Unit I, II, and III

HIS 1610, Modern World 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

8. Examine historical change over time across the world. 8.1 Identify cultural transformations from 1450–1750.

Reading Assignment Chapter 15: Cultural Transformations: Religion and Science, 1450–1750

Unit Lesson The last unit of study in the course focused on political and economic transformations between about 1450 and 1750. Examples of change, comparison, and connection focused on the formation of political structures around the globe, the expansion of empires, and the consequences of long distance trade. The next logical step is to turn inward and examine how these events changed societies and cultures at home, and how these cultural changes altered relations abroad. While staying in the same general time period (1450–1750), this unit will focus on cultural transformations which were profoundly shaped by the changing political and economic landscape and, at the same time, helped to shape the changes occurring politically and economically. Put another way, a study of culture in this period is greatly expanded by the connections made through empire and trade. As people began to learn about others, they also began to ask new questions of themselves. This scrutiny created tensions and brought about, in various forms and in different places, some remarkable answers to these questions. For example, every culture engaged in some form of religious life in 1450. Most were fairly satisfying or comfortable for people and quite conservative, that is to say they had some measure of stability. However, all around the globe in the early modern world, religion came to be questioned. Some of these questions were quite simple; for example, those posed by European Christian missionaries to the American Indians, Africans, and Asians encountered in their travels. Such questions generally asked in a negative tone were most often accompanied by demands of conversion which brought great tension and trouble. More interesting, and more important, were the questions Christian leaders were asking of themselves in the wake of these new contacts and connections. What was the place of their religion in empire? Was it suitable for non-Europeans? Should they, perhaps, re-evaluate their forms and traditions in the face of all this new information? Religious structures in the Americas, Africa, and Asia were redefining themselves as well, generally as a result of contacts with this aggressive phase of Christian missionizing which was, after all, just one small part of empire building. Islam was also in transformation as it reshaped itself due to expansion and its leaders were having a similar debate among themselves. Just what is Islam and what is its place in the world? How do we reconcile its traditions with the new syncretism espoused by certain Sufi missionaries? As one considers these activities and questions and changes, it may be useful to keep in mind the basic question: “How much of this religious reform and change can be attributed to new political and economic connections, and how much is purely religious?” Cultures are wonderful things, something like jigsaw puzzles, every piece a unique shape and the connections between pieces are often difficult to discern. It is nearly impossible to fully define a culture by describing the individual pieces. Instead, an observer needs to see them all woven together to make sense of it. The cultures of the early modern period were pretty easy to describe at the start of the period and virtually impossible to explain by the end of it. It was as if, in a way, the pieces of all the puzzles got juggled and

UNIT III STUDY GUIDE

Cultural Transformations 1450–1750

HIS 1610, Modern World 2

UNIT x STUDY GUIDE

Title

jumbled and mixed together and that is pretty stressful for people, especially when their religious beliefs are being challenged. Most of the world was experiencing just that. Add to this another, essentially internal, revolution going on in Europe and the period between 1450 and 1750 comes to look more like the early days of our own historical period than the last days of a previous age. The birth of modern science and of the philosophy of Enlightenment provided Europe a special significance in this period, best summed up by Immanuel Kant when he wrote the phrase “Dare to know!” Discoveries made in the late 15th and early 16th centuries as part of the building of trading empires had provided Europeans with many questions (How large is the world? What tools will we need to find out? Is it morally acceptable to enslave people of color?) but few answers. Previous generations had rushed to religion for answers to intractable questions, but religious leaders had no answers for some of the questions now raised. So enterprising, educated men sought to “know” based on observation and experimentation, rather than simply taking things on faith, and the Scientific Revolution was born. Of course, it was not quite that simple, but the assigned reading will answer many of the enlightened questions you are now asking yourself. For example, why did the Scientific Revolution occur in Europe rather than China or the Islamic world? How did Enlightenment thought challenge previous patterns of thinking? And, perhaps the most important of all, what cultural impact did the Scientific Revolution have on Europe? On the world? Change. Comparison. Connection. Keep these basic questions in mind as you read the material for this unit. Also think about the jigsaw puzzle: some pieces political, some economic, some cultural. And some of those religious, others scientific. Look at all the pieces and remember that identifying the individual piece is only the first step. Fit them together as you can. More pieces are coming in the next unit—not to worry.