Write an essay that answers on ONE of the following questions:
1. Historians are always trying to understand the causes and consequences. Causes tell us how things happened (or changed) and consequences indicate the size and scope of the change. One would expect the biggest changes to have the biggest consequences. What would you say were the three most important changes that occurred from 8000 BCE to 1450 CE? Why were they the most important changes? What were their consequences or effects (up to 1450 CE)? What were their origins or causes?
2. The great classical cultures of Eurasia created separate identities but each of these cultures also contained important elements that other peoples adopted. In the classical and post-classical periods (600 BCE to 1450 CE), the peoples and cultures of this vast area had consistent and enduring interactions. What were three main causes or sources of this new integration of Eurasia? What were three important consequences or effects? What made these causes or sources and consequences or effects so important?
3. Three large parts of the world remained separate from the Afro-Eurasian network. Each had their own experiences and formed their own networks. In what specific ways did the worlds of Inner Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific follow or diverge from three broad patterns of Afro-Eurasian history from 8000 BCE to 1450 CE? What three things can we learn from the different experiences of parallel worlds?
Please note: When you discuss the important consequences or effects of developments you identify or what we can learn from parallel worlds, do not extend your discussion beyond the year 1450. For instance, do not discuss their significance for life today. The shape of the current world is beyond the scope of this class.
This Final Exam tests your mastery of course content and this course ends around the year 1450, so your discussion of important consequences or “take-aways” needs to end around that year as well. The nearly 570 years since 1450 (which is the time period covered by HIS 234) have had more impact on the nature of the modern world in any case.
The Final Exam will be evaluated using the evaluation rubric attached below.
You can only use sources from the course (required readings from the textbook and websites) for the Final Exam. The exam provides you with the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to integrate, into a coherent whole, course materials (textbook and website readings) on a topic or theme in the course.
Your exam should be no less than 5 double-spaced typed pages in 12-point Times New Roman font with 1-inch margins on all sides. It can be longer, however, Title, Bibliography, and Works Cited pages are not part of the required page count.
The formatting of the essay and all citations need to follow Chicago Manual of Style format. Chicago is the citation and bibliographic style used by historians. Click on the website links below for Chicago-style guides and examples of humanities and author-date citation styles. You may use either humanities or author-date citation styles but use only one of these styles in your work. The author-date citation style is very close to MLA and APA styles. A modified MLA or APA format that provides page numbers from a hard copy of the textbook may be allowed. Check with your instructor. If you are using an e-book version of the textbook, identify passages by citing the chapter, section, and paragraph number.
The website below opens with examples in Notes and Bibliography style (a note [N], followed by a bibliographic entry [B]). If you click on the tab the page will show Author-Date style (an in-text citation [T], followed by a reference-list entry [R]).
The PDF at the link below has an example of Chicago-style citation and essay formatting. If you scroll to the middle, you will find an example of Chicago-Style essay formatting.
Relevant Reading Material:
Kevin Reilly, The Human Journey, Chapter 6: https://books.google.com/books?id=ADW-Yc1sC8oC&pg=PR7&lpg=PR7&dq=Kevin+Reilly,+The+Human+Journey,+Chapter+6&source=bl&ots=IvNFOJ-KVQ&sig=ACfU3U0eTYgy08grrRmUbV-QGJboSaWZFg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiZr7LX9ZLkAhVlnuAKHegbAKwQ6AEwB3oECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=Kevin%20Reilly%2C%20The%20Human%20Journey%2C%20Chapter%206&f=false
Website: The Aztec Empire – http://www.aztec-history.com/aztec-empire.html
Website: Ancient Aztec Government – http://www.aztec-history.com/ancient-aztec-government.html
Website: Aztec Culture – http://www.aztec-history.com/aztec-culture.html
Website: Aztec Social Classes – http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/you-contribute/aztec-social-classes
Website: The Fall of the Aztec Empire – http://www.aztec-history.com/fall-of-the-aztec-empire.html
The Empires of the Western Sudan – http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/wsem/hd_wsem.htm
Website: Al-Bakri, Roads and Kingdoms (1067 CE) – http://users.rowan.edu/~mcinneshin/5394/wk05/albakri.htm
Website: Kingdom of Mail (Al-Umari, ca. 1330 CE) – http://www.bu.edu/africa/outreach/k_o_mali/
Website: Leo Africanus describes Timbuktu (1652 CE) – https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/med/leo_afri.asp
Website: Proverbs from Ghana – http://www.bu.edu/africa/outreach/gp/
