Chapter 24 (747-755)

The end is here. I have finished the the entire Ways of the World World History book. This last little bit discusses the environmental changes in the twentieth century. Not only have we grown vastly in human numbers but also the use of our energy has increased now that we have access to oil. Both of these increase our economic growth rapidly and will continue as years pass. The second little part of this section is about environmentalism and environmentalists. Today there are far more organizations than ever in the nineteenth  century. Many more people are working to "save our Earth." We are recognizing that the development of out industries and many other factors are increasing the risk of a dying planet. We are trying as well as learning the best ways to save our Earth.

Women Issues in the Presidential Debate (2012)

    An issue I found on this topic has got to be one of the most entertaining topics I have heard. Hilary Rosen, a strategist, announced on CNN that Ann Romney (Mitt Romney's wife) "has never worked a day in her life." After beating breast cancer as well as struggling with multiple scoliosis, husband Romney uses his wife as an example to help women struggling all over the world today. But is this right? Many people have been arguing this topic about Ann Romney and her defense to Hilary Rosen's comment.
    In my own opinion, I think Hilary Rosen should be fired. If you don't think that raising your own children and being a  "stay home mom" is a job in itself, then you must not have kids or you must have never had that job before. It it argumentatively one of the most hardest jobs as a women and even in society today. Not only that but Ann Romney has gone through breast cancer and has multiple scoliosis!! So to believe that Mitt Romney is "using" his wife, you  must not have any sort of sympathy or understanding of Ann at all.

P.S. Rosen apologized to Romney ...

Chapter 24 (740-747)

In this section of the reading, the most interesting part was learning about the Islamic world of development, not just in globalization but as a society and religiously. Not only did they decided to pray on a regular basis but fasting and attending mosque became much more common in their everyday lives. I thought it was very interesting how the women of all ages and even classes began to change their look. They wore the veil and dressed rather moderately by mostly choice. And speaking on the topic of choice, The government of Sudan changed in a sense that the punishments for various crimes were to have an arm, hand or even a leg amputated. Although I found it odd and different, maybe this isn't such a bad idea.

Chapter 24 (734-739)

Reading this chapter I was moved and very motivated to help and do something in relation to feminists movements. I was really sad when I read the side note about the women who have lost their children. These women have lost their children either by criminal gangs, child prostitution and illegal adoption. The group is called  "mother's of the disappeared" and it seems that this group of women have been very active in many Latin American countries. They gather every week and demand and pressure their government find their lost children.

Women: Arab Spring of 2011

The article I read was very intersting. I never knew that this fight for a deomcracy was going on in other countries. I figured there might have been some arguementation about it but I definitely did not realize how big of an issue it has become. Not only is a democracy being fought for but the topic of women has beome one of the major influences. There is an organization called the Womens Learning Partnership  (WLP) which is an organization to fight and increse the role of women leadership and their rights. Their goal is to empower women  not only to transform their families but communities and scieties as well. They are trying to encourage and help as much as the Muslim socieies as they can because they seem to be the toughest crowd. In doing so their campaign is as simple as "Leading to Choices." They are trying to reach as many women as well as young girls and teach them the importance and understanding of their rights and the voice that they do in fact carry.

Chapter 24 (723-734)

It is had to talk about one specific aspect of this chapter because there is so much happening during this time. This is the time of re-globalization. Trying to become "One" an see our world as a whole was a major part of this time. Not necessarily speaking in term of friendliness and everyone liking each other but rather, a world of growth and expansion as one big economy. We will always have enemies but our focus is to industrialize and share all that we know and can with the communities around us. Globalization will be the first step in really bringing together our modern societies today!

Gandhi and Matrin Luther King

Comparing both Gandhi and Martin Luther King's words of wisdom was not as difficult as I thought. Although, both men are are talking about two completely different subjects, at times, their words connect towards each other as if they were both fighting for the same freedoms. An example I found was when Gandhi says, “Love is the strongest force the world possesses, and yet it is the humblest imaginable”. It is pretty straight forward what is being said here but for further clarification Gandhi is basically saying that love itself is one of the most important parts of life and with that said, it is one of the biggest challenges for today because it requires us to be humble with ourselves as to one another. A quote  on the same topic of love by Martin Luther King goes like this, "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend". King is stating here that love has the power to make the enemy (and all the hatred that comes along with them) become a friendship we might never in a million years imagine there to be between on another. Love is so powerful it can turn anger and hatred into care and friendship. Both of these quotes relate because they express how important love truely is in our world today and life itself.

Chapter 23

You have got to be kidding me! The first black president in South Africa was also in prison for 27 years!? Can you imagine if Obama was in prison before he decided to run for president? He would not even had a second look at by the people, he would have been out of the running before he could even have a chance to show himself. It is really amazing to me how a man locked up for 27 years could be the next president of his country. Other than this interesting and unique story, chapter 23 really focusses on the indepence in European and other countries. Throughout this independence, we are introduced to Gandhi and what his big role was- his fight for freedom and rights.

Chapter 22 (675-689)

  After reading this last section, I tried to come to the conclusion the communism was not as bad as it may seem. This is because it not only brought hope to the injustices from the past; such as new opportunities for women, workers and even peasants but the industrial side of it was quick enough to give these opportunities, and this was a great thing. But the problem with communism- although making changes for the better and giving everyone the opportunity for work- communism was the cause of millions of people killed, and put in prison for the wrong reasons. There was a also the problems of MASSIVE famine, human rights violated, and many people in the mindset of  doing the impossible. It was hard for me to pick a side for whether I though communism was a good or bad topic, because although it is against my moral values, it still gave women the opportunity in the work fields and industrial life and that is a significant part of who I am today and could be in my future.

Section 5 and 6

   The catholic social teachings is what these sections were about. They explained the guidelines in which they were allowed to teach as well as the boundaries and how far they are allowed. They want YOU to be the one to learn, be productive in the work they feel they are supposed to do and to love all that God as given you and created for you. The Catholic church does many activities to help in ways that they can in their communities as a way of bringing more people in and helping/ guiding them down their spiritual journey and walk with God. I thought these two sections were both great insights on how the Catholic Church is involved with the communities but more importantly the people.

Chap. 22 (659-674)

The specific section that caught my attention was on Communist Feminism and how communist countries actually encouraged and developed forms of women's liberation in the West. It was the new communist government who issued an entirely new set of laws regarding women. Some of the many included divorce being legalized as well as easier, abortion too, pregnancy leave for employed women was mandated, illegitimacy was abolished, political equality for women was legal, and many more. One of the major events performed by the party was the development a women's department called Zhenotdel. They organized conferences for women , trained them to run day-care centers and even medical clinics. They also entered the work force in farming and industrial jobs. The picture on the right of page 669 shows two women learning to drive a tractor. It is so great and interesting to me to see how women began as nothing but property and taken advantage of, to them having jobs and our society as a whole recognizing and treating the value of a women as equal to that of a male. It really took hundreds of years for women to gain and have truly fair and equal opportunities. Crazy ...

Intro part 6 (Chap. 21)

     In chapter 21 we learn about the collapse and recovery of Europe. There were two major factors that really seemed to catch my attention; Women and the Great War and The Bombing of Hiroshima. The Women of the Great War includes the women for both sides of the war. On page 630, there is a photo illustrating a woman putting on her jacket in the middle of men on one side dressed in uniform and women on the other side doing work. The words read "These women are doing their bit ... Learn to make munitions." Not only does this show how involved women were in the war and in this time but it is also interesting to see a man in the background looking at her, raising his hand as if in agreement to her getting ready to work. The words are also very important because they signify the invitation and promotion of women during this time. They are advertising the roles of women in this picture and it is a positive one. This is important to me because it shows the equality developing between both men and women and men are not refusing the help of women as if they were incapable of doing the job (like the past).
     The dropping of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima was important to me because it was the ending of the World War 2. After this event, all of the survivors were in devastation and in loss of everything. They really had no where to go and no where to turn to, all they could do was rebuild all that was gone. The majority of women during this time became known as "comfort women" whose job was to serve the sexual needs of the Japanese troops. Although, there were many women taking the jobs in the industry as well, it was only temporary. Because many jobs had been reserved for men, women in this time in both the military and industry were only there until enough men were able and well enough to work again. I found this very interesting and different from the "usual" (women having no part in the working and military field).

Living Justice: Intro. and chap. 1&7

The sections that we read were about poverty among lower classes and human rights. Both of these involve the Church and Catholic teachings in these areas. These chapter talk about what the Church as a community to get involved and help with the unfair treatment of the lower classes by the upper classes. One way the Church gets involve is by holding community functions where the people feeling being treated unfairly, migrant workers, and lower class hardworking people are able to express their inequality towards the upper classes. This is a positive  activity and also very active because it is a great way to come up with solutions and try to fix their problem instead of just giving one person the job and following under their order. There are so many families  in poverty who are hard-working and just can not seem to bring themselves out of their poorest. The Church helps make things equal as well as spread their Catholic teachings.

Chapter 20 (607-614)

As education began to rise in the colonial era so did religion. Both became very popular in New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and mostly in non-Muslim Africa. The attractions of Christianity in these places came from not just population and faith but mainly the lowered confidence of military defeat. Many people, especially that of the African culture, needed hope and faith in something so they turned to christianity. Because both religion and education boomed around the same time and places, together they were a great match. While teaching upon subjects of english, math and history, religion was allowed and actually enforced as part of their curriculum. From this, missionaries were able to offer not only religion but European medicine, education, gender roles and culture.

Chapter 20 (589-606)

Women working in the colonial economy had it rough. As people began to colonize and move African men were given more and more wage labor making it much more difficult for the domestic responsibiliesof the women. Because women were given so many responsibilities they became the leading experts in selling foods, stuffs, cloth, and inexpensive imported goods making them domininant in the marketing buisness. The men however focussed on the import-export trade and profit. This was a great way for Africans during this time period to live a better life than before. Too bad this was the way of life for only some parts of West Africa and not all.

The Invisible Hand

Adam's theory of the invisible hand is one that I agree most with in that this is the way our society is today and has been for a while. His theory is that of supply and demand. This means if the price of a product is popular and is begging to sell largely, of course the price is going to raise in order to make more money. For example, if the demand is cars (like it is for society today) and the majority of people feel the need to have a car then the supply of gas based on the demand of cars is going to be either a reasonable amount or higher. As a result, the gas companies begin to make more money because of the raise in price for gas BECAUSE of the demand of cars from people, allowing people to earn more money, take more "vacation" days, using a car, and it leads into one big circle again. This is how the majority of society industrialization works today.

Chapter 18 (541-556)

In this second portion of chapter 18, it talks about how industrialization spread throughout western Europe. What caught my eye the most was the picture on page 553 of the Mexican Revolution, or at least a little sample of it. It portrays the role of women during that time. They were very active in that they prepared food, were caretaker/ nurses of the wounded, they washed clothes, and even some women took part as being soldiers on the battlefield. I found this very interesting because not only is the "norm" of women back then much less risky but the fact that women in the Mexican Revolution were soldiers too really made me think about why this was acceptable and reasonable in Mexico than other countries.

Chapter 18 (527-541)

ONLY 250 years?! This is so crazy to me how only 250 years go by and industrialization not only exists as part of societies but exists all around the world! If we take a deeper look into this we see that it has only been a few centuries and we act as if we could never live without cars, phones, electricity, etc. and it hasn't even been 300 years since we've began this industrialization society. Crazy ...

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

The Declaration I find the most pleasing would be the 10th. It states, "No one should be disturbed for his opinions, even in religion, provided that their manifestation does not trouble public order as established by law." 

I like this one the most because it is one of the most important aspects of a society today (freedom of speech), but it also states my right to say whatever I want, whenever I please, and to whomever I chose as long as I am not causing any trouble. I am a very opinionated person and I like to stand up for my beliefs and values and this declaration allows that opportunity; If I were a male so to speak. 

Chapter 17 (507-524)

How did the end of slavery affect the lives of the former slaves?
- The end of slavery affected the lives of former slaves by the use of a single word, Freedom. Although, the circumstances for the former slaves did not drastically change (as far as owning land goes) knowing that they have their freedom really encourage the economic as well as social structures of Africa. They were not the only ones. Former slaves in some parts of the Caribbean, such as Jamaica were able to own the unoccupied land and begin to grow crops and begin their own agriculture.

Chapter 17 (504-507)

What was interesting about this section was how unlike other revolutions the French Revolution was ruled and controlled by the Nobility and upper class. Usually a revolution leads to much destruction and beginning to work your way up back to the top. The peasants and lower class were not only in the same situation they had been in before but now they were like slaves because they really had nothing left in order to survive.

Chapter 17 (499-504)

What caught my attention about this reading was that although the North American Revolution was looked at as a "new order of ages" and slavery was slowly beginning to abolish in the northern states, women and people of color were still not allowed to participate in the widening of politics. Not that they weren't allowed, but it was looked down upon and thought of as impossible for those already in the politics authority as well as the people individually. But now guess what ... OBAMA !!! 

Intro part 5 Chapter 17 (491-497)

We are going to read in this next Chapter: Europe and its progression and the beginning of human society aka modern society.

The Americas

I was very surprised when I read about how many different people from North Americans just consider and call themselves Americans. And I was also curious as to why we made Canada more so American when Southern Mexico is more American and part of the US than Canada. That was weird to me ...

Enlightenment: Immanuel Kant

This packet was very hard to understand. I was not sure about the point being made or if there was one at all. What I did get from this reading packet was that Kant mentioned that the reason it is so important to learn about our history is because we are given the opportunity of knowledge to think and see things in our on perspectives. If we weren't individually unique and we all thought the exact same way, learning our history and about the past would be useless.

Chapter 16 (477-488)

The second part of this chapter was about the revolution in Europe. To sum it all, basically the Europeans learned and loved their new life of more freedom and will to do as they please.

Chap. 16 Religion and Science (461-477)

     Chapter 16 begins with the spread of Christianity and other religions throughout Europe. As more and more people begin to convert to Christianity we see a major decrease in many religions already practiced in Europe but a huge increase in other new religions because of the amount of people beginning to arrive in Europe. What caught my attention was the impact Christianity not only  had on Europe as a country but every individual person as well. It became so popular the people were forced to chose a religion at times. There were not very many people that did not live without some sort of faith in religion. This ultimately gave many people the opportunity to have freedom freedom of speech and stand up for what they believed in.

Chapter 15 pg. 449-458

Reading the second half to this chapter I found it difficult and upsetting to continue reading. Reminders of the past about how slavery was so "normal" and almost everywhere makes me so grateful that times have changed. What really caught my attention was the illustration on page 451. How did all of the captured Africans fit below the deck of a ship? This made me wonder what would happen if someone got sick or what if someone had a disease, what would/ could they do? They are stuck at the bottom of a ship sailing across water. But by the illustration it looks like everyone is getting along and talking and just getting to know one another. Forming bonds between each other could have brought hope and faith to each individual slave in that one day things will change.

Chapter 15

The picture at the bottom of page 448 I found interesting and caught my attention. It is a picture of Russian men in line paying tax (by tribute or fur) to the Russian ambassador. I noticed that they were all wearing hats ... and I also noticed that the ones near the left (the front of the line) seem to be just paying in money but as you get further along the line you see that it is tribute and then paying in fur. Did the artist do this on purpose? What does this signify?

Wiesner, “Sweet Nexus: Sugar and the Origins of the Modern World”

It made me angry reading the words "Black labor, white sugar". Once again, this became another reason for the whites to show and prove why slavery is the right thing. Sugar to the African-American laborers was not only another excuse for segregation but now another reason to survive. If the black laborers were not present in trading and working to receive and give sugar as part of their jobs, it would not have spread as fast or even at all. We should be thanking them for the hard work they did.

Chap. 14 pg. 417-430

I found this section of the reading to be pretty boring. The only part I took interest in was how much of an impact the European empires not only had on the people but the world as a whole itself. Without them,(European empires) we would not have progressed to where we are today from a cultural and religious standpoint or at least we would have not progressed as quickly.