History Assignment

Description

Hello, for the most part, the instructions and questions will be provided in the “Upload Files” tab. However, one bit of information that is not stated in the instructions is that the answer to each question you choose to work on should take up around a page each. There is no need for a title page but please leave the references (if you choose to use any) at the bottom of each answer they were used in. Other than that, please just be as thorough as possible.

Please choose one question from each section to answer for your assignment. This means that you will answer a total of five questions, each worth 20 points.

Please know that your responses must be at least 10 sentences long. While using short, quoted phrases is fine to help support your ideas, your answers must be written mostly in your own words. Any quoting you include must be properly cited.

Question 1 (20 points)
Please choose one of the following questions to answer from this set. Be sure to include specific details such as people’s names, dates, places, etc. in your responses.
1. Some scholars refer to the ancient civilizations that developed in Mesopotamia and Egypt as “hydraulic.” Is this an accurate description of each? Why or why not?
2. Compare and contrast the religious beliefs of ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations. What explains the differences? Why did each belief system develop as it did?
Question 2 (20 points)
Please choose one of the following questions to answer from this set. Be sure to include specific details such as people’s names, dates, places, etc. in your responses.
1. Compare the careers and philosophical beliefs of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Whose ideas had the most lasting impact on Western Civilization during the periods we studied? How and why?
2. The ancient Greeks were known for developing several political systems including monarchy, democracy, oligarchy, aristocracy, and tyranny. Choose two and explain how they were practiced in ancient Greece. How were they practiced during the Middle Ages?
3. Compare and contrast the lives of women in two different ancient Greek city-states. What accounts for the differences?
4. Historian Edward Gibbon believed that Christianity was the primary cause of the fall of the Roman Empire. What evidence supports his conclusion? How can it be refuted?
5. Why do some historians refer to the third century AD/CE as a time of crises? What situations (man-made and otherwise) caused the chaos of the age?
Question 3 (20 points)
Please choose one of the following questions to answer from this set. Be sure to include specific details such as people’s names, dates, places, etc. in your responses.
1. The Catholic Church and Western European governments came into conflict with each other more than once during the Middle Ages. Choose two incidents listed below and explain them. Who was involved? What were the issues? Who “won” in each case?
● Iconoclastic Controversy
● Investiture Controvery
● Great Western Schism
2. Charlemagne built a large and strong empire only to have it crumble upon his death. How did he achieve his empire? Why was he so successful? Why did the empire not survive beyond his death?
3. What are some of the major contributions of Islam to Western civilization? Explain at least three specific examples.
4. Religious orders like the Franciscans and Dominicans developed during the High Middle Ages. Why then? How did the two groups compare and what did each accomplish? Was one more successful than the other?
5. During the 14th century, efforts were made to move toward representative government in France. They failed entirely, but similar attempts were at least moderately successful in England. Why?
Question 4 (20 points)
Please choose one of the following questions to answer from this set. Be sure to include specific details such as people’s names, dates, places, etc. in your responses.
1. Compare and contrast the specific primary beliefs of Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism. How did Renaissance humanism illustrate itself in the two Protestant religions?
2. Descriptions of the Thirty Years’ War include the “last of the religious wars” and “the first modern war.” Which is the more accurate assessment? Why?
3. The Protestant Reformation impacted continental European nations as well as England. How did the movement differ between the continental powers and England? Which Reformation was more successful in the long term? Why?
Question 5 (20 points)
Please choose one of the following questions to answer from this set. Be sure to include specific details such as people’s names, dates, places, etc. in your responses.
1. Compare and contrast the lives and reigns of the following rulers: Augustus, Constantine, and William the Conqueror. Who was the strongest leader? Who was the weakest? Why?
2. The textbook readings end with a seemingly ominous statement: “wielding a newfound global power, Western civilization was unleashed on the world” (198). Based on what we’ve covered in class, what do you make of this final statement? Was Western civilization a positive or negative force at this point in history (roughly 1650)? Why?
3. Some historians have argued that history is made not only by mankind, but by the world itself. To what extent, for example, were climate and disease key factors in promoting economic and social changes? Discuss at least two different time periods and civilizations covered in our class in your response.