World History and Geography: Medieval and Early Modern Times
The social, cultural and technological changes in Europe, Africa and Asia from A.D. 500-1789 and their continuing influence today
- The early strengths and lasting contributions of Rome (e.g., significance of roman citizenship; rights under Roman law; Roman art, architecture, engineering and philosophy; preservation and transmission of Christianity) and its ultimate internal weaknesses (e.g., rise of autonomous military powers within the empire, undermining of citizenship by the growth of corruption and slavery, lack of education and distribution of news)
- The geographic borders of the empire at its height and the factors that threatened its territorial cohesion
- The establishment by Constantine of the new capital in Constantinople and the development of the Byzantine Empire, with an emphasis on the consequences of the development of two distinct European civilizations, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic, and their two distinct views on church-state relations
7.2 THE GEOGRAPHIC, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL STRUCTURES OF THE CIVILIZATIONS OF ISLAM IN THE MIDDLE AGES
- The physical features and the climate of the Arabian peninsula, its relationship to surrounding bodies of land and water and nomadic and sedentary ways of life
- The origins of Islam and the life and teachings of Muhammad, including Islamic teachings on the connection with Judaism and Christianity
- The significance of the Qur'an and the Sunnah as the primary sources of Islamic beliefs, practice and law and their inflience in Muslims' daily lives
- The expansion of Muslim rule through military conquests and treaties, emphasizing the cultural blending within Muslim civilization and the spread and acceptance of Islam and the Aragic language
- The growth of cities and the establishment of trade routes among Asia, Africa and Europe, the products and inventions that traveled along these routes (e.g., spices, textiles, paper, steel, new crops) and the role of merchants in Arab society
- The intellectual exchanges among Muslim scholars of Eurasia and Africa and the contributions Muslim scholars made to later civilizations in the areas of science, geography, mathematics, philosophy, medicine, art and literature
7.3 THE GEOGRAPHIC, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL STRUCTURES OF THE CIVILIZATIONS OF CHINA IN THE MIDDLE AGES
- The reunification of China under the Tang Dynasty and reasons for the spread of Buddhism in Tang China, Korea and Japan
- Agricultural, technological and commercial developments during the Tang and Sung periods
- The influences of Confucianism and changes in Confucian thought during the Sung and Mongol periods
- The importance of both overland trade and maritime expeditions between China and other civilizations in the Mongol Ascendancy and Ming Dynasty
- The historic inflluence of such discoveries as tea, the manufacture of paper, woodblock printing, the compass and gunpowder
- The development of the imperial state and the scholar-official class
7.4 THE GEOGRAPHIC, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL STRUCTURES OF THE SUB-SAHARAN CIVILIZATIONS OF GHANA AND MALI IN MEDIEVAL AFRICA
- The Niger-River and the relationship of vegetation zones of forest, savannah and desert to trade in gold, salt, food and slaves and the growth of the Ghana and Mail empires
- The importance of family, labor specialization and regional commerce in the development of states and cities in West Africa
- The role of the trans-Saharan caravan trade in the changing religious and cultural characteristics of West Africa and the influence of Islamic beleifs, ethics and law
- The growth of the Arabic language in government, trade and Islamic scholarship in West Africa
- The importance of written and oral traditions in the transmission of African history and culture
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