Final Essay:
Answer the following in a well-organized essay, using information from lectures, discussions, and readings. Be sure to provide specific evidence to support your thesis.
Suggested Length: 4-6 double-spaced pages.
Throughout the course, four main themes have been emphasized: Power; Imperialism; Religious Faith; and Ideology. Other themes, such as race, gender, class, demographics, and environment have also been included. Throughout the course, many arguments have been made, but the class has been organized around two central arguments:
1) world history since 1700 has revolved around a continuing struggle for power between social groups, religious groups, nations, and economic interests;
2) Western hegemony in Modern World History may be challenged and interpreted in a number of ways, with two major views (Westernization and Globalization) presently dominating the historiography.
The instructor has argued that Westernization has defined the past several centuries of world history, creating cultural contacts, ecological exchange, conflict, conquest, the building of empires, and the globalization of society. These themes and arguments have been in keeping with the instructor's own theoretical views and biases.
As a result, the course has been "Euro-centric" and may be misleading in that it makes it seem that the rest of the world only reacts to the West. Other problems with this approach can also be found. Some alternative theories are Globalization; world systems (economics!); feminism (history of patriarchal power); and Marxism (class conflict).
Thus, the course has been designed as an "open narrative," raising more questions than it answers, inviting the students to make their own conclusions.
Now, it is time for you, the student, to respond. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Were the four main themes the most important in modern world history? What other themes would you include? How and why or why not? Were the main arguments of the course persuasive? What other arguments might you make? Was power really so important? Religion? Imperialism? Ideology?
Were faith and ideas really as significant as the instructor made them out to be? However, you choose to answer (agree, disagree, or partially so), be sure to address all relevant political, economic, social, cultural, environmental and religious factors and provide specific evidence to support your argument.
Answer the above question(s) in the following way:
It is July 2017 and you (yourself) have been invited to make a speech before the United Nations and a world-wide television audience on the subject of Modern World History. What do you say?
Where do you begin and end? What themes do you emphasize? What argument(s) do you make?
What people, places and events do you include? You have the opportunity to be the world historian, whathistory will you write for your oration? Good Luck!!!!