Exam #3 Essay
1. The book’s introduction sets forth the idea that the people living at the turn of the Christian millennium were fully expecting Christ to return very soon, making the days in which they lived the end times, or the time before the apocalypse. Noting the occurrences of events such as meteors, famines, and war, the Christian view of the apocalypse was interpreted, in view of these portentous omens. Meanwhile, as other civilizations followed their own calendars, the approach of the Christian millennium was, to them, a rather arbitrary point of time. However, the introduction points out that these other civilizations did have their own concerns at that time, citing Muslim anticipation of the century’s redeemer or the Vikings viewing their war against Christianity as the advent of Ragnarok, their version of the apocalypse.
Some of the articles support the theme developed in the introduction. The very first article is entitled, Awaiting the Apocalypse, which clearly shows its adherence to the theme by providing the prevailing Christian sentiments as time converged upon the year 1000. Iceland’s Conversion to Christianity, on the other hand, makes no note of any impending doom at all, other than a possible civil war that might have developed if an agreement could not be reached regarding whether or not the country should become Christianized. Another article that could have tied into the apocalyptic theme, but did not, is Battles between the Spanish Christians and Muslims. This very topic was outlined in the introduction as a setting for apocalyptic battle, but the author of this article was not interested in developing the topic. Using these three articles as representative examples, the book does, at times, develop the themes introduced in the introduction, but the articles are not intended to specifically support that interpretation of millennial history.
2. As previously mentioned, the book’s first article, about the supposedly impending doom of the world, making the article immediately interesting. The author takes excerpts from a millennial writer’s narration about the omens that he saw as signaling the coming of the apocalypse. Following the recounting of a personal vision of Satan, the author excerpted the narrator’s description of the “second wave of millennialism, which corresponded to the millennial anniversary of Jesus’ ascension into Heaven. The article concludes with a discussion of another man’s sermon, which was an account of the Anti-Christ.
The Pope’s call for the first crusade was another interesting article. The author gives a quick summary of Urban II’s message. He notes that the Byzantine emperor had come to Urban and revealed his plight, asking for assistance. After several months of careful deliberation, Urban announced the need for Christian Europe to rise up in a righteous wrath against “God’s enemies.” Promising absolution and remission of the sins of anyone who died fighting for God, Urban instilled enthusiasm in his audience. The enthusiasm rapidly spread throughout Europe, according to the article.
The article about the contributions of printing to literacy and education in Song China is interesting, as it presents an unfamiliar aspect of Chinese history. The author first presents the development of the printing press, then begins to explain some of the consequences of its development. Among the important developments was increased literacy, which led to other developments. Having more literate people allowed a larger group of people to attempt the civil service exams. Also, with the existence of more literate people and the means by which to more readily propagate ideas, government reforms were possibly expedited as a result of pressure from more radical groups who, without a literate base of support, likely would have been ineffective in pressuring reform. In all of these ways, the advent of the printing press greatly impacted the development of Chinese society.
Finally, the article covering Anasazi cannibalism is intriguing, by the mere mention of cannibalism. One scholar, Christy Turner, has posited a theory that the Anasazi practiced some form of cannibalism, which could have led to their sudden disappearance. Turner’s theory quickly came under fire from other scholars, who seem to have supported any theory other than cannibalism to explain the disappearance. The author notes that cannibalism is a taboo subject, which does not bear investigation. Instead, he says, there seems to be a popular view of Native Americans as being always peaceful and spiritual, with the violent incidents having a tendency to be downplayed. The conclusion of the article asserts that this debate will probably not be decided upon for quite some time.
3. In a future writing of the 20th century, as it stands currently as the chronological aspect of the century is over, the most obvious emphasis would be placed upon the stark brutality of the century. Warfare has been by far the most prominent human activity of the last 100 years, and future texts would likely recall that fact. Human progress did take giant leaps forward, though, when people were not slaughtering each other by the millions. Modern medicine had its birth in the 20th century, along with many important scientific discoveries that have served to divide the 20th century from any previous age. It seems from the current vantage that the 20th century will rank in history as one of humanity’s most scientifically progressive eras, possibly even more significant than the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century. Among the achievements of the 20th century were the initiation of space programs, which will certainly play a role in the future development of humanity. Also, a beginning awareness of the limitations of the human condition on Earth could possibly have sparked some future revision on the way people interact with the planet, better preserving it, or at least no longer destroying it. Finally, to close the 20th century, it will be seen that states began the process of globalization, moving increasingly from a multitudinous national division of the world’s population to a more integrated global society. Instead of global government, the emergence of global governance will be seen to have begun development at the close of the 20th century.
Table of Contents:
1. End of the 19th century: Science and World War I
2. Growth and Fall of World Economies
3. Totalitarianism and War: WWII
4. New World Order: Military Dominance and Stalemate
5. Changing the Order: A New Era in Global Society