World History: Milestones of the Last Millennium
I. Were Our Ancestors in the Dark? A Survey of World Cultures during the “Dark Age”
Case Studies
q Definition and assessment of the term Dark Age
q Review of Fall of Roman Empire
q A Global Tour: Year 1000
q Dark Age Vikings
q Dark Age Islamic World
q Dark Age China
q Dark Age England
q Dark Age cities: Cordoba, Kaifeng
q Dark Age learning: Ibn Sina, Gherbert of Aurillac
q Dark Age medicine: East v. West
q Dark Age trade & travel: Leif Ericsson, Marco Polo
q Dark Age conquest: Mongols, Black Death
*Culminating Project: Festival of the Year 1000
III. Why Cultures Make Contact: A Look at Some Medieval Journeys
Case Studies
q Crusades: Religions Collide
q The Black Death: A Disease Runs Rampant
q Mongols: History's Largest Land Empire
q Marco Polo: An Italian Merchant Visits China
q Ibn Battuta: Islamic Judge Travels 75,000 Miles
q Zheng He: Voyage of China's Great Treasure Ships
q Mehmed II and the Conquest of Constantinople
q Mansa Musa: An African King Travels to Mecca
q Joan of Arc: Peasant French Girl Leads and Army
q Leif Ericsson and the Viking Discovery of America
*Alternate Unit: The Islamic World and the West
Case Studies
q Spain as a bridge between Islam and the West
q Reconquista and Spanish Inquisition
q Crusades
q Ottoman Turks and the Conquest of Constantinople
q Portugal and Spain: Exploration as Reconquista
q Napoleon’s Invasion of Egypt
q Current Events: Terrorism, Al Qaeda, Israel/Palestine, India/Pakistan
IV. Why Europe and Not China? The World Made by European Exploration
Case Studies
q Zheng He’s Treasure Ships: Why not China?
q Travels of Ibn Battuta: Why not the Islamic world?
q Portugal’s Rise as a Sea Power
q Columbus and the Discovery of a New World
q The Myth of the Flat Earth
q Technologies and Innovations
q The Columbian Exchange
q Incas, Aztecs, Conquistadors
q England’s Rise as a Sea Power: Francis Drake and the Elizabethan Age
V. Liberty, Equality, Technology? The Growth of Democratic Ideals in an Industrial World
Case Studies
q What We Mean by Freedom: a Consideration of Western Values
q Overview of World Governments Today: Why prefer democracy?
q Protestant Reformation and the Surprising Notion of Toleration
q French Revolution and Social Equality: Citizens not Subjects
q Growth of Democracy in England: Freedom as a Work in Progress
q Colonialism and the Slave Trade: Who will be included?
q The Industrial Revolution and the Challenge of Social Divisions
q The Wealth of Nations: A Virtual Visit to The Great Exhibition of 1851
VI. A Global Village? 20th Century Conflicts and 21st Century Issues
Case Studies
q World War One
q The Inter-War Years and the Failures of Diplomacy
q The Rise of Dictatorships and the Challenge for Democracies
q World War Two
q The World Around Us: Challenges Today