Essay Module 1

Part 1: (10%)

For this first learning journal, write a two-page reflection (single space, 3+ pages double space) on what you have read and thought about for Module 1, focusing on the intertwined issues of agriculture (food production), environment, power and authority in the river societies of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley and the Yellow and Yangzi Rivers.

Each module has an overarching set of themes, and in this first module, we have discussed agriculture, climate and food production, new technologies, social organization and leadership, and religious belief not as individual ideas/concepts, but as interrelated issues. As you read and think and review resources, you are making meaning of how you understand these issues, and where you see points of connection within a module, and as the course progresses, points of connection between modules.

Learning journals are not formal essays. You may write in the first person if you wish. You have two pages approximately to explore the ideas that you have found interesting in this first module, based on what you have read/reviewed and what we have discussed in class. Your journal is a place for you to think about the new ideas and issues that you are exploring, and what you are curious to know more about.

You should cite specific sources of information from the textbook and other resources (online sources, articles from databases) as footnotes, and a brief list of what youve read and watched. For this first journal, you may choose any format for the list of resources, but be consistent in the way that you list the resources. Please use simple footnotes in the first assignment (page number is required). This is a short video illustration of how to add footnotes:

This learning journal is not being evaluated on whether you can summarize the module or simply repeat the lecture contents. Narrative containing “void talk” (full of big ideas without concrete, detailed cases and explanations) will result in a very low grade. Avoid the following example:

1. I did not know A before

2. Now I understand A, B, and C after the module

3. A, B, and C are important because they changed the history

A Strong journal does not show conclusions as if they were obvious from the start. A Strong journal tells readers the process of your thinking, including moments of confusion or tension. You may refer to specific lecture content or questions raised in the lecture, and explain why certain puzzles stood out to you and how you worked through them. In short, you should “show your thinking” in your journal.

The grading criteria for this assignment are heavily based on the depth and specificity of your reflection, particularly in the following areas: how clearly you integrate specific lecture materials and examples, how specific your discussion of course details, and how thoroughly you demonstrate your own thought process rather than simply repeating course content.

Part 2: (5%)

In this second part of the learning journal, compare the structure of the textbook with my lecture module organization.

Consider how the textbook structures regions, themes, or periods, and how the course lectures reorganize or rearrange those materials. For example, you might think about why certain regionssuch as Asiaare treated as separate sections in the textbook, but in my lectures, they were included in a large picture of Eurasia.

Please answer these points:

Your goal is not to tell which structure is correct” or better (Of course, you have the total freedom to express your idea on this). Instead, analyze: What is each version trying to teach?

What is the advantage of the textbooks way? What is the advantage of the lectures way?

What kind of history is easier to understand in the textbook? What becomes easier to see when you use the “big picture” lecture style?

What is my module-based structure trying to emphasize?

Which way is helping you learn better right now? Don’t just say I like A or B. Explain how that specific structure helps you understand the history more clearly.

Use specific examples (like a certain chapter or a specific lecture topic) to back up your points/argument.

Attention: AI is NOT ALLOWED in this assignment.

Your first learning journal is due on February 1 and is worth 15% of your final grade.

Please submit the learning journal as a PDF to the Blackboard assignment dropbox.