• There is no length requirement, but you must answer the essay question FULLY. The most common reason for poor grades is not answering the ENTIRE question (if asked to discuss Africa and India and you only discuss Africa, the highest grade you could receive is a 50 because you have only answered 50% of the question). Review your chosen question OFTEN. This is an open note essay exam and will be graded as such. I expect thoughtful, thorough essays.
He suggests 3 to 5 pages
• You must use your text AND class notes to complete the essay. Essays containing little to no information from the lecture notes will receive a VERY poor grade of few to no points.
Sources of information not from class notes or the text, if used, MUST be cited and should be used sparingly. Direct quotation from the text or external sources must be set in quotation marks and cited. Refer to the section in the syllabus concerning plagiarism. Any plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the course. (You do NOT have to cite lecture information)
World Civilization
2) Discuss the physical geography of THREE of the ancient cultures of we have covered to date (Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, Africa, and the Americas) AND HOW this geography has impacted the development of civilizations in these areas (IMPORTANT: remember that geography could influence the shaping of politics, culture, religion, economy, architecture, etc.).
MY NOTES pertaining to geography mentioned in lectures
Egypt - River Valley; bordered by geographic protection; gifts of nile (water, nutrients, transportation, flood cycle, winds allowed sailing on Nile, floods replenished nutrients yearly,)
Mesopotamia (land between 2 rivers - bordered by geographic protection; Land between 2 rivers (river valley); didn't flood regularly; North region small scale agriculture and herding; south region large scale agriculture and trade through Persian Gulf
India - Bordered by geographic protection; Himalayas to north and Tibetan plateau; East Burmese mountains and home to Burmese forest; west are deserts; south Indian ocean and Bay of Bengal; Indus river in west originates in Himalayas; Ganges river flows parallel to Himalayas; Deccan Plateau makes up large portion of India which is hard to farm on; Western and Eastern Ghats; Monsoons;
China- protected by Himalayas and Tibetan plateau; Surrounded on al sides by geographic protection; Founded around 2 river basins; North Huang He River; South you have Yangtze river; area between called Zhongguo; Currently China is building the 3 Gorges Dam
Africa- Great Rift valley; Cradle of Humanity; Sahara Desert; Rain forests bad for frming; Great Escarpment; Mostly grass grows so they were herders; Sub Saharan- Kush & Meroe, Axum,
Americas- Migration , took crappy notes, Olmec civilization (south Mexico) Never freezes, protected from tropical storms by peninsula, could grow crops all year, no rain forest; Andean Andes mountains on east, came up in driest desert (South America)