World History Final Quiz

Not only am I amazed that I was able to read an entire history book in one semester, but I have to say that I’ve also learned so much.  I haven’t opened up a history book for over 30 years and before this class, could not tell you anything about it. Yes, it was that interesting….   So in a sense, this was like taking history for the very first time.

Although it felt like the chapters would never end, because of the reading tied in with the class discussions and activities, over the course of the semester I gained a solid base of understanding of the different eras in time.  From the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Ancient, Classical and Modern, and although many aspects of the particular eras have changed, so many things remained the same.  It’s like history repeating itself.  I liked how Professor Andrews compared and contrasted the key points in each era and our discussions about how each developed from one to the next. 

There were some topics that I was more passionate about;  such as the treatment of women and how even though we as a society have become so much more advanced; technology and otherwise, why not socially; why have we not learned to treat each other with more respect and dignity..  

Learning about the Muslim world and the Mongols made me realize just how much influence and power a few people can have over thousands.  And how people centuries ago used any and all means possible to achieve victory… I guess that hasn’t changed though.    Oh yeah, and Allah’s great vision for equality and respect for men and women.. sure, unless the women are disobedient, then you can beat them.   

I think I connected most to the Modern era, that’s probably because it was the most familiar to me.  In the last few chapters, I was really intrigued to learn about the Christmas truce of WWI.  I still can’t get over how an army of men can set aside all the emotional and physical effects of war, celebrate the holiday as though they were with family and then jump right back to killing each other.  Pretty amazing, what’s more, I would have never known that if I hadn’t taken this course.  `And then the rest of the chapters just got depressing; reading about the Great Depression, WWII, and the reign of Hitler. 

The class activities were great.  I really enjoyed when the class role played the EPIC of Gilgamesh.  I liked how the class was split up and acted out the different scenes.  This gave us the opportunity to have fun and learn from eachohter.  When we wrapped it all up at the end, the transition of the Mesopotamians from beast to civilization all made sense!  I also really enjoyed the class discussions; they made learning the course material interactive; informative; and fun.

Thank you Professor Andrews and classmates !