Cat's World History II Blog

Catholic Social Teaching Handout Reflection There are a total of "nine themes that form the heart of Catholic social teaching" (1). What is most unique about it is that it is "grounded on a complete theological framework in which God is the ultimate source of our rights" (83). The first theme, which is "THE DIGNITY OF EVERY PERSON AND HUMAN RIGHTS" stood out to me for several reasons. This principle reflects the mission of NDNU and especially Hallmark #2, which is to honor the dignity and sacredness of each person. In my Freshman Seminar class, I wrote on essay on the reasons why Sister Dorothy Stang lived out Hallmark #2 most distinctly through her words and actions because she lived a life dedicated to purpose, service, and the well being of others. I feel like honoring and recognizing people at their most human level is the first step to any change because we have to equate ourselves by seeing that though we are all made of different colors, we bel

Greetings World History II Learning Community, It was wonderful to see and hear all of your thoughts and research from your papers. Yesterday I shared my “backup” presentation in class, and it was the poster illustration. I’m glad I made a Plan B because the projector was having issues. Good thing it turned out okay! This was supposed to be my initial presentation, so if you have free time you can watch it at the link below: World History II Analytical Paper  Thank you so much to Ciara and everyone who helped make this possible. Have a great weekend, Cat G.

The opening story of Chapter 23 is the story of many women who are victimized by sex trafficking. I read about this in Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn's book, Half the Sky, and it discusses all about how women hold up half the sky, yet they extremely victimized when they are promised jobs as dishwashers in vulnerable times and then forced into prostitution in places such as Cambodia and red light districts where there is a high concentration of sex services in a particular area. This is a result of globalization, the term used to describe the process of interaction and integration of worldwide economies on a global level, driven by international trade and investment. This story illustrates why globalization is controversial. Globalization is a new term, but an old process. Several factors contributed to economic globalization, this process of "immense acceleration in international economic transaction" (Strayer 1024) in the second half of the twentieth century. One

It was exciting to read the heading "1914 - present" because it would mean our reading would become more current. I finally saw a modern photograph, so it was a sign that the chapter would be more relatable. According to Strayer, the age of empire was over because of several international circumstances and social changes. For one, empire was an outdated political order that rejected the view that humanity was divided. Further, European forces of nationalism and democratic values backfired and contributed to colonial disintegration. Europe was weakened by the two world wars, and countries opposed colonialism, sparking anticolonial movements everywhere. Especially in the Asian and African colonies, Western-educated elites had arisen and emphasized independence, backed by public support and agreement. However, despite the common goal for independence, there were obstacles that confronted nationalist movements because there were fragile alliances, people unsure of leadership, and

Global Communism The communist system promised equality and opportunity. It was a system people experimented with, rooted in the ideas of Marx: industrialization and revolution. Personally, I love Marxist theory because I see capitalism as the core cause of class conflict, and the cause the myth of the American Dream that comes up in many discussions. Communism is an extreme form of socialism. Communism rose in several places throughout the world following World War II during the twentieth century, but its primary places were Russia and China. Communist revolutions echoed the French Revolution as there were peasant upheavals because of the unfairness of high social classes with a goal of promoting utmost social equality for the lower classes. I have Communist Manifesto , but I just need time to read it. It is Eurocentric to say that communism has fallen because there are still countries in the world that consider themselves to be communist. When we say this, we are not embracing how

I have heard about Nazi Germany racial laws, but I never actually knew of their details before. Overall, these were extremely racist and anti-Semitic. The fact that Jews had to hide their identity just for the sake of their lives reminds me of when I read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, a story of a girl of about ten years old living in Nazi Germany. It's been years since I've read it, but I do remember a moment in the book when a young girl removed her Star of Nazareth necklace and hid in the closet from Nazi soldiers. The reading goes into detail about the fake science and justification of scientific racism that motivated Nazi ideology: "Despite the persistent claims of Nazi ideology, there was no scientifically valid basis to define Jews as a race. Nazi legislators looked therefore to family genealogy to define race." This was unfair and dehumanizing. These laws lead to the rise of fascism because they were a form of political system. Hitler's destroying of

Introduction to Part 6: The Most Recent Century (1914 - 2015) I was excited when I saw the more recent, colorized photographs on page 872 because it meant that we would get to explore history from a more current perspective that would be more relatable and understandable. This section provides a nice preview of the world's major events which include World War I, World War II, world communism, and the fall of empires with the fight for independence of colonized regions. Though the length of this era is controversial, the major event of the most recent century was World War I. Because this conflict grew out of European rivalry and failure to achieve a unified civilization, it demonstrates that the events of the most recent century stemmed from older patterns and emerged with new ones. Along with these major social and political events, economically, the nineteenth century experienced a large population growth made possible through advancements in medicine and the soaring of industri

Chapter 19 is unique and deserving of its own chapter, because while European imperial efforts affected China, the Ottoman Empire, and Japan, they shared notable similarities and occurred in ways that would reform their political, economic, and social environments. This was a culture of modernity that moved closer toward the concept of secularization, but a focus on human rights. These places already faced internal conflict, so dealing with European aggression and culture was a challenge, yet it helped influence fresh ideas for society. I thought it was very smart of Strayer to call China's conflict a "reversal of fortune" and a "victim of its own earlier success" (834-835). From World History I up to this point, Strayer taught me that China experienced a golden age of accomplishment because of their creation of a successful, resourceful, civilization they established during the classical era. We even just wrapped up our discussions on European desires to get a

Colonial Encounters in Asia, Africa, and Oceania 1750 - 1950 The capitalistic culture birthed by the Industrial Revolution set up European second-wave colonial initiatives. Europeans discovered that foreign investment and global imperialism was beneficial to their economy. The industrial era also influenced Europeans to develop a sense of secular superiority that caused them to diminish their perceptions of other cultures and view them as uncivilized, animal-like savages. Nineteenth century colonialism was distinctive from first-wave initiatives in several ways. For example, Europeans justified their superiority and acts of conquest through "scientific racism" (Strayer 799). Socially, political forces like tax-collection and class status divides were deeper integrated, like the British appropriation of the traditional caste system in India. Europeans even established a tribal Africa that sharpened the Western "we" versus "them" divide of "weaker race

Inspired by the legacies of the French and Scientific Revolutions, the Industrial Revolution transformed human society. It began as a quest for greater amounts of energy sources and was sustained agriculturally through seabird feces as fertilizer. The consequences of this movement included an increase in the rise of technological innovation, harm on the environment, capitalism, and globalization.  The Industrial Revolution was another European event that placed Europe in the center of global dominance. This is because its makeup of competitive rivalry states called for innovation, and their states' monarchs needed a way to obtain revenue. Europe's new global network brought them into cross cultural exchange with global people. However, its roots have long been a controversial debate. As Strayer puts it, "other areas of the world experienced times of great technological and scientific flourishing" besides Europe, (741) so it is Eurocentric to give them all the cred

Echoes of Revolution In many ways, today's class discussion set the stage for this reading. We dove into the notion that the ideas of the revolutionary era still "echo" the world today. For example, it was only recently that Haiti paid off their independence debt to France. Further, we see many rights movements in our contemporary world, including the fight for immigration, women's, and LGBTQ rights. We can therefore say that we are still living the values of the Enlightenment period through these political protests and popular sovereignty where elected officials serve as public servants to the people. We must remember that liberty, freedom, popular sovereignty, and other such concepts are "ideals" because reaching these goals is still a work in progress. Even in my sociology class today, Deviant Behavior, we discussed the idea that our system of government was built on the hope for "men," as our values of who deserves rights have significant

Part 5: The European Moment in World History (1750 - 1914) Strayer emphasizes that the "long nineteenth century" from 1750 to 1914 was inevitably Eurocentric. During this century and a half, new human societies were created that primarily took shape in Western Europe. Then these modern societies could use power over other human populations. However, Strayer does present five methods to combating Eurocentric geography and history, which will be covered in the following chapters. One such example is for us as readers to remember that Europe rose within an international context. Strayer closes the introduction to part five with a fair statement that reminds us this is a world history, not a western civilization course: "None of this diminishes the significance of the European moment in world history, but it sets that moment in a larger context of continuing patterns of historical development and of interaction and exchange with other peoples" (693). Chapter 16: Atla

Do this exercise with the handout "Living Justice." In writing margin notes, see if you can make connections between the reading and the Hallmarks. Do the opinions expressed in this article reflect the Hallmarks in any way? This section, Colonialism and Economic Development is very important in several ways. First, it highlights the historical context that has set up the global wealth gap, which was mainly the result of European colonization. Second, with this information, it clarifies the difference between charity and social justice . While both charity and social justice are ways of fulfilling moral obligations, charity is like putting a bandaid over a problem, whereas social justice examines the root causes of an issue to prevent it from continuing in the first place and ending it on a population level. As the article mentions, social justice is difficult to do at first because "no individual in isolation has sufficient power to change the large economic and po

Today, Friday February 2nd, I joined other NDNU students and faculty for a historical tour of our campus, led by Sr. Roseanne Murphy. Receiving this tour was a worthwhile experience. It was a beautiful day and we got to appreciate Belmont's beautiful weather and our school's lovely greenery, all while learning a little bit more about the birth of our university. We first met in front of the library, where Sr. Roseanne gave each of us these informative handouts which I have inserted below. The font is small and a little bit difficult to read, but the first handout is basically a summary of NDNU's history, mission, values, and spirit. Something interesting I learned from this is that NDNU was formerly known as College of Notre Dame. It was also originally an all women's institution until it became coeducational in 1969. The second handout is interesting too because it lists the buildings on campus and who they are named after. I learned St. Joseph's Hall was actual

In this text, we discover that Julie Billiart and Francoise were the foundresses of the SND, and we examine their individual upbringings, their social contexts in the age of growing up One aspect of the reading I found surprising is that Francoise had a very aristocratic upbringing. This is not something I would expect of someone who had a strong sense of spirituality, morals, and ethics, but this was who Francoise was. One role model in Francoise's life was her grandmother, who helped to instill good values and morals in her when they went together to check on people's practical well-being. These visits helped shaped Francoise to becoming a more altruistic person. Likewise, Julie still remained persistent and gave lessons to the children despite her illness and being confined to her bed, revealing her utmost compassion. Last semester, my freshman seminar class focused on the academic study of happiness, and we integrated the study into reading Martyr of the Amazon.  Though w

Cultural Transformations: Religion and Science (1450-1750) The marriage of Greek rationality and monotheistic tradition set up the modern Western cultural civilization. Though Europeans were "central players" (644) in the rising of these two cultural trends, Strayer does not leave out the other civilizations and religious traditions that experienced cultural transformations too during this era that other texts are likely to skip over. After all, this is world history, not just Western civilization. The Globalization of Christianity The significance of the Protestant Reformation in the globalization of Christianity was that it gave rise to a divided but "renewed" (650) Christianity. The movement began with Martin Luther, who essentially protested the corrupt, authoritative tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. His ideas, which many resonated with, encouraged people to read the Bible for themselves, independent of the Church institution. Christianity also spread

Commerce in People: The Atlantic Slave Trade The Atlantic Slave Trade involved the trade of millions of Africans during the early modern era. It was caused by a high European demand for slaves, fostered by their discovery of the usefulness of sugar, from which they established sugar plantations. Europeans saw Africans as ideal victims for slave labor because of their farming skills, their immunity to disease, they were non-Christians, close by, and because being "black" (623-624) somehow made them submissive. Europeans controlled the trade, but African merchants did sell slaves, negotiate, and exchange for products. However, I think it's important how Strayer makes it clear that "Africans did not generally sell 'their own people' into slavery" (626). Distinct because it was dehumanizing, massive, central to the economy, inherent, and creating of an African "blackness," the trade brought African peoples and cultures to the Americas, promoted g

Europeans and Asian Commerce Europeans wanted to get involved on the world of Asian commerce because of the desire for wealth in spices, and metals, their recovery from the Black Death, and to explore Christianity. The Europeans sailed to India for the first time during the voyage of the Portuguese sailer Vasco de Gama, and they wanted to do so in a way that bypassed Muslim and Venetians. First the Portuguese made their way into the Indian Ocean network. But realizing their goods and economy were unattractive and lagging in Asian markets, they established the "trading post empire" where they could forcefully control commerce and sell their shipping services, making use of their advancement in naval technology. The Spanish too decided to make a voyage to get into Asian wealth, discovering an "archipelago of islands" (607), naming it the Philippine Islands after Spanish king Phillip II, and taking over and establishing colonial rule there, rather than commerce (as t