Chapter 24: pgs 747-755

Finally the last element that had an effect on globalization was the environmental impact we have had on our planet. During the nineteenth century there was a huge economic growth especially with an increase in population and the demand for fusel fuel and natural gases. Because of some any advancements on technology and science we were able to grow so quickly economically. As a result there was an extreme increase in air pollution.  People then began to take action. They were joining environmentalist groups and making change because of what was happening to the planet. 

Chapter 24: pgs 740-747

Religion is another thing that was affected by globalization. As globalization increased religion became less dominate and some of it ideals are less dominate. Because of issues that arose there was a response known as fundamentalism. Fundamentalism was a religious response. The term was developed because the science that was brought into religion. The American Fundamentalist would fight for religious rights. The Muslims were shocked and appalled by our culture here in the United States. As a result Muslims began to strictly follow their religion. Those in Islam because so dedicated to their religion that they would fight to over throw any power that presented any ideas from the Western world.  “Islamic revolutionaries also took aim at hostile foreign powers.” There has also been other things besides religion that have responded because of globalization. 

Chapter 24: pgs 734-739

Another part of globalization was liberation and feminist movements. In 1968 there was a movement that was sought out to challenge communist rule in the Soviet Union and it was call “Prague Spring”.  Also another term that developed was the “third world”.  This term refers to countries that have broken free from colonial rule. Women are now stepping up and they are taking control. They are doing things that are not accepted and taking action. Woman liberation was what most did. They would stand firm on what they believed and so that they were just as good as men. This was a little easier for women in the western world to take action then it was for those who are in Africa, Asia, and in Latin America. Most women movements were about gaining rights to legally divorce and have custody of their children. One of the greatest achievements was when women’s rights were recognized at a national level. 

Chapter 24: pgs 723-734

Chapter 24 is about the increase in globalization. Since the 1990s there are been a significantly increase in the communication and globalization of people that are greatly distant. Globalization has both benefited the world economy and it has also have a slight negative affect on the world economy. Technology has really helped the global economy by allowing those in different countries communicate, and it helped each country’s economy expand. In some ways it helped create jobs for those who are in developing countries but unfortunately it has created jobs that have bad working conditions and there are young women who are used as sex workers. What I found surprising was that globalization has affected some countries negatively by worsening the gap between the poor and wealthy. I thought that I would have helped lessen the gap. “Economic globalization has generated inequalities not only at the global level and among developing countries, but also within individual nations, rich and poor alike” (pg 730). Lastly it is not surprising that people think that the United States “ an American Empire” is the face of globalization.  

Article: Putin's Challenge

What is known as the first modern genocides is the mass killing of the Circassians. Yet the Russians do not believe a genocide has happened. It seems like the Russian government wants to believe that the Circassians did not exist at all. Also the Muslims did not want to accept them even though there were involved in the history of Islam and the Circassians were proud to be Muslim. I feel like this unfair for the Circassians because they “stressed honor, hospitality, respect for elders, egalitarianism and liberty.” In which I feel like these traits are important to have no matter where you are from. Now Russia is trying to say sorry to the Circassians by rebuilding trust with them and allowing those who are still alive and survived the massacre to return to their homeland. 

Dolores Huerta

Listening to the guest speaker, Dolores Huerta, was very moving. It was inspiring to listening her and hear about her experience and what she was fighting for. I was surprised that I would agree and some of the things that she said. I found it interesting that she would work with those who were not educated and could not speak English and teach them about the rights and power that they have because they are in a union. This then brings me to the part where she talks about labor unions and how people always thing that they are bad even though labor unions were the ones that fought for the minimum wage, workers’ rights, health insurance for workers, and education. Labor unions are for the working class. I found it very important that she is informing people instead of just telling them what they should do. Lastly she made an important point that that people will not stop immigrating to the United States because people are not satisified with their government. So as a result we as a nation need to help rebuild other countries economy instead of having corporations come in and take over. 

Chapter 23

Chapter 23 was mainly about Africa and the Middle East becoming independent and no longer ruled by colonies. What really stood out to me in the reading was that it took Africa a lot longer to become independent than India. This because there was a fear and feeling of life being jeopardized if the black majority took over to rule. Also there was an extreme dependence on the white colonies that had control over Africa. Yet when Africa finally was able to try to become independent there was a group of educated middle-class civilized men who started the movement. At first they used the similar ideas that Gaudi used in order for India to become independent. Unfortunately that did not work not using violence. Another part that I found interesting was that when the colonies became independent they generally did not form a democracy as their government. Instead there were many types of governments that formed instead. Lastly in Turkey it was shocking to find out there were reforms that took place long before they did in Europe. For example woman were able to have rights and the traditions were able to change quickly and the woman were able to a little control.

Chapter 22 pg 675-687

After the cold war took place the nuclear race began. It was a race between countries to see you could produce the most deadly and greatest amount of nuclear weapons. The first to have a monopoly over the nuclear weapons was the United States after World War II. Soon after that the Soviet Union wanted in on the race. Because the United States and the Soviet Union had the nuclear weapons, they became the two super powers of the world. People knew that since they had these weapons they did not want to start a war with them because the United States and the Soviet Union could destroy an entire major city with just one bomb. The United States became the super power of the West after World War II. After the cold war and World War II the Soviet Union became a super power for the communist world because of their military forces that they had. After the 1970s the ideals of communism slowly changed and people were abandoning those ideas and converting to the western ideas. In China there is still communism but they are changing their practices and taking over some of the ways of the Western societies. China became a capitalist economy while keeping their communist ideals.  

Living Justice

In the second part of the reading of Living Justice, the section about “rights of workers and support for labor unions” I felt was important. The church wanted better working condition for workers and they dedicated some time in order to have that happen. It is said that they there were ahead of their time with advocating and creating better labor condition for workers. There are some aspects of having labor unions that are good and there are some that are bad. Unfortunately labor unions will cause an increase in wages and there is always the threat of going on strike. Yet even though there may be an increase in wages there are also better working conditions which I feel is just as important. Another good aspect of labor unions is that they allow people to come together in order to voice their opinion which will allow them to have a greater power instead of just one person trying to make a difference. Even still today labor unions are looked upon negatively. People only look at one side of what labor unions or even just the consequences of work. No matter what type of work there people go into, labor unions or they work for some company, there will always be both positive and negative sides of working where they work.

Chapter 22: pgs 659-674

In chapter 22 the author discusses the rise and fall of the communism. After World War I and the struggle Russia had, ideas of communism began to take place. What was surprising was that Russia became a communist nation in a year.  Lenin was the one who believed that it was time and ready for Russia to have a socialist revolution. Yet a year later there was a 3 year war that took place which was very brutal. About thirty years after the revolution that took place in Russia, communism began to enter the Chinese society.  In China it was more of a struggle for communism to take over. In order for communism to grow in China a group formed known as the Chinese Communist Party and even though they started out small, after some time there group kept on growing and growing. One of the first issues that arose from the communist parties was that of feminism. Another issue that came up was the redistribution of land to the peasants. Now peasants were able own their own property but that property came from wealthy landlords’ estates. A main factor to end poverty in the communist nations was to build up their industrial development. 

Chapter 21

Now that Europeans that taken over many different parts of the world, there is now conflicts between the colonized countries. The first war the broke out was the World War I, which is also known as the “Great War”. Because of the Great War the ideal of “war socialism” developed. This is because of all of the propaganda campaigns.  It is not surprising that because of the Great War there was changes that took place after. Generally after there is a war changes happen since there is either a new power that takes over or there was many people that were killed and the war hurt the country’s economy. As a result of the Great War the United States then became a global power, but it did lead to the great depression. Because of the great depression it leads to hard ship. As a result of financial issues it leads to people committing suicide. I found it interesting that “the Great Depression sharply challenged the governments of capitalist countries which generally had believed that the economy would regulate itself through the mark” (pg 635). Also because of World War I, there was conflict in other countries like in Germany. This is because of new powers, Britain, France, and the United States. Then there was World War II that happened shortly after the Great War. This was more of a global war. It first began solely in Asia before the United States or Europeans became involved.  Because of World War II, there was the formation and rise of the Soviet Union and the Communist world. There were a few factors that helped the recovery of Europe. Since they created the industrial society there were able to use their habits of work in order to help their economy. Also the Western European countries were that they wanted “prolonged peace and a general prosperity”. Lastly the Europeans have the United States as their “reservoir of military man power, economic resources and political leadership for the west.” 

Living Justice

In the reading, Living Justice, it talks about the nine themes of the Catholic social teaching. The first teaching is about the dignity of every person and human rights. I found this interesting and I also agree with the statement. It says that “the picture of human life is that all humans are made in the image and likeness of God.” It then goes on to explain that everyone deserves to live a life with “care and attention” even if they have done crimes and are in prison or it they have a disease. Every one “deserve to be treated with inalienable respect as children of God.” Yet I do not agree with the Church’s ideals of pro-life, especially with abortions. This is because there are in some situations people should have the option to have an abortion say if they were raped or if something happened and they are not financially ready and can not afford a baby. In some situations accidents happen sometimes when you are not ready to have a baby and in others like if a woman is raped it should be her decision if she would like to keep the baby or not. I also agree that human dignity very important in order to have equality. I feel like it is important for the Catholic tradition should threat everyone equally. The reading then continues with that human rights is a way to express human dignity. Another theme of the Catholic social teaching is colonialism and economic development.

Chapter 20 pgs. 607-614

In the second half of chapter 20 the author discusses the cultural change in Africa and Asia because of their exposure to European culture. One of the changes was education. Education would allow them to get better-paying jobs, and they did not have to live under the European control. People would even start to be like the Europeans like they would dress, speak the language, and even build European style houses. Those who were educated now believed that they were superior of those who were not. Another change that took place was religion. There was a large spread of Christianity throughout New Zealand, the Pacific islands, and non-Muslim Africa. There was a great liking to Christianity. Many people became attracted to the new faith. Lastly the cultural change that took place was the recognition of race and ethnicity. This is because of the Europeans racism. Different countries acknowledge that they have a different history then the Europeans and culture resulting in their own history. The Africans were able to find the ethnic identities useful, especially in separating groups by language in fast growing urban areas. 

Chapter 20 pgs. 589-606

In this chapter Strayer discusses the second wave of the European Conquest of land. During this conquest they focused on taking over Asia and Africa. This conquest was because of the industrial Revolution in which it was able to create military and economic power for the Europeans. It was not surprising that the Europeans had military advantages like guns and they used that power to take over other countries and societies that did not have that of strong weapons or any guns at all. Unfortunately when Europeans took over countries they lost political sovereignty and freedom of action. This also especially hurt small societies. These types of societies would lose their land, homes, life, cattle, and crops. Also this new wave of conquest resulted in a large effect on the way the people worked. Instead of having everything handmade there was not machines in factories that would do the work. Also European’s financed commercial firms took over the trade that Africans and Asian merchants were in charge of. Lastly peasants had to use at least 20% of their land for cash crops in order to pay for their tax obligation and as a result of this many became in debt because they could not meet their tax obligations. 

2-20-13 Reading

The ideas and development of the class systems and different types of classes has evolved over time. I found it interesting that because of the growth of different classes like the bourgeoisie. Also helped the growth of the market, commerce and it even increased a country's capital. After the bourgeoisie developed man people wanted to be a bourgeoisie. This is because they are considered people that rule. They would rule over towns, create large cities and as a result everyone wanted to hat power. "The bourgeoisie, during its rule of scarce one hundred years, has created more massive and more colossal productive forces than have all proceeding generations together " In other words the bourgeoisie were built up on productions and exchange. Because of the bourgeoisie the proletariat are formed. They developed because they struggled to complete with the bourgeoisie. Unlike the bourgeoisie the proletariat were consider as those who were not wealthy and or those who were peasants. As time grew on they became stronger as a group as their numbers increased ad they became concentrated in greater masses. It was interesting to learn that the civil wars that developed over time in societies were because the proletariat wanted to overthrow the bourgeoisie.

Chapter 18: Pgs. 527-556

The next revolution that took place was the industrial revolution. This revolution first took place in Europe. It was socking to learn that the industrial revolution both destroyed and created the British society. I was surprised to learn that industrial revolution destroyed society. This is because I only heard about all of the good things that came out of the industrial revolution and how it helped the economy of the British. The industrial revolution changed the old ways and tradition of British society. As a result they abandoned their old way of living and then created a new way of living for themselves. One think that was good about the industrial revolution was that the middle classes were able to grow and become wealthy. The middle class switched roles. The middle class now is made up of businessmen, doctors, lawyer, engineers, teachers, scientist and many other times of people. After the industrial revolution took place in Britain, it soon spread to other nations like the United States and Russia. The United States created the technique of mass production with the Model T. They were successful because Henry Ford created the assembly line. This was a great advancement during the industrial revolution. 

Chapter 17: Pgs. 507-525

The Spanish American revolution was a revolution that came much after the North America, France, and Haiti revolutions. I found this revolution interesting because it was similar to the American Revolution but at the same time completely different. They really did not have a local self-government and their movement for independence was not done quickly just like American Revolution, but they did have a strong separation of classes. As a result they took longer because of the conflict and dividing of classes, race, and religion. Unlike other revolutions what really drove the Spanish American revolution and the fight for independence was the peasants’ drive from hunger and high food prices. Another part of the chapter that I found interesting was about the abolition of slavery.  Because of the enlightenment thinkers people started to see that slavery took away people’s natural rights and equality. What is shocking but not surprising is that after slavery was abolished people still participated in the slave trade even though it was illegal. Also even today there is still slavery even though it is supposed to be illegal. Now a day it is just called by a different name instead of slavery. Also those who were once slaves and are now free they were still not completely free because of the restrictions that was put on them. 

SND Article

The foundresses of the Sisters of Notre Dame were Francoise Blin de Bourdon and Julie Billiart. Even though they many have come from two different social classes they both shared the love for helping people. Francoise came for a family of aristocrats and lived on estates with her grandparents. She was privilege with able to have a high education. When she was young she would come home and help her grandmother when she went to the village to help other families that were not as wealth as they were. Her grandmother would be remedies for those who were sick and food. Francoise then learned the importance of good nutrition. After Francoise reached her twenties she realized that she did not want to marry since during that time she is seeing he sibling getting married and moving away from home. Instead she decides that she wants to preserve her virginity. At St. Ursula, where she went to school, De Merici’s revolutionary vision was to allow the nuns to have a life and choose to keep their virginity and not have to be locked away. He wanted to allow them to have the freedom to explore life and enjoy it. I felt like this was very important and in the right step for change. This is the first time there is a thought to allow nuns to have that type of freedom. Later in her life she continues with helping others especially those who are of old age like her grandparents and parents. Unfortunately in her 20s or 30s she and part of her family was in prisoned.

            Unlike Francoise, Julie Billiart did not grow up in an aristocratic family, instead she was considered as a third estate. She was able to have some educations because her father owned a store and farm land. As a result she would then take time to help others like Francoise, but she should teach other students and educate them. She felt that it was important to give them an equal opportunity. Julie was able to go to school until her father’s shop was broken into and all of the valuable goods were stolen. As a result unfortunately Julie would then have to end her schooling and go and work on the farm. Yet she still found the time in order to teach those who were younger and did not have the opportunity to go to school like she did. In her twenties she was stresses and came down with a disease. She would probably be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Unfortunately at that time doctors would cure others by using leaches and as a result she became paralyzed from the waist down. Yet that still did not stop her from making a different.

            It wasn’t until 1794 when both Francoise and Julie met. After Francoise was released from prison she came and lived at her brothers. She then took Julie in her care at that time while renting out rooms. As a pair they were inspired to co-find the new order of the Sisters of Notre Dame. This is because of their passion to help others that were less fortunate as they were. 

Pgs: 504-507

The French revolution came shortly after the American Revolution. At this time the American Revolution what inspirational for the French enforce a change. After the American Revolution the French were on the verge of bankruptcy and when they saw the reforms that took place in the Americans they wanted to follow what the Americans did. Yet the French Revolution was much different the Americans. The French Revolution was started because of conflict in the French society. There became an issue in the social hierarchy because of the tax that was put into place. The main purpose of the tax was to tax those that were wealthy and limit the amount of tax that was placed on the poor. But that was not the case. Those who were wealthy did not want to pay the tax and refused. As a result the burden was place on the poor. This revolution “marked new stage in revolutionary violence.” This was known as the Terror. What I found interesting is that the French wanted to start from the beginning. Unlike the Americans who took the ideas of the British and changed them, the French want to start from scratch. As a result streets received new names, monuments were destroyed, there were no more tiles, and people considered one another as citizens. This was a huge change for the French and the right step in the right directions for them. 

Chapter 17: Pgs. 491-504

In this next part of the book, the author talks about the different revolutions that evolved and were created because of the scientific revolution. I was surprised to learn that many do not see Europe’s growth as a great achievement.  The book describes their achievement of creating the new world as more like luck. This is because when they took over the new world from the natives Europe had the diseases that they were immune to and the natives were not. Also Europe did not create the scientific revolution on their own they had help from the Islamics. The rise of the Europe’s power globally did not just happen by themselves but with help from other nations. Another thing that I found interesting was that the revolutions that came after the scientific revolution, happened because the scientific revolution. For example the American revolutions came shortly after it. This revolution was important because it was about creating change in the government or political system. What was key about the American revolution was that the colonies were able to gain their independence from Great Britain. 

Chapter 16: pgs. 477-488

            In the second half of the chapter the author focuses on the scientific revolution. When reading this section I was shocked to learn that the Europeans were the first to have a breakthrough in science. This is because the Europeans had a legal system that granted its people some independence. Also they had different institutions that help aid the growth of the scientific revolution. In the west there were many universities that helped and fueled the growth of science. Many great thinkers came from these universities. The scientific revolution also challenged and questioned the ideals of the Catholic Church resulting in people being killed. Lastly the scientific revolution helped create the Enlightenment period in the eighteenth century.

Chapter 16: Pgs. 461-477

            In the reading the author talks the out spread of the different religions and how new religions were formed. In the west there was the spread of Christianity. Out of Christianity Protestantism formed. This is because some people like Martin Luther did not agree with what the Roman Catholic Church was practicing. As a result he began the reformation in order to challenge the authority of the church and especially the pope’s power. Because of the growth of Protestantism a war broke out between Catholics and the protestant. This was called the Huguenots. As a result the German population decreased. Soon after, the Council of Trent was formed to fix the corruption and the abuse in the Catholic Church that started the protestant movement.

            Europeans had the greatest success in spreading Christianity especially through the Americas and the Philippines. In order for them to spread their ideals they would use force and in some cases they would destroy the natives’ religious items in order to make them convert. Yet what I found interesting was when Christianity came to China. There were Christian missionaries that would come to China in order to teach the Chinese about Christianity. These missionaries were called Jesuits. They would first have to get permission from the Chinese authorities before entering China. Instead of forcing their religion on to the Chinese, they would first lean the Chinese culture, langue, the Confucian text, and they would dress like the scholars. The Jesuits would respect the Chinese culture by showing them the similarities between Christianity and Confucianism instead of trying to convert them. Even though they were not successful I feel like this was a better way to reach others about the religion rather than forcing it on them. As a result they were able to teach each other about t the religion and culture and exchange ideas. I feel like more people would have converted on their own if all of the missionaries would have used this technique instead of forcing it on the others.    

Week 3 Readings

Chapter 15: Global Commerce

In chapter fifteen the author talks about commerce between different empires and what they traded and how they expanded their empires. The Portuguese, Spain, the East India companies all had their own strategies for taking over the trade routes and creating a monopoly over some of items that they traded. For example the Portuguese created the “trading post empire” in the Indian Ocean. Yet silver became very important in trading. The use of silver became important in the network of exchange in Eurasia. I never realized how valuable silver became before the use of gold. During this time period everyone wanted silver. Because of silver, the Pacific commerce was created. Also the Spanish America became very wealthy because of the silver since they produced eighty-five percent of the silver. But unfortunately it hurt the Spanish economy by causing inflation.

            Later in the chapter the author discusses the commerce of people. In other words the trade of slaves. I found it interesting that not all of the slaves had back breaking jobs. There were some that were involved in the military and politics. This was shocking because I have only learned about slaves being forced to work on plantations or be given life threating jobs. I also found interesting was the graphs. I understand and can see why as the years go on in the first the number of slave that came to the Americas increased and then after the year 1775 the number of slaves began to decrease. This is because at firs the demand for slaves slowly increased and then in 1787 slavery in the northern states was abolished in the Americas causing a decrease in the amount of slaves that were imported in the Americas. I found the other graph about the destination of slaves in the eighteenth century shocking because British North America and U.S. had the lowest percentage of slaves compared to other nations. I thought they would be a country with the most amount of slaves because mainly we hear about the slave trade that happened in north America. Because of the slave trade it had a great impact on Africa. As a result their population decreased and they did not benefit from it economically.  

Week 2 Readings

Chapter 14: Empires and Encounters

In the beginning of the chapter the author, Strayer, discusses how the Europeans were able to dominate in America and their advantages of doing that. I may not agree with how they were able to concur and take control of the Americas but I can see that it was successful. It was not right for the Europeans to pretty much come to the new land and take over by killing off most of the native people and or enslaving them. Once the Europeans came to North America they brought with them new diseases that the native people were not immune as a result the native population was killed off. This was called “The Great Dying”. I feel like this was very unfair because the natives did not have a chance to defend themselves in order stay living on their own land. Also if they were able to survive the Europeans still had weapons and more advance technology then the natives had, so as a result the Europeans still dominated over the Native Americans. Yet even though the Europeans did take over the new land unfairly they this still gave them some advantages in which help them grow. I believe that it was a good thing for the Europeans to come to the new word. This then helped them grow. Coming to the new world allowed the Europeans to find wealth, enlarge their empire, they then were able to spread their religious belief. I think since the Europeans came to America it was a great achievement for them.

            Further in the chapter Strayer talks about other empires and how they grew and expanded. For example he talks about the Russian Empire, the Asian Empire, the Mughal Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. He discusses how in order for each Empire to grow they have to concur more land outside of their own empire. Theses empires began taking over land throughout Asia like the Europeans took over the land in America. I feel that in order for any person, it doesn’t have to be an empire, to be successful they need to grow somehow and this is what theses empires did in order to gain power and be the strongest. Yet what I don’t agree with is how these empires forced those who they concurred into living a curtain way and making them convert. But I do understand that that is how many societies took over land especially the Russians.

Sugar and the Origins of the Modern World

            It is amazing to think about how we generally get our food and goods and we forget about the concept that we have to trade in order to get these items. I am like most people that take advantage of the goods and luxuries that are so easily accessible to me and to think that, that was not the case when trade began. We forget about how valuable a simple item like sugar could be and that not everyone had it. Because sugar became such a luxury item people started to create large plantation for the production of sugar. This was new since before people would only items on a small scale. I also found it interesting that because the sugar was being produced so much it went from a luxury good to a good that the common person could enjoy. As a result having sugar soon then did not represent the amount of wealth a person had. It is amazing how just a production of one product can bring together a group of different types of people that work in different fields of sugar industry in which creates a social and economic system. I did not realize how many different field of work there in order the sugar to be distributed. For example there are the consumers who want the product, there are the laborers who produce the product, there are the organizers of production who make sure that everything moves smoothly, there are then the manufacturers and lastly the merchants who then trade and sell the product. I did not realize that in the seventeen hundreds there were some people who saw that sugar was unhealthy for humans and made the connection by seeing that when the increase of sugar intake cause people to not be as healthy. I also felt that the British government was smart in taxing the sugar production since it created a lot of revenue even though it did create wars when the tax was raised. 

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