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 significance of Japan's proximity to China and Korea and the intellectual, linguistic, religious and philosophical influence of those countries on Japan
- The reign of Prince Shotoku of Japan and the characteristics of Japanese society and family life during his reign
- The values, social customs and traditions prescribed by the lord-vassal system consisting of shogun, daimyo and samurai and the lasting influence of the warrior code in the twentieth century
- The development of distinctive forms of Japanese Buddhism
- The ninth and tenth centuries' golden age of literature, art and drama and its lasting effects on culture today, including Marasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji
- The rise of a military society in the late twelfth century and the role of the samurai in that society
7.6 THE GEOGRAPHIC, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL STRUCTURES OF THE CIVILIZATIONS OF MEDIEVAL EUROPE
- The geography of the Europe and the Eurasian land mass, including its location, topography, waterways, vegetation and climate and their relationship to ways of life in Medieval Europe
- The spread of Christianity north of the Alps and the roles played by the early church and by monasteries in its diffusion after the fall of the western half of the Roman Empire
- The development of feudalism, its role in the medieval European economy, the way in whichit was influenced by physical geography (the role of the manor and the growth of towns) and how feudal relationships provided the foundation of political order
- The conflict and cooperation between the PApacy and European monarchs (e.g., Charlemagne, Gregory VII, Emperor Henry IV)
- The significance of developments in medieval English legal and constitutional practices and their importance in the rise of modern democratic thought and representative institutions (e.g., Magna Carta, Parliament, development of habeas corpus, an independent judiciary in England)
- The causes and course of the religious Crusades and their effects on the Christian, Muslim and Jewish populations in Europe, with emphasis on the increasing contact by Europeans with cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean world
- The spread of the bubonic plague from Central Asaia to China, the Middle East and Europe and describe its impact on global population
- The importance of the Catholic church as a political, intellectual and aesthetic institution (e.g., founding of universities, political and spiritual roles on the clergy, creation of monastic and mendicant religious orders, preservation of the Latin language and religious texts, St. Thomas Aquinas's synthesis of classical philosophy with Christian theology and the concept of "natural law")
- The decline of Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula that culminated in the Reconquista and the rise of Spanish and Portuguese kingdoms
7.7 COMPARISON OF THE GEOGRAPHIC, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL STRUCTURES OF THE MESO-AMERICAN AND ANDEAN CIVILIZATIONS
- The locations, landforms and climates of Mexico, Central America and South America and their effects on Mayan, Aztec and Incan economies and the trade and development of urban societies
- The roles of people in each society, including class structures, family life, warfare, religious beliefs and practices and slavery
- How and where each empire arose and how the Aztec and Incan empires were defeated by the Spanish
- The artistic and oral traditions and architecture in the three civilizations
- The Meso-American achievements in astronomy and mathematics, including the development of the calendar and the Meso-American knowledge of seasonal changes to the civilizations' agricultural systems
7.8 THE ORIGINS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND GEOGRAPHIC DIFFUSION OF THE RENAISSANCE
- The way in which the revival of classical learning and the arts fostered a new interest in humanism (i.e., a balance between intellect and religious faith)
- The importance of Florence in the early stages of the Renaissance and the growth of independent trading cities (e.g., Venice) with emphasis on the cities' importance in the spread of Renaissance ideas
- The effects of the reopening of the ancient "Silk Road" between Europe and China, including Marco Polos' stravels and the location of his routes
- The growth and effects of new ways of disseminating information (e.g., the ability to manufacture paper, translation of the Bible into the vernacular, printing)
- Advances made in literature, the arts, science, mathematics, cartography, engineering and the understanding of human anatomy and astronomy (e.g., by Dante, Allighieri, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo di Buonarroti Simoni, Johann Gutenberg, William Shakespeare)
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