Who Were They, Anyways? - A Survey of World History - Part 1

From the earliest of civilizations to the heights of European culture and learning during the Renaissance, and on to the quest for exploration and discovery of new worlds, the story of humanity is a beautiful struggle culminating in who we have become today.  History captures the stories of rivals, allies, short-falls and triumphs.  In this high school level course, we will examine the prominent cultures ancient world, the struggles through the middle ages and the birth of a new society with the Reformation and Renaissance.  

This is the first part of a two-part class to inspect the cultures, people, struggles and victories experienced from the ancient civilizations of to the "rebirth" of society during the Renaissance.    This class will be filled with multimedia assignments, discussions, journal assignments and assessments along the way to gauge comprehension.  Completion of Part 1 and Part 2 of this course will be equivalent to an entire year of High School World History.  Assignments will be made through the use of the Outschool classroom as well as Nearpod, GimKit, Flipgrid and NewsELA.  We will meet weekly via Zoom on Outschool to discuss homework and delve in to the topics being learned.  Upon parental request grades for assignments can be tracked and provided for your homeschool records.   Topics discussed will be as follows: 

Part 1:
Week 1- Early Civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, Bantu and Olmecs – We will compare and contrast the religion, culture, economics, politics and technologies of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian as well as the societies of India and China.  We will explore the development of monotheism among the Hebrew people and compare and contrast it with the polytheistic societies that we also study.  Students will map and track the migration of the Bantu peoples across Africa and of the Olmec people of Central America.  We will explore and discuss how their expansion and movements lead to the development of settled agricultural societies.  

Week 2 - Empires of India and China - We will examine the development of the civilizations of the Maurya and Gupta Empires of India and the development of the Zhou, Qin and Han Dynasties of China.  We will inspect the impact of the development of Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism on India and China.  We will discuss how the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean Trade routes impacted the movement of people and ideas.  

Week 3 - Rise and Fall of Greece – The structure and the origin of the Greek polis will be examined along with their culture, religion, politics and the technology. The ideas of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle will be examined along with their impact, even to present day.  

Week 4 - Rise and Fall of Roman Civilization – The development, climax and fall of the Roman empire will be discussed and analyzed to identify the factors that lead to its demise.  We will explore the culture, religion, politics and the long enduring technology that the Romans brilliantly invented.  The lives and contributions of Alexander the Great, Julius Cesar and Augustus Cesar will be explored.  

Week 5 - Development of the Byzantine and Mongol Empires – Justinian and Theodora helped to birth the great Byzantine empire.  We will discuss the connections between the Roman and Byzantine empires and will examine them along with the impact Byzantium had on Kiev, Moscow and the Russian Empire.  We will learn about the Great Schism of 1054 and follow the decline of Byzantium and the ultimate fall of Constantinople in 1453.  We will also explore the impact of Chenggis Khan and the Mongols on Russia, China and the Middle East

Week 6 - Rise of Islam and Its Impact – We will analyze the origins of Islam and the development of the Islamic Empire between 600 AD and 1300 AD.  This will include the reasons for the split of the Suni and Shi’a Muslims along with the impact of the Muslim trade routes to India, China, Europe and Africa. We will explore the amazing contributions made by Islamic scholars in the areas of science, math and geography.  We will also compare and contrast the relationships between Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  

Week 7 - Rise and Fall of Early African Civilizations – We will track the development and decline of the Sudanic kingdoms of Ghana, Mali and Songhai.  This will include the role Sundaita played and follow Mansa Musa as he made his pilgrimage to Mecca.  We will see how the trade cities of the Swahili were established and follow the trans-Saharan trading networks as they moved gold and precious commodities.  We will also discuss the blending of the traditional African beliefs with the new ideas of Islam and Christianity.  

Week 8 - Medieval Europe: Manorial life, Plagues and Crusades – Life on the manor was rather different than the life we are used to today.  We will explore the feudalistic relationships along with the daily lives and roles of peasants and feudal monarchs.  We will learn of the life and impact of Charlemagne and how Christianity and the church impacted medieval society.  We will follow the impact of the Bubonic Plague and learn of the causes and impacts of the Crusades on the Islamic World and Europe.  

Week 9 - - Examining the Rise and Fall of Mayan, Aztec and Inca Empires – The indigenous people of Central America were fascinating people! We will discover their rich culture including their religion, economics, politics and technologies.  We will compare and contrast the societies to one another as well as with the other civilizations we have studied up to this point.  We will follow the rise and fall of each of these empires.  

Week 10 - Renaissance and Reformation – The period of the Renaissance and the Reformation changed the face, shape and direction of society in major ways.  We will examine the social, economic and political changes of the time as well as the artistic and scientific achievements that catapulted society from the dark ages to who we have become today.  We will analyze the impact of the invention of the printing press, the Protestant Reformation as well as the English and Counter Reformations.  

Week 11 - Transformation in Asia - how the Tokugawa Shogunate, Qing and Ming Dynasties 
shaped Asia – We will follow the transformation of the Japanese and Chinese societies through the Tokugawa Shogunate as well as the Qing and Ming Dynasties.  We will look at the social structures of each society and discuss how they have left a lasting impact on the peoples here.  

Week 12 - Development of the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal Empires – We will discuss the development of the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires including the geographic expanse of them as well as cultural contributions and how they impacted much of the transformation of Europe and Asia.  

Part 2 will cover:
Week 1 - Age of Exploration - Americas, Africa and Asia – With the developments of technologies during the Renaissance combined with man’s increasing desire to expand his boundaries the Age of Exploration sparked.  We will follow some of the great explorers of the time as they find new pathways to what they believe are new lands, but in fact were home to many indigenous peoples.  We will examine the roles of these explorers and conquistadores as they invade and conquer lands in the name of their crown.  We will analyze the impact of these expansions both on the indigenous peoples as well as the global economic and cultural constructs.  We will examine the effects of the Columbian Exchange as well as the Transatlantic Slave Trade.  This will include the discussion of the technologies that made this happen as well as the greed that feed these desires.  

Week 2 - Age of Reason – As man has sought further answers to how and why our world works as it does, many great men have laid the foundation for the theories and scientific laws that we function according to today.  We will examine the scientific contributions of Galileo, Kepler and Newton – discussing how their discoveries shaped European worldview.  We will also discuss the major Enlightenment ideas from writings of Locke, Voltaire and Rousseau and how they works impacted politics and society.  

Week 3 - Age of Revolutions – With new ideas flowing to the people, they begin to question practices of their governments.  Disgruntled feelings swell, spurring desire for change.  We will examine the thoughts of absolutism seen with many of the monarchies of the time and specifically the reigns of Louis XIV and Tsar Peter the Great.  We will delve into the causes and outcomes of the revolutions in England (1689), the United States (1776), France (1789), Haiti (1791) and Latin America (1808-1825).  We will discuss Napoleon’s rise to power as well as the geographic reasons for his defeat and how France was impacted by this.  

Week 4 - Industrialism, Urbanism and the spark of Communism – The human spirit continues to seek better ways to do things, sparking grand ideas and transformations of established systems.  We will follow the process and the impact of industrialization in Great Britain, the United States, Germany and Japan in particular.  The ideas of Adam Smith and Karl Marx will be explored in the impact they had politically and economically on society.  These discussions will also examine the social impact these transformations had on women and children.  

Week 5 - Rise of Nationalism and Imperialism – Oftentimes with change and revolution come desires to expand beyond one’s borders.  We will compare the desires of Germany’s Otto von Bismarck and Japan during the Meiji Restoration as they sought to expand their empires.  We will observe the impact imperialism had on Africa and Asia as well as the anti-imperial movements such as the Opium Wars, Boxer Rebellion and the Indian Revolt of 1857.  

Week 6 – The Great War – The house of cards eventually comes crashing down with all of the secret alliances and the militarism.  The nationalistic pride and the imperialistic aspirations cause the explosion of the Great War.  We will discuss the causes of the war along with the major decisions and the conditions faced by the soldiers.  We will discuss the impact this made on the Global economy as well as the destabilization of Europe as the great empires collapsed.   

Week 7 - Rise of Totalitarianism – As the world attempts to put itself back together after the Great War, things will be done differently.  We will discuss the Russian Revolution and the rise of totalitarianism and fascism across Europe and Asia.  The stage will be set rather quickly for the second round.  We will analyze the aggression and conflict that will lead into World War II including the violations of treaties and invasions of lands such as Ethiopia, the Spanish Civil War the Rape of Nanjing in China and the violation of the Treaty of Versailles by Germany.  

Week 8 – WWII – As the world is thrust into the second World War, we will examine the major conflicts and the outcomes that shaped the direction of the war.  We will discuss the ideologies and policies that lead to the horror of the Holocaust.  The diplomatic relations that were developed leading to the close of the war will be examined and the policies that were put in place after the war will be analyzed.  

Week 9 - Cold War, Space Race and Political Reform – The Second World War forever changed some of the social, political and economic aspects of the global relations.  In this lesson we will analyze the political and social climate following the close of the war, all the way up to 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall.  We will discuss the arms race and the global implications this had.  The state of Israeli and the Arab-Israeli conflict will be discussed as well as the rise of nationalism and revolutionary movements across Asia, including the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Opposition movements like the anti-apartheid and Tiananmen Square will also be analyzed.  

Week 10 - Cultural Reform in a Modern Era: Fall of the USSR and the rise of terrorism – With cultural movements and national reforms comes conflict, especially amongst ethnic groups.  We will examine the causes and outcomes of the Pan-African, Pan-Arabism and the conflicts in Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as Rwanda.  Included in this discussion will also be the reforms of Khruschev and Gorbachev leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union.  

Week 11 - Globalization of the Modern World – As the modern world has progressed, new technologies launched and people continue to move all about the globe the cultures and peoples have become more and more entwined.  We will analyze the impacts this has had on the global economy as well as the political connections that have been made.  We will delve ito various global entities such as the United Nations, OPEC and the World Trade Organization to understand how this global system ebbs and flows.  This will also include understanding how governments cooperate with one another to create treaties and how humans are trying to minimize their impact on the environment.