Discussion 10 - Marks: Chapter Five

 

Discussion 10 - Marks: Chapter Five

This discussion is based on Chapter Five of our assigned book: Robert Marks, The Origins of the Modern World, (Links to an external site.) pages 135 to 173 of the most recent, fourth edition.

For this and future discussions, you are encouraged to respond multiple times—indeed, you are required to do so if you wish to earn maximum points. This assignment is worth 15 possible points, and after the discussion closes, your contributions will be scored according to the following rubric:

• up to 3 points for posting early to this discussion (3 for posting at least once by Thursday night, 2 for posting first on Friday or Saturday, 1 for posting first on Sunday)
• up to 6 points for the overall quality of your initial post
• up to 6 points for the overall quality of your subsequent posts directly responding to classmates or otherwise providing additional thoughts regarding the discussion topic

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The Assignment

In Chapter Five, Marks discusses the emergence of a large political-economic gap between a set of modern, industrial societies (mostly in Europe) and the rest of the world, including regions that formerly had been major powers in a polycentric world, such as China, India, and MENA.

• What were some of the “tools of empire” that helped several countries industrialize and build their colonial realms?
• How was “the gap” based in a conjuncture of contingent factors that favored some countries over others?
• What were some of the social and environmental consequences of this long nineteenth century (Links to an external site.), setting the global stage for a very eventful twentieth century to come?

You do not need to answer all of these questions. Indeed, it would be better in your initial response to focus on just one or two. Base your responses on the entire chapter and look for opportunities to make connections with present-day issues facing Africa and the Middle East as covered in our Unit 5. See the unit’s list of keywords for possible ideas.

You will not be able to see your classmates’ posts until you have posted something yourself, nor will you be able to edit or delete your initial post. As a general guideline, this initial post should be a couple paragraphs long, roughly 250 words.