Category Archives: Assignments

08/15/18

China Readings

Here are three readings on China.  The questions for each reading is below and are due at the end of your class period.  They may be written out or sent in email. If emailed, send to lwaddell@tempeunion.org

Mencius

Mencius’s argument that the king has failed to be a kind ruler; why a change in the king’s attitude would be good for all the people, including the king?

Salt Mining

Why would salt be a good commodity for taxes? How does salt mining relate to the advantages and disadvantages of a centralized government?

Chinese Houses

Discuss the contradiction between the sense of seclusion of such a dwelling, with its encompassing perimeter walls, and the openness of its interior.

08/14/18

A History of the World in Six Glasses

We are starting the book, A History of the World in 6 Glasses.  We need to read chapters 1 and 2 by Friday, August 24.  These discussion questions need to be completed by Friday, August 24.

READING QUESTIONS

Note: The first 4 chapters deal with early foundations of civilizations and classical civilizations, roughly from the beginning of the Agricultural Revolution around 8000 BCE to the end of the classical era, around 600 CE.

Chapter 1: A Stone Age Brew

Chapter 1 Reading

1. What were the consequences of the Agricultural Revolution?
2. What is the archaeological evidence that supports the cultivation, harvesting, storage and processing of cereal grains?
3. Farming led to food surpluses. Explain that developments that occurred as a result of a food surplus.
4. Identify 3 reasons for the switch to farming.
5. How were grain storehouses related to the temples and the government?
6. What is the relationship of beer to the growth and development of these early civilizations? Give specific examples of how beer led to elements of civilization such as writing. This should be a longer summary response of 1-2 paragraphs, covering the material of the entire chapter.

Chapter 2: Civilized Beer

Chapter 2 Reading

1. Mesopotamia  is  the  “land  between  the  2  rivers.”    What  are  the  two  rivers?
2. Explain the importance of the grain surplus to the development of civilization.
3. Identify the staples of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian diets.
4. Identify ways in which beer was used in daily life, in religion, as medicine, and in burials.
5. Explain how beer had civilizing influences and shaped the development of Mesopotamia and Egypt. This
should be a longer summary response of 1-2 paragraphs, covering the material of the entire chapter.