Question: Week Four Assignment - Final Integration Paper

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Plagiarism - Word Document (16.0 KB)

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Based on all the assignments and activities in which we have engaged this month, write 6 page essay that answers one of the following questions:

1) This course has addressed the origins of the ideology of nationalism as it emerged at the time of the French Revolution, spread to other states during the age of democratic revolutions and was then embraced by colonized peoples who sought independence from colonial rule. Trace the history of nationalism and its relationship to capitalist expansion, imperialism, and independence. When has nationalism been a force for good? When has it led to oppression and conflict? What other forms of social identities have competed with nationalism? What forces associated with globalization have challenged the notion of the national self-determination of all peoples?

2) Much of the political discourse during the Enlightenment and the political revolutions that in inspired centers on the idea of equality. What types of social inequalities existed before those modern revolutions? Did the economic and political revolutions that began at the end of the early modern period lead to more or less inequality? Make sure you discuss inequality both within specific societies and between different countries. Has globalization increased or decreased social inequalities?

3) The economic changes associated with the modern world are tremendous. This course began studying societies that were mostly self-sufficient. But commercial or mercantile capitalism created networks of trade across the globe and vast accumulations of wealth among some, and then industrial capitalism transformed the productive process, creating new types of labor and new types of riches. And now the food and clothing we rely on in our daily lives is the product of a global process. What have been the benefits of this transformation? What have been some of the social and environmental costs?

The Integrative Papers are formal essays, and they ask you to integrate into a coherent whole the variety of materials we have studied. You need to develop a thesis, select key ideas and arguments, and put them together in an essay that synthesizes the material. Just as every paper should have a main idea or thesis, so should each paragraph be united around a topic sentence. Transitional sentences that link one paragraph or one section of the paper to the next are also important components of effective essays.

The Integrative Essay does not ask you to do any outside reading. Answer the question using only the materials (textbook, documentaries, primary sources, Collaborate live lectures, discussion boards, etc.) that we read in class. And the more of that material you cite, the richer, more nuanced, and more complete your essay will be. The point of this essay is to demonstrate your grasp of the materials covered in this course only. If you feel it is absolutely necessary to use outside sources (including websites), you must first contact your instructor to ascertain whether the sources you wish to use are acceptable for a formal history paper of this nature.
Your essay should be at least 1500 words (6 Double-spaced typed pages).