World History With Les

Feminism took on different struggles in the 20th century. In the United States, feminism lost some steam after the 1920s. It picked back up again in the 1960s. This time, it was not about voting, but about working outside of the home on a larger scale, better pay, and oppression of expression of sexuality.  In the Global South, women had always had to work out of the home. The idea of being able to work outside the home was not a hot topic for feminists there. In fact, the vast difference between First World and Global South feminists caused a great rift. This is still the case today, except now these women are living in the same societies.  Even in examining the pay gap in the United States between women of color and white women, white women are still better off. The problem is frame of reference. If you grow up in an economically stable home you are more likely to have stable supportive figures throughout your childhood. This means that you are more likely to achieve hig...

The End of Empire:  When speaking about the end of empire, many people think of this as history. It is history in the sense that it already happened. The impacts are still present. In many areas of the world, empires realized that they weren’t reaping the same benefits they had previously in areas, so they left. In some places independence was achieved rapidly, in other places it took many decades. Congo took their independence quickly, and Vietnam arrived more slowly (Stayer, 2016, p.982).  People like to pretend that racism and colonialism is a thing of the past. Sure, official colonial rule ended in the early 1900s in South Africa, but it was regarded as a British colony until the 1960s. Beyond that, apartheid was not ended until 1994. Apartheid was obviously an extension of colonialism. It was a way for “white Africans” to subjugate native Africans. Just because something ends, that doesn’t mean it is over. The impacts of apartheid continue to impact South Africa t...

Why Pride sponsors shouldn’t hit pause during Black Lives Matter protests This article discusses the importance of recognizing the intersection of the LGBTQI ad the BIPOC communities. In essence, the author is promoting the importance of sponsors understanding that people are many things. It’s good to support many causes. Just because a company is celebrating Pride does not mean they are ignoring BLM.  This history class has helped me understand the crossover between important causes. For example Strayer briefly discussed the support of suffragettes and feminists for the abolition of slavery. Strayer also mentions a woman in Indonesia from a wealthy background that had dreams of opening Dutch style schools for Indonesians. She wanted to throw off the chains of oppression for women and for indigenous people. The intersection of causes makes sense because of empathy. Oppressed people see oppressed people. You could argue that when people are int the trenches of their own caus...

Coronavirus: Why Africans should take part in vaccine trials This article discusses the importance of a COVID-19 vaccine trial in various parts of Africa. The author points out the many reasons medical experts depart the continent, as well as the possible factors as to why trials are infrequent. Scientists developing a vaccine for COVID-19 think it is important to conduct trials in Africa, because so many people are without personal protective equipment, access to medical care, and the lifesaving equipment when they can get to a hospital or clinic. Because of the history of colonialism and exploitation, the idea of testing a vaccine on people in Africa was not well received. Add to that what the WHO has dubbed an “Infodemic” spreading misinformation about the pandemic, and you now have a continent of people who are suspicious as to why anyone is trying to help.  Prior to this course, I don’t know that I would have been able to make deep connections between, colonialism, the...

Hagia Sofia Mosque was originally a Catholic Cathedral under the Byzantine Empire. It was later turned into a mosque under the Ottoman Empire. The site subsequently became a UNESCO world heritage site. Recently, it was turned back into a mosque. President Erdogan referenced the listing of the building as a mosque on real estate documents as a reason for the move. The changing of the UNESCO site back into a mosque has been polarizing for people around the world, and highlights the Turkish government’s agenda of changing the country from a more secular state back into a more traditional representation of what was the Ottoman Empire.  “Islam will be elevated, if it will cease to be a political instrument” Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.  Currently, President Erdogan is using the Hagia Sofia Mosque as a political instrument. I don’t know that I would have been able to identify the puppeteering by the Turkish government that is going on in relation to the Hagia Sofia three months ago....

What's up history class! I hope you all had a really great weekend, and I'm looking forward to watching everyone's videos. I've enjoyed all of your blogs so much. Here's the link to my presentation.  Click here for MTV Cribs: Home Office Edition! 

The Cold War is over, but the impacts of it are not. During the Cold War Era, you were with the USSR or you were with The United States. Sure, there were countries like India that tried to remain neutral, and while officially it may have been true, no one really escaped the influence of the Cold War.  During the Cold War, this was the start of large scale proxy wars that are continued today in Syria, Afghanistan, Central and South America. It reflected the lessons learned from World War II about open warfare, but also the continued hostilities between East and West. The Cold War also tied the former USSR and the United States together forever. Look at the Moscow line that still exists between The Kremlin and The White House today.  Another significant topic was the change in the imaginary lines that make up many borders in Europe. The Cold War and subsequently the end changed the maps of Europe in a big way. The fall of the Iron Curtain, and the Berlin Wall were intense events...

Looking at the causes of World War I and II, the big causes were nationalism, imperialism, alliances, and appeasement. There's no simpler way to look at it. World War I largely led to Word War II. So first, let us examine WWI. First, there was the assassination of ArchDuke Franz Ferdinand. This mobilized countries against each other in war, and subsequently their allies. It was horrible; it was trench warfare. Europe hoped that it would never happen again. In the end, it was World War II that changed things though. Europeans were appeasing Hitler, and appeasing him and appeasing him. Obviously, this led to fierce alliances that would look very odd considered todays political climate.  If we are to look at what problems were solved though, imperialism is a great one. People all over the world saw that they could throw the shackles off. They saw that they were important players in this world. Next, I would say the formation of the United Nations was directly influenced by World War I...

              There have been many pandemics throughout history. HIV/AIDS is one that people don't often think about when talking about pandemics. Perhaps because it causes a chronic condition, it is often compared to diseases like cancer. HIV/AIDS is believed to fist have emerged in DRC in the 1920s. This belief stems from the fact that DRC has the most diversity of HIV strains in the world. Also, scientist were able to detect HIV-1M in a man in Kinshasa, DRC from 1956. This was the first confirmed case of HIV.               Chimps and other apes have long been carriers of SIV. The available genetic evidence points to chimps contracting two strains of SIV that became SIV-cpz. This virus is nearly identical to HIV-1 and is highly communicable to humans. Hunters in Central Africa most likely contracted SIV-cpz while hunting and consuming chimps. This type of activity is common even now in more rural area...

                                                   I was cleaning my kitchen on the morning of the fourth thinking about this blog. I have generally clear thoughts about the state of our union. For whatever reason, it felt difficult to articulate for this assignment. Then, Trump went to Mt. Rushmore and it felt much easier. During this pandemic, Americans gathered to see the president speak and watch fireworks over the monument. Sounds pretty great if you don’t think about it at all. That’s not really what these blurbs are all about, so let’s think about it. The U.S. President went to Mt. Rushmore, dragging a storm of MAGA supporters with him. They congregated on land that was taken from the indigenous population, negotiated through treaties to be given back to them, and then never returned. The president then gave a di...

Hey guys, hope you had a good weekend! Here is my response to Claudia's comments on the photo from page 803.  Claudia,  I think that Strayer was definitely looking to characterize the extend of the violence in the Congo. More than that though, I believe he was looking to put a face on it. It is one thing to hear about something, but it is another to really see it. I also believe that this is why he chose a picture of boys with healed amputations. There are many more graphic photos that Strayer could have chosen. I think that a viewer being able to stare at a photo and take it all in is important if you're portraying a deep message. The picture was perfectly scaled for the audience. 

1) What was The Great Dying? Cite examples and details from the historical record in your response. Could this be considered a genocide? Why/ why not?               The great dying refers to the rapid decline of the indigenous population in the Americas chiefly as a result of disease imported by Europeans. The Native Americans were isolated from Africa and Eurasia by geography, and as a result did not carry immunity to many diseases. At the start of European contact with the indigenous people it is estimated that the population of the Americas was 60-80 million. This number declined quickly by about 90 percent (Strayer, 2016, p. 558-559). I would not consider this a genocide. I don’t know that the Europeans had an understanding that the illnesses they brought to the Americas would impact the native population differently than it did themselves. I think for the term genocide to be applied there needs to be intent.  ...

             The acceptance and receipt of European sciences in Asian civilizations during the early modern era was sporadic. Some sciences were embraced while others were widely ignored. An excellent example is the excitement over European techniques derived from Jesuits regarding astronomical predictions and observations such as eclipses. The Qing dynasty also expressed great interest in cartography techniques, and improving the calendar. For the most part, China did not care about Western Medicine at all.               Some reasons for this relate to the ability of Chinese scientists to relate European breakthroughs to their country’s own accomplishments. A prime example of this is European mathematics. Some Chinese mathematicians had to convince their cohorts that European math was really based upon Chinese math, and for this reason it was acceptable to integrate their techniques...

Distributing moral responsibility for the Atlantic Slave trade is a complex task. I believe it is a task in which historians play an important role. That is not to say that historians should play the only role. Historians help to provide facts as well as context to our past.    It is an unfortunate fact that slavery has been a part of human history going back to some early gathering and hunting societies (Strayer, 2016, p.622). That said, The Atlantic Slave trade was involved in horrors of humanity not previously seen on that scale in slavery. Who is to blame?    Should we blame the Mediterranean world for introducing Europe to sugar? No, I don’t think we’ve found a viable scapegoat there. Perhaps blame can be placed on the Ottoman Turks for stifling the flow of Slavic-speaking peoples from the black sea? After all, Slav is the basis for the word slave in many European languages (Strayer, 2016, p.623). No, I don’t think that’s it either.     Maybe we c...

New Zealand is home to the Maori. The Maori are famous for the Haka and wicked face tattoos. Side story, when my dad was a Green Beret in the army he lived in a Maori area for a period of time. Towards the end of his time there, they offered to give him a traditional tattoo. He had to decline because he thought the army wouldn’t care how significant an honor it was, all they would see was an unauthorized tattoo.  Back to the point, what was happening in New Zealand in the Early Modern Era? The answer is a lot, because New Zealand had only just been discovered and inhabited in 1200 or 1300 C.E.! Polynesian navigators found their way to New Zealand, and were the only people there until the Dutch arrived in 1642. The Dutch really got around in the Early Modern Era.  The Dutch arrival to the area, also gave birth to the name of the current country. New Zealand comes from the Dutch name NIEUW Zealand. Prior this, the polynesian population called the area, well apparently the intern...

The Mongols had a bad wrap Pro:  The Mongols created a vast trade network that was also utilized for sending messages. The Mongols promoted incoming trade by offering merchants markups on their goods as well as tax breaks. Additionally, merchants were afforded protection along the trade routes. This network encouraged trade between a greater area of Europe and Asia than had occurred previously, and arguably influenced the trade relations that we see today.  Mongols left almost nothing in written word for historians. Nearly everything we know about Mongols is written from the perspective of the people they conquered, or based upon Archaeology. In the end, the Mongols were beaten back by the agrarian societies and, the victors wrote history. It is not difficult to understand how they may have been written in a harsher light. Look at how the impact of Russian rhetoric against one of their greatest leaders influenced how he was viewed in Mongolia until as late as the ...

         Christendom is the worldwide society of Christians. In a historical sense, it refers to the rise of Christianity as a geopolitical power during the medieval and early modern period, primarily in Europe.          Christianity was not always the powerhouse religion of Europe. Prior to the 7 th century A.D. Christianity had spread throughout Eurasia and Africa. Sometime after the death of Muhammad, Christianity contracted. Large Muslim conquests played a huge role in this. Although Muslim rulers often allowed Christians to practice their religion, they were considered second-class citizens. Another possible reason for conquered people converting to Islam was the prestige of the conquering people. Islam carried an air of success to these regions.  An easy way of looking at it is an association with the fall of Rome.           Obviously this...

Oliver, I challenge you! This makes me feel a little bit like  Pokemon trainer.  The period of rebirth in China from approximately 1000 to 1500 A.D. was not as significant as the Renaissance period in Europe. This is not to say that this referenced period of time in China was not significant. It is difficult to stand up to the many leaps in knowledge, art and generally the humanities that occurred in Europe. In particular, the major productions of art standout to me, such as: Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Ceiling Raphael’s Frescos  The Last Supper The Mona Lisa These works of art are still inspiring people today. The Vitruvian Man, while not specifically meant as art became a great model for proportion in art and architecture. Until this day, it is still considered a great artistic achievement to create with these proportions.  Art was not just a pastime for the elite in the Renaissance. Look at Da Vinci. He was the ill...