HIS 111
Unit 16: The World in 1500

• Read Jared Diamond's "Yali's Question." (Log into Canvas and look for the excerpt under "Course Documents."
• Read my concluding course notes.
• Watch the short (not the greatest video I've ever done) video on the world in 1500.
• Study the Questions to Consider and the Key Terms for the unit.

• SUBMIT the required Reflective paragraph (20 points).
• Post in the discussion forum a comment on what you found most interesting about your study of history in HIS 111 and include a suggestion for improving the course. Suggestions are very valuable as we are always making revisions to the course (5 points).

• Women do not much appear in the HIS 111 textbook or course, but there were certainly important women in the ancient world. Please see the outstanding story map created by Dusty Lockhart (HIS 11), Women of Antiquity That Shaped Civilization.
• Check out my quick video on some suggested history books that you might want to read.
• Watch Why Is History Important? (National World War I Museum and Memorial).

• For extra credit please suggest to your instructor a relevant video for this unit of the course. Send the title of the video, the URL and a brief explanation of why you find the video interesting and applicable to the material that is being studied in this unit.

• For up to 10 points of extra credit, write a short paragraph in which you explain why you think it is important to study history (check these two links for more information, Historians and Why we study history).
• For extra credit up to 5 points, we are always looking for photos from historical sites (graves, statues, churches, battlefields, buildings, waterfalls, mountains, etc) from around the world, particularly Russia, to use in our online courses. If you have anything that you wish to share, we would much appreciate it, and you will receive credit for your photo if we use it in one of our courses. Any photos that you send must have been taken by yourself. Please attach your photos to an email and send to Professor Evans at charles.t.evans@gmail.com. (Don’t use cevans@nvcc.edu because of email attachment size limits.) Be sure to cc your email to your current course instructor if that is not Professor Evans. This extra credit opportunity does not count against your limit of one extra credit for this unit.

• Upon successful completion of this unit and with the completion of your reflective paragraph, you will have demonstrated your mastery of the course goals and objectives, which are
  • Establish a chronology of historical events in the world before 1600 CE.
  • Explain the changing geopolitical structures of world civilizations up until 1600 CE.
  • Define the importance of key individuals and developments in world civilizations before 1600 CE.
  • Identify the social, economic and political forces at work in the evolution of the world’s early civilizations.
  • Recognize and describe the significance of some of the cultural achievements of world civilizations before 1600 CE.
  • Analyze complex historical sources and materials and reach conclusions based on interpretations of those materials.