History - Technological Transformation

Part 1.

Write an essay of at least 300 words that addresses each item in one of the following question sets. Note which question you are answering in your post:

1. Lynda Shaffer's article is a 'revisionist' work. Having read this work, define revisionism. Provide examples from "Southernization" to show how her work challenged your view (or the dominant view as you understand it) of human history. 

2. Is the History of Technology addressed thoroughly enough in teaching history as a whole? Is it addressed incorrectly? For example, should technology be seen as something that determines the course of a particular society, or is the development of a civilization and its values more complex than this?

3. Compare Leo Marx's and Jared Diamond's perspectives on progress. Which is more persuasive and why? 

4. The underlying assumption for many modern people is that technology = progress. Is this true? What does progress mean? What are some of the many ways people define progress?

5. In Martin Odler's piece on Ancient Egyptian Metallurgy, where do you see "cultural conservatism" at work? Tie your thoughts to Marx or Diamond's theory of progress. 

6. This class is entitled "Technological Transformations," and the focus is on progress as a product of technology.  Drawing on this week's readings as an introduction to the topic, discuss what you expect to learn in this class.  What is the importance of Aristotle, Archimedes, and the concept of southernization to the big picture?

Your Initial Post is expected to be a 300 word prose essay, with a thesis statement and 2-5 paragraphs supporting and explaining the thesis. Remember to base your response on information and analysis from the readings. Cite the information and analysis you provide. Explain what you learned in your own words, and do your best to synthesize the authors' analyses into your own original analysis; do not rely exclusively on quotations from the readings to make your points. Please change the title of your post to something unique. Note which question you have chosen to answer. 

Part 2

Write a thorough and thoughtful 300 word essay that answers one of the following questions:

1. Discuss the impact of technology on Medieval society and culture and the impact of society and culture on the development of Medieval technology.

2. Choose any of the questions asked by Hans Peter Broedel in the Doing History section of "The Medieval Period" chapter, and answer it, tying your response to other areas of The Medieval Period chapter.

3. The term Middle Ages was invented during the Renaissance in order to heap opprobrium on what was seen as a sterile age in which government had degenerated into feudal anarchy, religion into superstition, and scholarship into pedantic quibbles of schoolmen over texts that they scarcely understood. First, explore why people rediscovering the works of classical Greece and Rome saw the Middle Ages as sterile; and then state whether or not that was a fair assessment, providing examples to support your view. 

4. The intellectual history of the later Middle Ages has traditionally been described as decadent, autumnal, waning. Yet recently a few scholars have asserted that the period between 1250-1450 was one of innovation, change, possibility. Which view is more accurate and why? Medievalists tend to dismiss this argument out of hand. Take a fresh look at this argument and consider the extent to which the Middle Ages was an sterile age, merely passing on diluted versions of the heritage of antiquity, and the extent to which it contributed new and vital elements to the European tradition. 

5. Describe the agricultural technology used by Medieval Europeans and West Africans.  In your opinion which was more effective (or even more advanced)?  Use examples from the reading to support your answer.

For this week, citing three times exclusively from Broedel's chapter is perfectly acceptable. Simply cite broadly from among the 11 sections of this chapter.

Your Initial Post is expected to be a 300 word prose essay, with a thesis statement and 2-5 paragraphs supporting and explaining the thesis. Remember to base your response on information and analysis from the readings. Cite the information and analysis you provide. Explain what you learned in your own words, and do your best to synthesize the authors' analyses into your own original analysis; do not rely exclusively on quotations from the readings to make your points. Please change the title of your post to something unique. Note which question you choose to answer.