Today you learned about Martin Luther and the Protestant reformation. Remember at this time in European the Catholic Church headed by the Popes was the only type of Christianity around. The Pope claimed complete control over peoples religious lives. Priests in the Catholic church were meant to tell the people what Christianity was and how to be a good Christian because few people could read the Bible themselves, for two reason, one- few people could read and books were so expensive and difficult to make.
When the printing press was invented books became easies to make and cheap and more people learned to read. A German Catholic priest named Martin Luther after reading the Bible became frustrated with the contradiction between the type of Christianity the Church was teaching and what the Bible taught. He was also upset with the church selling indulgences to finance the building of its expensive buildings and art work. One day Martin Luther wrote down 95 issues that he disagreed with the the church about and nailed the paper to the Church in the City of Worms in Germany. This was only meant to challenge the Church to change but int the end the Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther from the Church. This was the birth of the Protestant reformation.
Wartch these video clips about Martin Luther and write your opinion of this man and his desire to challenge the Catholic Church.
Site about Martin Luther's life watch then
Catholic selling of indulgences and Luther response the 95 thesis nailed to the church
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSmv3kcwcus
Luther facing trial by the Catholic church leaders
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF5b-6R9FVA
Luther after he leaves the Catholic Church and creates Lutheranism ( a type of Protestantism)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDNtN4tQb5k
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
England as a nation and the begining of English democracy
Ladies and gentlemen, today you studied how the English nation came to be. The land we today call England was invaded over several centuries by the original Celts and later Angles and Saxon people both coming from northern Germany. These Angles and Saxons brought with them their language, culture and traditions. England itself gets its name from the "land of the Angles" Angle-land=England. Danish Vikings also traveled there and mixed with the Anglo-Saxons.
However in 1066 a French Viking or Norman from the region of Normandy in norther France led his armies across the English channel and eventually conquered the Anglo-Saxons. He eventually took over all of England and brought the French language and culture and feudal system with him. This strange mix of peoples are the where the English nation begins
later in 1215, the nobles angry at King John from wasting their money force the King to sign the Magna Carta the foundation document of English democracy. This document reduced the power of the King and provided the English people with rights and freedoms. Later the English would also create the beginnings of the legislative representation by creating the Parliament, this also weakened the power of the Kings of England. In France however the Capetian Kings created another organizations the Estates-General, while the French kings pretended that the Estates General were free, the fact was that the clergy and the nobility held almost all the power and the French people had no guarantee of rights, like the people of England did.
compare and contrast the rights and freedoms in the magana carta to the US bill of rights
http://www.billofrights.com/MagnaCarta.htm
you have to read both and tell me what they have in common and what is different.
However in 1066 a French Viking or Norman from the region of Normandy in norther France led his armies across the English channel and eventually conquered the Anglo-Saxons. He eventually took over all of England and brought the French language and culture and feudal system with him. This strange mix of peoples are the where the English nation begins
later in 1215, the nobles angry at King John from wasting their money force the King to sign the Magna Carta the foundation document of English democracy. This document reduced the power of the King and provided the English people with rights and freedoms. Later the English would also create the beginnings of the legislative representation by creating the Parliament, this also weakened the power of the Kings of England. In France however the Capetian Kings created another organizations the Estates-General, while the French kings pretended that the Estates General were free, the fact was that the clergy and the nobility held almost all the power and the French people had no guarantee of rights, like the people of England did.
compare and contrast the rights and freedoms in the magana carta to the US bill of rights
http://www.billofrights.com/MagnaCarta.htm
you have to read both and tell me what they have in common and what is different.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Europe in the Middle Ages and the Catholic Church
Ladies and gentleman, I'm sorry to be absent today, as you know I wasn't feeling well yesterday and it only got worse, so instead of giving you my fever I decide to stay home. But as you know we have been talking about the middle ages in Europe.
Life in Europe during the Middle Ages was very different from today. The system of feudalism was in place which allowed for Kings, the nobility and Catholic church officials to have most of the power to govern while the vast majority of the populations stayed in the farm and worked. Those peasants who were treated like slaves by the lord of the manners, lived hard lives as serfs. At the same time knights owed allegiance and and protection to the nobles and the King.
Knights lived a high moral code called chivalry. This way of life meant that Knights had to spend most of the time in the year practicing for combats by attending tournaments and working their way as a knights apprentice: first as a page and later as a squire then a full fledged knight. These knights had to to look out for their lords, had to be religious and show great respect to women. Knights were such an important part of life in the middle ages that the literature was almost all about their brave battles or their romantic journeys to save the fair ladies at this time.
The Catholic Church as along with the monarchy the most powerful institution in Europe at the time. The Pope was in charge of the religious matters of all European kingdoms while several kings looked after the political needs of the kingdom. Most Europeans, except for a few Jewish communities, weer Catholic and took their religion very seriously.
One of these popes, Urban II claimed that Christian European knights and should go on a crusade to retake Jerusalem form the Muslims. You will remember the the land of Israel was holy to the Jews and was the birth place of Jesus. Jews were eventual kicked out of Israel by the Romans in ancient times which allowed Arab Muslims to come into the land and rename it Palestine. The Christian Europeans were very upset that the holy shrines of Christianity were controlled by Muslims. These Christian knights and other under the Popes command traveled to Palestine to retake it from the Muslim. Along the way many Jews in Europe were killed by Christians. Eventual after some time of fighting the Christian armies defeated the Muslims and took the city of Jerusalem. The strained relationship between Christians and Muslims begins in this unfortunate period in history.
cool video about feudalism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdfCruKzAGQ
Life in Europe during the Middle Ages was very different from today. The system of feudalism was in place which allowed for Kings, the nobility and Catholic church officials to have most of the power to govern while the vast majority of the populations stayed in the farm and worked. Those peasants who were treated like slaves by the lord of the manners, lived hard lives as serfs. At the same time knights owed allegiance and and protection to the nobles and the King.
Knights lived a high moral code called chivalry. This way of life meant that Knights had to spend most of the time in the year practicing for combats by attending tournaments and working their way as a knights apprentice: first as a page and later as a squire then a full fledged knight. These knights had to to look out for their lords, had to be religious and show great respect to women. Knights were such an important part of life in the middle ages that the literature was almost all about their brave battles or their romantic journeys to save the fair ladies at this time.
The Catholic Church as along with the monarchy the most powerful institution in Europe at the time. The Pope was in charge of the religious matters of all European kingdoms while several kings looked after the political needs of the kingdom. Most Europeans, except for a few Jewish communities, weer Catholic and took their religion very seriously.
One of these popes, Urban II claimed that Christian European knights and should go on a crusade to retake Jerusalem form the Muslims. You will remember the the land of Israel was holy to the Jews and was the birth place of Jesus. Jews were eventual kicked out of Israel by the Romans in ancient times which allowed Arab Muslims to come into the land and rename it Palestine. The Christian Europeans were very upset that the holy shrines of Christianity were controlled by Muslims. These Christian knights and other under the Popes command traveled to Palestine to retake it from the Muslim. Along the way many Jews in Europe were killed by Christians. Eventual after some time of fighting the Christian armies defeated the Muslims and took the city of Jerusalem. The strained relationship between Christians and Muslims begins in this unfortunate period in history.
cool video about feudalism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdfCruKzAGQ
Sunday, October 14, 2007
The Muslim world, Sunni-Shia divide, yesterday and today
As you learned last week the religion of Islam has 5 main "pillars" of belief. 1Faith the there is one god and that Mohammad was a prophet. 2. prayer 5 times a day. 3. alms or charity to the poor. 4. Fasting during the month of Ramadan and 5. pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to see the Kaaba, all Muslims agree on the importance of those 5 pillars of faith.
There are some big disagreements in Islam though, eventually, Mohammad died and leadership of the Muslim world was the responsibility of the Caliphs. Most Muslims agreed with the election of the first Caliph to lead the Muslims, Uthman after the death of Mohammad. Those who believed that the leader of the religion should be elected as by tribal custom were called Sunni. Other Muslims didn't think that Uthman should led the Muslims and instead backed Mohammad's cousin Ali to led them, those Muslims are called Shia. Ever since this initial disagreement about who should led after Mohammad's death Sunni and Shia Muslims have disagreed. Through the Islamic dynasties of the Ummayads, the Abbasid and the Fatimid, Sunnis and Muslims have fought one another.
Why does this matter today you may ask. In the Middle East in Iraq, the populations is divided between Sunni and Shia Muslims. Most Iraqis are Shia Arabs, but there are also a some Sunni Arabs and Kurds, also Muslim. Since the toppling of Saddam Husein's government by the US army, much of the fighting in Iraq has been going on between Shia and Sunni Iraqi Muslims. Each side has committed terrorist acts against each other in effect continuing to fight over the same questions over leadership in the Islamic world. Today many young people are going to Iraq to support the Iraqi government and are getting caught in the cross fire between Sunni and Shia groups. You may have friends or family there are serving in Iraq yourself. So you see that history isn't just something that happened along time ago, we live with history everyday, whether we want to or not, these issues affect our lives as Americans.
There are some big disagreements in Islam though, eventually, Mohammad died and leadership of the Muslim world was the responsibility of the Caliphs. Most Muslims agreed with the election of the first Caliph to lead the Muslims, Uthman after the death of Mohammad. Those who believed that the leader of the religion should be elected as by tribal custom were called Sunni. Other Muslims didn't think that Uthman should led the Muslims and instead backed Mohammad's cousin Ali to led them, those Muslims are called Shia. Ever since this initial disagreement about who should led after Mohammad's death Sunni and Shia Muslims have disagreed. Through the Islamic dynasties of the Ummayads, the Abbasid and the Fatimid, Sunnis and Muslims have fought one another.
Why does this matter today you may ask. In the Middle East in Iraq, the populations is divided between Sunni and Shia Muslims. Most Iraqis are Shia Arabs, but there are also a some Sunni Arabs and Kurds, also Muslim. Since the toppling of Saddam Husein's government by the US army, much of the fighting in Iraq has been going on between Shia and Sunni Iraqi Muslims. Each side has committed terrorist acts against each other in effect continuing to fight over the same questions over leadership in the Islamic world. Today many young people are going to Iraq to support the Iraqi government and are getting caught in the cross fire between Sunni and Shia groups. You may have friends or family there are serving in Iraq yourself. So you see that history isn't just something that happened along time ago, we live with history everyday, whether we want to or not, these issues affect our lives as Americans.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Islam and its spread through the Middle East and North Africa
We are leaving the ancient era of world history and moving into the middle ages, roughly 600 to 1500. Today you will be learning about Islam and the middle East. Like Judaism, and Christianity, Islam is a monotheistic religion. Around 600, in the trading city of Mecca in the what is today Saudi Arabia, a man named Muhammad, claimed to have received revelations for God (Allah in Arabic) through the angel Gabriel. These revelations contained in the Muslim holy book, the Quran, guide Muslim faith. There are 5 main points or pillars of the the Islamic religion, you will learn about these in the information below. One of these pillars is that all Muslims should fast during the month of Ramadan and should make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once to see the Kaba.
Islam grew slowly but soon after several military wins more and more Arabs converted from polytheism to Islam. Later, Islam would spread from the Arabia all over the Middle East and North Africa. The land of Israel, once home to the Jews, was conquered by the Muslims as well as parts of Christian Europe. Despite this for much of its history Jews and Muslims got along well. Christians and Muslims would continue to be at odds with one another for military and economic power. The high level of culture and science of the Muslim world will eventually be overturned by armies of European Christians during a series of wars called the Crusades. We will discuss the crusades later.
As allways, when we learn about religions my goal is to introduce you to other peoples beliefs while teaching to respect your own.
learn more about Islam
http://www.islam101.com/
This is a video with song from the letters of the Arabic alphabet that teaches Islamic terms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L-GOHa5-YQ
Islam grew slowly but soon after several military wins more and more Arabs converted from polytheism to Islam. Later, Islam would spread from the Arabia all over the Middle East and North Africa. The land of Israel, once home to the Jews, was conquered by the Muslims as well as parts of Christian Europe. Despite this for much of its history Jews and Muslims got along well. Christians and Muslims would continue to be at odds with one another for military and economic power. The high level of culture and science of the Muslim world will eventually be overturned by armies of European Christians during a series of wars called the Crusades. We will discuss the crusades later.
As allways, when we learn about religions my goal is to introduce you to other peoples beliefs while teaching to respect your own.
learn more about Islam
http://www.islam101.com/
This is a video with song from the letters of the Arabic alphabet that teaches Islamic terms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L-GOHa5-YQ
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
TEST ON THURSDAY 20 questions short answer and fill in the blank
Ladies and gentlemen, we are finishing our study of mans beginnings in Africa, river valley civilizations, Judaism, Greece, Rome, Christianity, Africa, India, Hinduism, Buddhism, and China. All of these ancient civilizations are very different and at the same time similar to one another, they all form the foundation background for our further study of world history. Please remember to study for your test on Thursday. As I have said before if you think you can get by just looking at your notes for all of the answers on the test, you are wrong. You won't have enough time. You have to have reviewed this information if you intended to do well on the test. The test will consist of 20 questions fill in the blank and or short answers. You know how my tests are now, the responsibility to prepare for this test is yours.
We will be having a review on Wednesday, for which each students was to come to class with 10 quality questions to share. If you and your class do not take advantage of these review sessions, we won't have them in the future. So please come to class prepared to review, ask questions to clarify and misunderstandings you may have and study on your own or in groups this evening in preparation for the test. Like I said in class, you are all intelligent- that's not the issue, but you also need to be organized and disciplined in order to do well in this class. good luck and study hard.
We will be having a review on Wednesday, for which each students was to come to class with 10 quality questions to share. If you and your class do not take advantage of these review sessions, we won't have them in the future. So please come to class prepared to review, ask questions to clarify and misunderstandings you may have and study on your own or in groups this evening in preparation for the test. Like I said in class, you are all intelligent- that's not the issue, but you also need to be organized and disciplined in order to do well in this class. good luck and study hard.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
China: Early societies, Confucianism and the Qin dynasty
The name China means "middle kingdom" because the Chinese, with their 5,000 year old history, have always thought of themselves as the center of civilization. Like the other river civilizations that we have talked about in class Chinese civilization begins in the the land between the Chiang Jiang river and the Huang He river. There, early Chinese grew rice and wheat and eventually developed advanced societies.
Before China was united into one single empire it was a hodge podge of several separate kingdoms. The first dynasty that historians know information about is the Shang. During the Shang dynasty, the beginnings of what we associate with Chinese culture begin. The Chinese written and spoken language and the concept of a powerful King who rule according to the "mandate of Heaven" are introduced.
Later because the Shang were not living up to Heavens dictates, the Shang lost the authority to rule and we conquered by the Zhou. It is at the end of the Zhou period when the greatest teacher or morality in Asia, Confucius, teaches the people.
Confucius' teachings, which would later be called Confucianism basically says that when everyone in society acts according to their proper rule peace and harmony reigns. Confucius taught about the five relationships which must be kept in balance to create social harmony.
While Confucius was important in ancient China, he was not the only teacher. Lao Zi taught the Dao De Jing advising people to follow what he called the "Dao" or the way of inaction. Today many people in China and around Asia base their morality on these teachings as well as Buddhism which eventually was brought to China through cultural diffusion.
After the Zhou also lost control of the people and the "mandate of heaven" the King of Qin was able to bring order to the warring states and unite them all under one government once and for all. In 221 BC the Qin Emperor or Qin Shir Huangdi, united all of China under one government, made a common language, money system, laws, and generally made China what it is today. The Qin Emperor also began the work on what would become the Great Wall of China in an attempt to keep invaders from the north of China (present day Mongolia) from attacking. He also had a massive terracotta (clay) army built around what would become his tomb to protect him after his death. His son proved incompetent which led to the destruction of the Qin dynasty. Years later, after some fighting Wang Mang would reunite China under the Han.
This explains how the Five relationships work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn7grjTpcNA
see how the First Emporer of China united the country
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRizdgGDzbI
learn about the Great Wall of China
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTY7yJ7JWFU
Before China was united into one single empire it was a hodge podge of several separate kingdoms. The first dynasty that historians know information about is the Shang. During the Shang dynasty, the beginnings of what we associate with Chinese culture begin. The Chinese written and spoken language and the concept of a powerful King who rule according to the "mandate of Heaven" are introduced.
Later because the Shang were not living up to Heavens dictates, the Shang lost the authority to rule and we conquered by the Zhou. It is at the end of the Zhou period when the greatest teacher or morality in Asia, Confucius, teaches the people.
Confucius' teachings, which would later be called Confucianism basically says that when everyone in society acts according to their proper rule peace and harmony reigns. Confucius taught about the five relationships which must be kept in balance to create social harmony.
While Confucius was important in ancient China, he was not the only teacher. Lao Zi taught the Dao De Jing advising people to follow what he called the "Dao" or the way of inaction. Today many people in China and around Asia base their morality on these teachings as well as Buddhism which eventually was brought to China through cultural diffusion.
After the Zhou also lost control of the people and the "mandate of heaven" the King of Qin was able to bring order to the warring states and unite them all under one government once and for all. In 221 BC the Qin Emperor or Qin Shir Huangdi, united all of China under one government, made a common language, money system, laws, and generally made China what it is today. The Qin Emperor also began the work on what would become the Great Wall of China in an attempt to keep invaders from the north of China (present day Mongolia) from attacking. He also had a massive terracotta (clay) army built around what would become his tomb to protect him after his death. His son proved incompetent which led to the destruction of the Qin dynasty. Years later, after some fighting Wang Mang would reunite China under the Han.
This explains how the Five relationships work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn7grjTpcNA
see how the First Emporer of China united the country
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRizdgGDzbI
learn about the Great Wall of China
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTY7yJ7JWFU
Monday, October 1, 2007
Siddharta Guatuma:The Buddha
Yesterday in class, we discussed the Aryan invasion of the Indus River valley and how the Aryans dominated the original inhabitants of India. We also discussed how these Indians create a social caste system based on race and class. The Hindu religion, we learned as found in the Vedas and the Upanishads supported the caste system. We also discussed some other core beliefs of Hinduism, the belief in reincarnation, karma, and the three most important Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
It is in this conservative Hindu cultural mix that around the year 500 BC in a small kingdom along the present day India-Nepal border a child was born the the King and Queen. You are going to notice many similarities with the story of the Buddha and that of Jesus. Both men were historical fugues that changed world history. Christianity will dominate European culture while the religion that Siddhartha Gautama developed will similarly effect Asian societies.
In class today we discussed
1. Siddhartha as a young child and the what the priest said about his future.
2. Siddhartha's parents attempts to keep him from knowledge of life's problems
3. How Sidhhartha eventually, by accident comes to realize what he will come to call the Four Noble Truths.
4.How he leaves his comfortable life and beings a life of self denial in the forests for 6 years
5. How he comes to a realization of the the Middle way and eventually reaching enlightenment and ultimately nirvana.
By the end of class you should be able to explain in your own words the story of Siddhartha's enlightenment according to Buddhism. As always we discuss religion the purpose is to expose you to others beliefs while respecting your own.
These 5 short clips will give you a deeper understanding of the Buddha, please watch them in descending order.
1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcD3yutwkWA
2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvaoBiirOtk&mode=related&search=
3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1QVQlBaYG8&mode=related&search=
4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eavgDUjTLFU&mode=related&search=
5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P80JJrf55Eo&mode=related&search=
It is in this conservative Hindu cultural mix that around the year 500 BC in a small kingdom along the present day India-Nepal border a child was born the the King and Queen. You are going to notice many similarities with the story of the Buddha and that of Jesus. Both men were historical fugues that changed world history. Christianity will dominate European culture while the religion that Siddhartha Gautama developed will similarly effect Asian societies.
In class today we discussed
1. Siddhartha as a young child and the what the priest said about his future.
2. Siddhartha's parents attempts to keep him from knowledge of life's problems
3. How Sidhhartha eventually, by accident comes to realize what he will come to call the Four Noble Truths.
4.How he leaves his comfortable life and beings a life of self denial in the forests for 6 years
5. How he comes to a realization of the the Middle way and eventually reaching enlightenment and ultimately nirvana.
By the end of class you should be able to explain in your own words the story of Siddhartha's enlightenment according to Buddhism. As always we discuss religion the purpose is to expose you to others beliefs while respecting your own.
These 5 short clips will give you a deeper understanding of the Buddha, please watch them in descending order.
1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcD3yutwkWA
2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvaoBiirOtk&mode=related&search=
3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1QVQlBaYG8&mode=related&search=
4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eavgDUjTLFU&mode=related&search=
5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P80JJrf55Eo&mode=related&search=
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