same Sex Rights
Let’s get more modern and do an inquiry into the evolution of same sex rights around the world (or lack thereof).
In 2019, a UN website (International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia: Justice and protection, no matter whom you love) stated the following:
The tragic reality is that in many countries lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people face severe discrimination. They face offensive and hateful speech. Their freedom of expression and voices are silenced. Their human rights are denied, and they often cannot even access essential services such as healthcare, education, employment and housing.
Same sex relationships are still a crime in 70 countries. In seven of these countries, it’s a crime punishable by death. …
We acknowledge that many steps have been taken for LGBTI rights globally.
For example, in the past year, Angola, India, Trinidad and Tobago have decriminalised same-sex relationships. Chile, Portugal, Luxembourg, Pakistan and Uruguay have made it easier for trans people to change their legal gender.
But there is still a long way to go to achieve full equality for all.
From Marxist Historical Writing in Britain by Dave Renton (Making History):
“The founding figures of social history in Britain were the first editors of the journal Past & Present, launched in 1952. One part of the collective, distinguishing the journal from the majority of academic enterprises, was a small group of writers who belonged to a single generation and shared a common political heritage. They were Marxists, being members or fellow-travellers of the Communist Party of Great Britain. They were young, aged typically in their 20s or early 30s. Such figures as Rodney Hilton, Edward (E. P.) Thompson, Christopher Hill and Eric Hobsbawm are often said to have invented a new way of historical writing, ‘history from below‘, in which the emphasis was put on radical movements, social classes and the campaigns of the dispossessed. Such were the forces which had made the world. These are often said to have been their first and most distinguished historians.”
For a contrast between Great Man Theory and Marxist Theory, see August Turak’s “Eight Lessons from the Great Man (or Woman) School of Leadership” in Forbes, 2013. Please note that Ms. G does not endorse this article. She is just posting it to show you how other people think.
For a subtle critique of unintentional great man theory, read the Globe and Mail’s review of historian Margaret MacMillan’s History’s People: Personalities and the Past.
Finally, to see historiography in action, we need only look to the writing of history on Columbus. See the Hampton Institute’s “Confronting Columbus: Revisionism vs. Reality.” Again, Ms. G is not endorsing this institution. She’s just showing a view on Columbus. Or, read Charles Mann’s 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus.
If you use a website other than a well known encyclopedia (e.g., Britannica) or news site (such as BBC, CBC, PBS), you must check the reliability of the site. That means you can’t just assume it’s a useful, trustworthy site. Doing this is an incredibly important part of inquiring and researching. Otherwise, you’re just relying on inaccurate or heavily biased information.
We’ll use the approach of COR – Civic Online Reasoning, a tool from SHEG, Stanford History Education Group.
These are the three key questions of COR:
They will help teach us some excellent skills that will be valuable in all subjects:
lateral reading – getting offthe site you’re checking to check it
fact-checking
determining who is behind the information
judging what is quality evidence
In other words, if you live online, you had better be aware of your environment. Sadly, I think many students just exist online – they don’t take the time to notice what is around them, where it’s coming from, and the potential harm that can be done if thinking about sources doesn’t occur!
To begin your journey, think about the reliability and trustworthiness of my blog:
who am I? (Ms. Gluskin)
what are my credentials?
is my blog sponsored? If so, by whom?
what are my biases?
Where will you look to find this information? How will the answers affect your attitude toward my blog?
Start with my “About” page and go from there.
COR Videos:
These videos (Navigating Digital Information) are produced by a group of organizations: Stanford History Education Group, Crash Course, the Poynter Institute, Media Wise. And they receive funding from Google.
Please view at least four of these videos – your choice of which ones, though it is suggested that you start with 1a. If you’re a Wikipedia user, check out 5.
Movie popes on the left, real popes on the right. From https://slate.com/culture/2019/11/two-popes-movie-accuracy-francis-benedict-fact-fiction.html
Have you seen The Two Popes on Netflix? I have seen it twice and love it! That’s not to say I believe every word of it to be true. The movie is based on a meeting that never actually happened, but there’s a lot more to check about it than that. I began my search by googling “fact checking the two popes.” A number of media organizations seemed to have taken up this call. One that I found most interesting was from Slate
I like that Slate’s account linked to all of its sources. Most of the links are functional, most are in English (some are in Italian or Spanish, given the subject).
However, I didn’t want to automatically trust Slate’s view of things, so I continued my fact-checking inquiry and found a few other sources that gave basically the same information using similar sources. With that, I felt that I had a pretty good sense of what was factual and what was fictional in this movie. Knowing this didn’t change my enjoyment of the film as entertainment; I just felt more secure in my knowledge of what was actually historically true.
I went through the same fact-checking process while I watched HBO’s Chernobyl on Crave during March Break a few years ago. As a history teacher, I can’t seem to stop myself from doubting. That’s being skeptical, not cynical (according to Crash Course’s approach to assessing online reliability). In the end, I really appreciated the series. However, after skimming through at least five other articles, I had a good sense of what was true and what was untrue and what was undecided.
Practicing your fact-checking with sources that are part of your everyday life (movies, tv shows, documentaries, tweets, instagram, facebook, tik tok, you tube, etc.) will be a great tool for applying this skill to history sources.
The Form
Use this form to assess the reliability of a website (excluding encyclopedia articles, or sources from mainstream media such as BBC, CBC, PBS, CNN, etc.)
Step 2: Working Bibliography (for 2 sources) due Tues. April 19. A working bibliography is basically my creation – something that allows you to show how useful a source will be to you. I am not a fan of regular annotated bibliographies so I created this new type of assignment to be of more practical use for you. You’ll choose 2 of your new sources for this step (not the same sources as step 1, please).
If you’re using a website (other than a newspaper or encyclopedia), please attach a reliability form: (not needed April 2022)CHY4U_COR_Assessing_Reliability_Websites
Step 3: Research Notes from 4 additional sources due May 6. (Please note: 4 is the minimum – you may require more). These are in addition to your step 1 sources. Use the research questions you created to drive your direction. Note: I will not be officially marking these notes but I will be checking them and I keep this information in the back of my mind for final marks. When you write an essay without notes, you are likely to plagiarize.
Now that you’re able to use websites as sources, it’s important to know how to check their reliability. We will be following the principles of COR (Civic Online Reasoning) brought to us by SHEG (Stanford History Education Group). See this page on my blog for more details. What follows will be an example of Ms. G’s inquiry into a source’s reliability. The reliability form is at the end of this section.
In my research about Kurds in Turkey, I decided to use a Wikipedia article. I didn’t actually read the article (Kurds), I read the footnotes (citations) of the article. I skimmed through them to find some interesting sources: some were in Turkish, some were in English, some had titles that didn’t sound of use to me (too specific), some seemed useful. I linked to one citations that seemed helpful but I still had some concerns about it. So I started my reliability assessment.
Turkish Weekly is the online publication this article came from (in 2007). Having read a bit about Kurds in Turkey by this time, I was somewhat skeptical of this source because I know there are a lot of biases against Kurds in Turkey, often promoted by the government of Turkey. I kept this in mind as I perused the article. Most importantly I read its footnotes (citations). In them I found a few links to academic books available on Google Books. Some of these books had also been cited on the original Wikipedia article. Once I felt relatively sure of this source (after taking a lot of time to think about whether the account might be totally biased in its opinions on Kurds), I took some notes from it. I later took notes from the books mentioned in the citations. Lastly, I noted who the authors of the article were (as identified at the end of the article).
Sedat Laciner, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey. Ihsan Bal, Turkish national Police Academy, Ankara, Turkey
This was not enough to make me trust them automatically. I was especially concerned when I saw “police academy” because Kurds in Turkey are often jailed for their views and actions. One other concern was that the authors seemed to dismiss the legitimacy of the PKK, the left-leaning Kurdish political party in Turkey. However, other parts of the article seemed to suggest less bias.
On the whole then, I used this source with a grain of salt. It was useful, however, in that it lead me to other sources where I found better, more detailed information.
Chatty, Dawn. Displacement and Dispossession in the Modern Middle East. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Google Books.
Natali, Denise. The Kurds and the State: Evolving National Identity in Iraq, Turkey and Iran. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2005. Google Books.
Here you will notice that Ms. G has designed a form for you to use while assessing websites. Please fill in a form for each website you use in your research (not for encyclopedia or mainstream media sources such as BBC, CBC, PBS, CNN, etc).
It’s time to start using more specific sources, including books. if possible (such as on Google Books). There are many specialized sources on Gale Global Issues in Context.
*****Please see Assessing Reliability of Online Information. If you’re going to be using more specific sources now, possibly including websites, you’ll need to know how to determine if they’re reliable.
When you get your background CCA notes and worksheet back, make sure you read the comments. Take them seriously. They are intended to guide you in the research process while you look for your next sources. Some of you will have to go back before you can go forward because you didn’t do the background research as directed, or you didn’t get a true overview of your topic.
When you are ready to move forward – and this had better be pretty soon – you are going to locate more specific sources that will help you research your topic further (based on the questions you wrote at the end of step 1 and the comments I made on your questions).
Choose your next research sources carefully; they should not be too general (unless you were missing some general info in step 1). Many students will end up choosing repetitive sources. It is not worthwhile reading the same type of source over and over, such as The History of Japan, Japan’s History, Japan’s Modern History unless each has unique information in it.
Fill in your Working Bibliography as you go. You MUST use specific examples if you hope to get good marks. See sample for SPECIFIC evidence.
Please indicate general points and specific examples in your notes (4- column note-taking method).
What Constitutes an Example:
details about something specific that happened (who, what, where, when, how, why)
primary source evidence (you will need some in your essay – at least one or two examples)
EXAMPLE:
Davey lamp, or Davey safety lamp
invented by Sir Humphrey Davy ( chemist) in London in 1815 and first tested in 1816
meant to protect coal miners from firedamp
firedamp = mixture of methane and air, highly explosive when exposed to open flame
miners used open flame to see in the pits
in deeper, more dangerous mines needed protection from and detection of harmful gasses (e.g., carbon dioxide)
lamp had a metal mesh screen around open flame
some miners and owners liked the lamps
some didn’t
didn’t provide much light and may have detracted from owners directly addressing safety issues in the mines
What Doesn’t Constitute an Example:
general information
listed information
facts minus explanations
e.g., the Davey lamp was used by miners in the 1800s.
If, at any point, you don’t know what direction to take, please email Ms. Gluskin. Don’t leave it until the last minute: procrastination is the enemy.
Step 3: Finish note-taking (to a total of 7-10 sources since the start of CCA) Due Fri. April 29, 2002
Things to Consider When Choosing Sources:
Cover the range of types of sources: Sample Topic – Spanish-American War
general history of a region or time (e.g., History of Latin America)
specific history (e.g., History of Cuba under Spanish Control)
specific event (e.g., The Spanish-American War in Cuba)
specific person (e.g., Jose Marti and Cuban Independence)
specialized encyclopedia (Colonialism, History of World Trade)
primary source (not absolutely necessary)
if you have been using Britannica, it’s time to move away from encyclopedia articles
try Gale Global Issues in Context
if internet searching, try to get past the first page of Google search results (look for websites that have references and/or citations, sources that are written by someone knowledgeable on the topic and qualified to write about it)
Try Google Books
Fill in “holes” in your notes so far. Do you need more on colonization or decolonization? What is missing. Don’t take more notes on things you already have unless you have been specifically told by Ms. G that your notes are far too general.
Do not use four different books/sources on pretty much the same topic. This is pointless unless they have different information in them.
written law code (not a choice but important to note)
the wheel
astronomy (calendar)
Assyrian weaponry
ziggurats
math
porcelain
silk production
compass
seismograph
key words:
social hierarchy (a pyramid shape of social roles, with more status assigned to those at the top than at the bottom; elite = top of social hierarchy), polytheistic (having many gods)
Investigating how a law code reflects the pillars of civ – Hammurabi’s Code and Taizong’s Code.
By Milkau_Oberer_Teil_der_Stele_mit_dem_Text_von_Hammurapis_Gesetzescode_369-2.jpg: Luestlingderivative work: Fred the Oyster (talk) – Milkau_Oberer_Teil_der_Stele_mit_dem_Text_von_Hammurapis_Gesetzescode_369-2.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9812640
Hammurabi’s Code – Primary Source Documents (in handouts) – Read and answer the questions on each handout.
While we will not study everything about Egypt, you should know that their long history can be divided into three main time periods:
The Old Kingdom, approx. 2500-2000 BCE – the pyramid age
The MiddleKingdom, approx. 2000-1500 BCE – prosperity, trade and foreign influence
The New Kingdom, approx. 1500-700 BCE – empire and eventual decline
within each kingdom there were different dynasties (families of rulers; dynasties were numbered – began with the first dynasty after unification of Upper and Lower Egypt – #1 to 25th. )
they were fearful of not getting into the afterlife
ka = spiritual duplicate PLUS MORE (p. 68 in textbook)
ma’at = the concept of truth, order, harmony, balance, justice (the way things should be) (p. 69 in textbook)
types/evolution of tombs: pit grave, mastaba (bench-like tomb), step pyramid (mastaba stacked upon mastaba), true pyramid (a gigantic advertisement for riches), rock-carved tombs in the Valley of the Kings (they got robbed, too).
TASK: Do the scavenger hunt activity with your group. It contains many links to primary sources (art and other) that are fabulous – it’s like visiting a museum. CHW3M_Egyptian_Religion_Scavenger_Hunt_Oct 2021
Family and Gender and the Case Study of a Female Pharaoh (Hatshepsut)
Statue of Hatshepsut, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatshepsut
we used this worksheet to analyze how equal Egyptian women were to men, 10 being equal, 0 being not equal at all. The class average seemed to be about ?/10. There is no doubt that Egyptian women had a lot of freedoms that other women in the ancient world did not enjoy. However, even Hatshepsut had to find ways to make herself accepted as a female pharaoh. That’s where ma’at comes in. Stay tuned.
Approved Sites for Hatshepsut:
Hatshepsut (PBS – Egypt’s Golden Empire) Hatshepsut
Akhenaton and the Challenge to Egyptian Religion and Art
HTC = continuity and change, historical perspectives (different groups had different views on Akhenaton).
To understand the changes brought by Akhenaton, we need to understand how art was before him. CHW3M_Egyptian_Art_Conventions_2020-21(PPT covers pages 75-76 in textbook)
Task: Fill in the T’s and V’s on the “Akhenaton: Tyrant or Visionary” sheet in your handouts. As you watch the video, fill in the worksheet: CHW3M_Akhenaton_Video_Worksheet
Don’t be presentist! You must consider Akhenaton’s actions in the light of ma’at and his own time.
Please note that spelling differs but Amun, Amon, Amen were all the same god. Also note that Akhenaton didn’t invent the Aten (the sun disk god). He just elevated its importance. Aton and Aten are the same god – just different English spelling.
7:50 – 11:20 The video starts with ways that Egypt and Kerma (an early Sudanese civilization) influenced each other (not just Egypt being the dominant player in the relationship). – identify ways that Kerma’s influence has been “overlooked”?
– what were some negative relations? – what were some positive relations? – what is the significance and definition of cataracts?
11:20 – 13:50 The Kushites also had impactful relationships with Egypt. – how did Egyptians refer to Kush? – when did Kush attack Egypt? – why was Kush so strategically located for trade? – which Egyptian rulers wanted to re-establish trade through Kush?
13:50 – 15:55 The area of Napata had religious significance for both Kushites and the Egyptians.
– what is a religious belief associated with the south of Sudan held by both Egyptians and Kushites? – at this time what was happening in Egypt?
15:55 -21:30 – What are some aspects of daily life from the Napata period that carry over into the present? (note spelling of kohl)
21:30 – 25:00 – what happened to Egypt by the 800s and who took over? – how did this affect Kushites? – what did King Kashta do as a result?
25:13 – 36:00 – how were Egyptian and Sudanese pyramids and religious rituals similar and different? – what did Piankhi do of note regarding Egypt? – whom did he bring back with him? – whose attention was raised by the Kushites; military conquests? – what did Taharqa build of significance at Karnak? – whose defeat meant the end of the 25th dynasty of Egypt?
Decline of Egypt (possibly not doing sem 1 2023-24)
There are certain factors that cause decline. First you will learn what they are, then you will see what actually happened in Egypt’s long decline and how it’s related to the factors.
Last known hieroglyphics, 394 CE
HTC = causes and consequences (see handout package)
Note that there are intended consequences and unintended consequences. We will not focus on these categories here.
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