World History Homework Seven - Model

1. Approximately when and where did the Renaissance occur?

2. Martin Luther: who was he, what did he do, and when did he do it?

Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk in Germany. He was primarily angry about the selling of indulgences for money to build the new St. Peter’s Basilica, but he had some other related doctrinal disagreements with Catholicism as well, which prompted him to post his 95 Theses to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. This is almost universally recognized as the catalyst for the Reformation.

That was the history: there is debate to this day over what Luther really did, as in, what he accomplished. To Lutherans and almost all subsequent Protestants, Luther once again introduced Christ, not the Pope and his false and far-reaching authority, to the center of the Church. To Catholics, Luther divided, not reformed, the Church by rejecting doctrines going back to the Early Church, and accomplished little except fracturing the once undivided Church of Christ into warring, and often partially erroneous sects. (Addison)

3. What was the Baroque style, and what was its motivation?

In the arts, Baroque is both a period and the style that dominated it. The Baroque style used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, oil painting, literature, and music. The style started around 1600 in Rome, Italy and spread to most of Europe. In music, the Baroque applies to the final period of dominance of imitative counterpoint, where different voices and instruments echo each other but at different pitches, sometimes inverting the echo, and even reversing thematic material. (Jenn V.)

4. Summarize the history of the English language.

English, which originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects, is a West Germanic language. Germanic settlers brought over the Anglo-Frisian dialects to Britain from northwest Germany and the Northern Netherlands. Old English was created with many different dialects which were mostly Late West Saxon, but it was also affected by speakers of the Scandinavian branch and the Normans. Because of these two invasions, English is now a “mixed” language to some extent. Since English flourished by borrowing from others, it now has a voluminous and diverse vocabulary. (Veronika)

The English language is unique because it comprises of words from many different languages. With an alphabet of only 26 symbols you can make billions of words. Almost all of the letters are based off of straight lines with the exceptions of O, C, U Q, G and S. I think the reason English is so widely known is because of America shipping out goods to the rest of the world. (Aran)

5. Chinese dynasties (any one or all), Vietnam, Korea and Cambodia: take your pick and write about one.

6. Why did the Renaissance occur in Europe, and not in other areas of the world, such as Asia?

One reason the Renaissance occurred in Europe was that Asia had not yet been Christianized, nor did it possess Hellenic culture. There was not such a divide between old and new in Asia. Another reason is that Asia was experiencing more conflict during the Renaissance, while Europe had experienced its major conflicts (especially the Crusades, and earlier the fall of Rome) before the Renaissance- the fall of Rome set the stage for a much later cultural revival, and the Crusades ended feudalism and introduced Eastern culture, both of which led, in different degrees, to the Renaissance.

Europe had (chronologically) great culture (Rome), rather depressed times along with the silent growth of Christianity (Middle Ages), conflict expanding the worldview and facilitating cultural borrowing and the revival of faith (Crusades), and finally the culmination of all of them (Renaissance). Asia, on the other hand, had oscillating periods of conflict and peace, with cultural developments all the time, but never concentrated in one single period. (Addison)

The Renaissance probably occurred in Europe as opposed to Asia because there was more trading in Italy after the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453. Important cities such as Rome, Genoa, Florence, and Milan received more trade from Africa and Greece, as Constantinople was no longer a Christian city. The immense size of Asia also was a factor; it would have been extremely difficult to obtain old Greek works or distribute them widely across the whole of Asia. The spread of knowledge was facilitated by the greater trade in Europe after the Crusades. (Duncan)

7. Current events: Who would you describe as "Machiavellian" today, and why?

I would describe Obama as Machiavellian today because he did whatever it took to get into office. He might have said something one day and another thing another day. (Nate)

Rod Blagojevich, former governor of Illinois. Trying to sell the Senate seat, mail fraud, and attempting to bribe the Chicago Tribune, (with state funds), yes, Blagojevich is definitely a prime example. (Michelle)

Honors Questions (answer any 3 in addition to the above questions)

H1. What are the particular strengths and advantages of the English language?

H2. Do you consider the non-Catholic English Christians (the Anglicans) to be "Protestants"?

H3. What was the effect of the Reformation, or what is your view of it?

The Reformation really hurt Europe as a whole. I believe that Europe will never be as powerful as it was before it was torn in two by the Reformation. (Jenna N.)

H4. Describe an example of anti-Christians trying to drive a wedge between Christians (have to go beyond the lecture for this one).

H5. How did Judaism and Christianity lay the groundwork for the scientific and artistic achievements of the Renaissance?

H6. Chivalry, revisited: write about any aspect of this issue that you like.

Like I stated in the previous homework, chivalry is the most attractive quality a guy can have, in my opinion. There’s nothing more comforting than knowing your boyfriend won’t cease to impress your parents, grandparents, teachers or any other adult elders. Chivalry makes a guy stand out, and that’s a good thing; however, peers have turned their views of chivalry into negative opinions. Many think chivalry leaves men wide open to be exploited or taken advantage of by women and feminists. Some believe that everyone is equal, and as equal partners in relationships, we should treat each other the same. If men can hold the door open, so can woman. Many feminists insist that chivalry makes a woman appear weak, as if she can’t take care of herself. I strongly disagree with all of these opinions. Chivalry is basic politeness and manners. Politeness and manners leave a person looking very respectable. I love chivalry, and I totally respect any guy who gives it. (Jenn V.)

Chivalry is a great quality to have. Most women greatly appreciate chivalry, but there is that select group of women that believe that chivalry towards them is a sign that they are week, which is completely false. Respect towards women is undervalued in today’s society. Chivalry is something that we should infuse back into our culture. (Jonathan L.)

Chivalry recognizes that both man and woman have certain responsibilities and strengths, rather than trying to erase physical and mental distinctions (no, I am not saying that girls are dumber or smarter, they simply usually do better at different things), feminizing men, masculinizing women, and pretending that we are exactly the same. God intended specific roles for both man and woman. (Duncan)

H7. Dante's great work about Hell: something we should hear more about today? Your view, please.

We should definitely talk more about hell in the church today… We talk about heaven, which is great, but hell is a fundamental aspect of Christianity. It is illogical to have heaven without hell, just as there is not good without evil. Hell is not talked about because it scares people… That is exactly what is was supposed to do. The church of today only gives half the story when it comes to Christianity. (Jonathan L.)

H8. Write about any other aspect of the material covered by the lecture.

When we discussed genocide in class, I was of the opinion that there must be examples of genocide that occurred prior to the 20th century. When I researched this later, I discovered that it was, in fact, invented to describe the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a horrible event, unprecedented, and one that will hopefully never be repeated. And as I looked at the other examples, they just didn’t seem to fit the definition, probably because they were not as horrible or shocking as the event that “genocide” was first used to describe. (Michelle)