Cyberspace

I find that the internet is a great thing with millions of possibilities. The internet is still a very young invention and still has a far way to go before all the information in different books and such can be found on there, but I feel that it will not be long before everything can be found. I found it interesting that in the movie Cyberspace declaration of independence that it was said the way information is regulated on the internet is wrong. I believe that technology is developing at rate that is suitable with everything that is going on in the world. I also believe that the video format made it hard to take the point of the video seriously. I do find that both patents and laws are very good things. Some information needs to be protected. I think some people can not handle having certain information at their fingertips because they may misuse it. I feel that because people invented the internet that they should be allowed to regulate it. I find that the government regulates everything else so it shouldn't be a surprise that the internet is. I feel that as time passes and technology advances certain copy writes will not be needed.

-Teresa Green

Week 4 Make Up

This week's readings come from Eric Hobsbawm's "The Age of Empire," and focused primarily on the Europe's reign of world power throughout the 20th century. This power was primarily due to drastic changes in population count, technology, communication and transportation, and the connection between politics and economics. The series of changing events went something a little like this:

New inventions and rapid industry growth led to the economic boom of big and/or major cities. This in turn led to major population growth as more and more people moved to the cities and the boom caused the increased population to thrive. The people were looking for new jobs in these industrialized cities but anoher reason they fled from the rural areas was because moving had become so much easier. With increased transportation fashions, ie advanced railway systems and new found inventions like the steamboat, more and more people made the move the major cities. This major population shift also caused overpopulation, something no one had ever heard of before.

This got me thinking. One little rift in history can cause so many different and perhaps unforseen waves and ripples in the following years. And as much as the society back then and society now are different, some parallels can still be drawn. Back in the 20th century, the invention of the steamboat resulted (indirectly) in the creation of overpopulation. But now, invention like the telephone and the television and now the cellphone have resulted in world-wide connections. With a few numbers, a person in America can ask a person in Beijing what the weather is like. Circumstances like these could have never have been imagined back when the steamboats were first invented. Yet, noting the differences, the similarities in the impact these inventions made on society are still just as significant.

Week 3 Make Up Post

This week, Abu-Lughod talks about the history of trade from the Mongols to the Cairo region, the Indian Ocean to China. What I found especially interesting was how she stressed interconnection throughout that time period, and even more interesting, how there was no one, defined world power, no single world hegemony. She describes the possible candidates for the spot, though: China and India.

India was in the perfect position to become a world hegemony. It was the bottleneck and bridge between the two different parts of the Indian Ocean, the Eastern and the Western. Therefore, this meant that a large majority of traders had to move through India to accomplish their trade routes, therefore leaving much much rich, cultural residue in India and also providing it with an economical boost. Trading was highly crucial back then and therefore having control over basically an entire trade route put India in a very powerful position. But, even so, India did not take its chance in becoming a world hegemony. Even though they were powerful, they held no desire to expand. India was very content with their situation and had no desire, need, or will to fend off the troubles that would come with being a world hegemony. Subsequently, the Black Death arrived and with the onslaught of other economic problems, India lost their opportunity.

China also had the opportunity to rise and become a world hegemony, but due to a number of reasons, it did not. It had the perfect opportunity too, but at the end of the day, it did not have the desire to become so powerful of an influence in the trading world. This made me wonder, though. Why exactly did China withdraw? It had all the promise and hopes of becoming a world power, with military power that no one could compete with, solid economic foundations and technological advances that no other country at the time could even come close to. Why then, did China back down?

Week 1

The first week of classes we were introduced to the book Before European Hegemony. The demise of the economy and the many barbaric invasions is what eventually led to the fall of the empire. The invasions began in the 3rd century between the German and the Romans in Europe. The fifth centur is when the invasions that held the most weight occurred. Invasions before this were not as successful. By the end of the 5th century the fall of the empire began to heavily take place and Northwestern Europe was becoming more apparent that it is separate from the rest of the country.
Due to the invasions the Government quickly loss controll. It was not "central" anymore , therefore causing friction between different groups. In the 8th century Charlemagne became emperor. He took advantage of the church to try to regain control of the government and the rest of the political system. It became a long slow process and Charlemagne ended up dying and the empire crashed once again. It seemed as though a "key saviour" in establishing Europe as a substantial power was the introduction into feudalism. Feudalism really helped Europe rise back to a place of influence. It allowed trading centers and exchanges to take place. By the 11th century Europe became more integrated and producing more goods for exchange. Population all over the country began to spark in response to these new changes and different patterns.
The “fall” occurred due to many events not just one single event. It also took a long time to occurr. It didnt just happen over night. It took centuries! Charlemagne got the ball rolling slowly but feudalism gave the ball the kick that it needed to pick up momentum.”

week 13

Neoliberalism

This week’s reading was about neo-liberalism. Neo-liberalism is simply a ‘new’ kind of liberalism. “Liberalism” can refer to politics, the economy, or religion – among many other things – and is progressive in comparison to conservative methods. The main theme of liberalism is free trade. Neo-liberalism has developed from liberalism, and can be seen in the economic policies of the last 25 years or so. Many Americans believe that neo-liberalism policies are a means of making the rich richer and the poor poorer.

The main points of neo-liberalism include: rule of the mark; cutting public expenditure for social services, deregulation, privatization, and eliminating the concept of “the public good” or “community” (http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=376). Rule of the market in terms of neo-liberalism means total freedom of trade for capital, good, and services. This method of trade is intended to benefit everyone by increasing economic growth via an unregulated market. Cutting price expenditures for social services refers to services such as education, healthcare, and healthcare, and decreases the government’s role in each sector. Deregulation is the process of reducing government regulation of anything that could reduce profits. Privatization is the process of selling state-owned enterprises, goods, and services to private investors. Privatization has led to a concentration of wealth in a small number of people. Eliminating the concept of “the public good” or “community” refers to neo-liberalism replacing the two with individual responsibility. This process takes responsibility away from the government and into the hands of the individual, forcing people to find their own solutions for problems such as health care, education, and social security.

Neo-liberalism is especially evident in Latin American, which is what the article by Patomaki and Teivainen focuses on. Patomaki and Teivainen argue that the most common political theoretical response to the process of globalization is the theory of cosmopolitan democracy. Cosmopolitan democracy holds that globalization forces individuals to rethink the political community within which our democratic ideal and aspirations can be realized. Many models of cosmopolitan democracy, however, are partially detached from real world historical processes. In their article, Patomaki and Teivainen detail why they believe it important to redefine the conceptual basis for cosmopolitan democracy in political economy terms.

As noted, many models of cosmopolitan democracy are often detached from real world historical processes. Held developed a model of cosmopolitan democracy that was greatly influenced by the European integration process, and is therefore very Eurocentric and partically detached from many real world historical processes, such as those present in Latin America. Patomaki and Teivainen argue that this has at least three consequences:

1) it lacks an account of what is going on in different sectors of the globalizing world

2) it excludes the process of transformation towards 'cosmopolitan democracy’

3) it is not as open-ended as such a model should be

In addition to these three consequences, it can give rise to negative effects of power because it is based solely on reflections of European experiences. The Mercosur region of Latin American was found in 1991, and is partially modeled on the European Union. Mercosur, however, is very different from that of Europe and is a prime example of why Patomaki and Teivainen argue that the conceptual basis for cosmopolitan democracy should be redefined in political economy terms to FIT the real world processes of that particular economy.

week 12

Postnationalism

In this week’s reading, Mohammed A. Bamyeh discusses post nationalism. Post nationalism came about to replace nationalism in Europe after it reached its demise, and today, the European Union has the most advanced institution of post nationalism in the world. Bamyeh highlights two major distinctions between nationalism and post nationalism, being their relation to value judgments and multiplicity of forms. Nationalism tends to always be looked at from a moral standpoint (good vs. evil), as its history shaped and continues to shape our perspectives and opinions on it today. Post nationalism, on the other hand, escapes the limit of moral judgment because it has no major history yet, and is just beginning to unfold. Post nationalism also escapes the limit of having to impose a single ethnocentric form upon it, because it offers multiple venues for solidarity. Conversely, nationalism was always singular in character, and spread throughout the world in the form of an exact replica of the model used in Europe. This replication of solidarity resulted in such things as war and ethnic cleansing, and Bamyeh suggests that nationalism is by “far the most destructive ideology ever experienced by humanity.” He argues that today’s form of globalization, post nationalism, is far more promising than nationalism, because it reintroduces alternative modes of conglomeration and solidarity.

Post nationalism is concerned with the way questions of collective identity are reworked and refers to frames of solidarity offering themselves as alternatives to nationalism. Post nationalism is a more specific outcome of globalization; it seeks to find alternatives to modern nations and states and seeks to transcend the limits of defining group identity by nationality and political form by the modern state. Bamyeh says that there are three common features of a post national culture, which include:

1) Post national culture is perspectively fragmented rather than wholistic
2) Post national culture is not congruent with state ideology
3) Post national culture approaches all given identities as restraints and
emphasizes expansive action in the world

Bamyeh also says that there are four types of post national solidarity, and goes one to describe each one. Spiritual solidarities represent the global growth of religious solidarities, and are characterized by religious fervor as a means to accomplish a global mission. The second type, material solidarity, represents the global connections between people, mainly concentrated in society’s professional classes, that foster an interconnected global life. Humanist solidarities represent the idea of human interest as a basis for solidarity. Humanistic solidarities believe that global humanistic causes can be articulated in broader terms than economic interest to the self and beyond national borders, and strive to do so. The last type of post national solidarity is the life-emancipatory solidarity. This type emphasizes liberation and modes of expression that are restricted within a society. Life-emancipatory solidarities encourage movements oriented toward individual freedom to pursue lifestyles or choices that contradict mainstream cultural patterns.

All in all, post nationalism is in the works to replace nationalism. Bamyeh made a statement to help explain why the transition to post nationalism is taking place, and it really helped me understand the way institutions in the world work. He stated that there are “less audible social formations which, in due time, assert themselves because they better correspond to the realities of their age than do established institutions and discourses.” This really made sense to me, because times do change, and it only makes sense that the institutions that govern society change as well.

Week 8

Leo Africanus

Leo Africanus begins with Leo describing the relationship between his mother and father and how he came to be born. He tells readers that when he was born his father was overwhelmed with joy, but it was nothing in comparison to the joy his mother felt. When I first read this, I assumed his mother, Salma, was more joyous simply because she is a woman; women bear their unborn child for 9 months, which usually results in a stronger emotional connection to their young, and women are generally more emotional anyway. Salma’s joy was indeed distinct from Leo’s father, Muhammad, because of their gender, but not for the reasons I expected.

Leo goes on to tell readers that his mother and father are actually cousins, who were betrothed to each other at since childhood, and married four years prior to his birth. A mere two years after their marriage, Muhammad brought home a mistress he called Warda, who was beautiful and young. Salma takes over narration at this point. She explains that she was free, and that Warda was slave. Because Warda was a slave, however, she was able to express more freedom than Salma; “she could go out unveiled, sing, dance, pour wine, wink her eyes, and take off her clothes.” Salma could do none of these things as a married woman, and was even supposed to refrain from showing any interest at all in her husband’s pleasures. She tells us that Muhammad would call her “my cousin” and that at the end of the night, it was Warda, not herself, who went to bed with her husband. This description highlights the dynamics between Leo’s parents and his father’s mistress, and gave me the impression that Leo’s mother was very alone before his birth.

Salma then goes on to explain how she became pregnant with Leo. Her friend Sarah came over one day and say how unhappy she was in her present living situation with her husband. Sarah gave Salma a potion, and told her to pour it into Muhammad’s glass that night, after three nights, and again after seven. Salma did so, and within a few weeks she found herself pregnant. Salma was ecstatic, because she knew a child meant that Muhammad would be there for many years to come. Even this failed to ease the tension Salma felt towards her husband, however, as Warda was also pregnant and whoever birthed the first son would give Muhammad his legacy.

This insight to Salma’s situation really made me feel for her. I could not imagine having to: 1) marry my cousin, 2) tolerate my husband having a mistress whom he went to bed with every night, and 3) being nervous that my child would be a girl rather than a boy or be born too late. It is clear to me that Salma is not must unlike other women during her time, and that her worries were the norm. The fact that free women felt less free than slave mistresses is very sad to me; almost as sad as the fact that there actually were slaves. Reading this section really made me appreciate the rights that women have today and the fact that relationships in this day and age are so different from what they were in terms of gender roles.

Week 7

The Age of the Empire

In Chapter 13 of “The Age of the Empire,” Hobsbawm details how the norm in Europe shifted from peace to violence. Prior to 1914, peace was the norm and was expected by Europeans. Since 1914, however, Europe has been plagued with world war after world war. Hobsbawm notes that since 1914, most Europeans over the age of seventy have passed through at least two wars over the course of their lives, and most over fifty have experienced at least one. In great contrast to this, from the period of 1815 to 1914 there were no wars involving European powers, and it was most likely because of this that no one expected a world war to breakout, despite it being forseen.

Beginning around 1870, Europeans expressed the likelihood of a future war, and the chances of a world war were made apparent. The concerns about war were well heard, and in the 1890’s, the World Peace Congress was established.
In the 1900s, the likelihood of war was drawing nearer and in the 1910s, its nearness was taken for granted, as many statesmen still did not believe a world war would ensue. It did. There was an international crisis in July of 1914, where international leaders met to deter a world war. The leaders were troubled at the state of the world, but believed that a peaceful solution could be made and the crisis would deteriorate, ending the possibility of a world war.

The optimism of leaders was most likely due to the fact that war was utterly non-existent in Europe for over a century. Today, I cannot even fathom world leaders meeting to discuss the threat of an upcoming world war, and be so confident to believe that no war would ever ensue. I believe if our leaders took on this optimistic attitude, they would be criticized by citizens and actually seen as a threat themselves. Do you think that this shift in attitudes took place because of the shift in history from peace to war that took place during the 1800 and 1900s?

Week 1

Before European Hegemony
In the section “Emergence from Old Empires,” the epic “fall of Rome” was outlined and discussed. I was very intrigued with the timeline of the “fall”, and the different impact it had on northern and southern Europe. The process of the “fall of Rome” took several centuries, and is accredited to a disintegration of the economy and numerous barbaric invasions. These invasions began as early as the third century A.D., when Germanic tribes broke through Roman lines in northwestern Europe. Although this first wave of invasions was unsuccessful, successive ones were not. In the fifth century, several more invasions occurred, and by the end of the century, a unified Roman rule was beginning to demise, and the separation between northwestern Europe and the rest of the continent was becoming clearer.
The continuous invasions on Europe quickly their toll, and the empire regressed on both a political and individual; the government was decentralized and disorganized, and there was far less sophistication across people. Europe suffered gravely, but found hope when the eighth century finally rolled around, and Charlemagne took the title of Emperor of the West. In an attempt to reorganize Europe’s political system, Charlemagne took advantage of the church, which was the institution that retained any unity. It was after this that western Europe began to put back together the pieces of its fragmentation. This rise was rather slow, however. Charlemagne eventually died and the empire again fragmented and fell to attack. At the end of the ninth century, a system of protofeudalism was established, and a century later feudalism became institutionalized. This adoption of feudalism really helped Europe come back from its demise. It enabled small trading centers to operate and exchange took place with merchants who received protection from local lords in exchange for their commercial services.
At the end of the tenth century, invaders (Vikings) turned back, and by the eleventh century, northwestern Europe was becoming more integrated and producing more goods for exchange. This led towns to quickly multiple and there was an internal explosion of population and urbanization that helped doctor that damages that occurred during the “fall of Rome.”
The “fall” took a much larger toll on northwestern Europe, and it is only to this section of Europe that the “Dark Ages” refers to. The “fall” occurred due to a series of events that took place over the course of centuries, more specifically a uniformed government and continual invasions. The efforts of Charlemagne helped initiate Europe’s comeback, especially northwestern Europe’s, and the installment of feudalism was the catalyst to ending the “fall.”

Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism is often seen as a derogatory term given to its supporters because opponents use it to highlight the ills of global capitalism and decadent consumer culture. As the name suggests, it is a revival of Liberalism. The ideology states that the state should be kept to a minimum in the lives of the people to allow the most freedom to the individual. Neoliberalism is also closely linked with Laissez-faire economy principles. For Neoliberals, the self-regulating market is very important because if this assumption is false then there would be a bigger role for government.
Neoliberalism tries to embrace the classical liberal views but is more willing to let government have a part to play. Government is useful for regulating the market and is important for things like consumer protection. The goal of neoliberals is to create governments and structures that allow the people to be as free as possible NOT the overall dismissal or monopoly of government that some other political ideologies would promote. In this way, it is a departure from old Keynesianism which sought to increase the power and influence of government in the market. However, government must have some part in the public’s life for any of the liberal goals to be achieved.
Neoliberalism should not be confused with Libertarianism which is a political ideology very close to classical Liberalism that wants little or no government intervention in the publics dealings.

xtra credit: wikipedia bias

Every publication is subject to bias and Wikipedia is no different. The fact that much of its content is user created should make most of us think twice before accepting the content as indisputable. However, unlike some other media (such as books and journals) Wikipedia actively seeks out bias and tries to be as much like an encyclopedia as possible. This is because many people would agree that an encyclopedia is as close as one can get to an unbiased source of information.

The simple fact that Wikipedia seeks to be unbiased is an important feature that has allowed it to rise in importance for those wishing to educate themselves. Wikipedia is conscious of its bias and welcomes constructive criticism. In a way, the glaringly obvious biases in some articles on Wikipedia are the cause for observers to question and change the content and keep the Wikipedia experiment alive.

A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace

I think that the internet and overall technology are capable of much more than we can even fathom. The declaration condescendingly implies that the way information on the internet is regulated is wrong. I feel that technological progress we as humans have made is where it should be. Personally, my mind would explode if I realized all that is potentially possible with the internet.

The video neglects the notion that humans created the internet, and humans are ruled by governments. We should be able to access what we want to but ultimately the government will regulate access. Governments regulate access to most things anyways. We are not “legally” allowed download music or do drugs but obviously people still find access to drugs and I have an Ipod full of music I didn’t buy. Just because something is regulated doesn’t mean we can’t find a way to access it.

Patents and laws keep us from progressing, which should be good since we “are not welcome” or ready for this future (Implied by video of declaration). I understand that ideally all information and ideas should be accessible; but it would mean ALL information. People would be able to find resources to help others (like a charity organization) as well as how to make biological weapons. I’m really not comfortable with that idea. I don’t trust humanity enough either. Hackers shouldn’t be allowed to alter programs that they don’t create or want to destroy. That’s why if you hack a government website it’s a federal crime. Overall, I just feel that the futuristic world that the video implies is one day possible and that we will get there in time as laws and copyrights change; but, for now the laws should remain until they are not needed to regulate human behavior. .

Neoliberalism

This article discusses the emergence and the laissez-faire type ideological principles of neoliberalism and responses to it from South America. Neoliberalism emerged in the 1970s and is based on the idea of a gobal economy becoming necessary. Neoliberalists argue that the best way for the global economy to grow is through free international trade and sound budgets. They propose cuts in welfare spending, low inflation, and the deregulation of the financial markets. The problem with this theory is that it caters to the socio-econmic elite whose position is based on transnational mobility. Smaller poor countries will suffer while the wealthier nations will continue to profit. The idea of neoliberalism seems fair enough. It appears to believe that free trade would give all nations the same opportunity for economic growth and power.

This however, is an ideal that I do not believe would ever materialize. If the markets could somehow run themselves without the intervention of the "human aspect" then perhaps this could actually work; but in actuality, the markets are not run separate of human endeavors and soon the agendas of the larger, more powerful countries would overtake the smaller countries and push them further into poverty. Exploitation has been a constant for centuries that would not all of a sudden disappear and allow the markets to run independent of regulation and be fair. How could anyone still be a proponent of this sort of globalization and trade when we are experiencing now the global recession that was caused by no one watching the markets and allowing those in charge to do whatever they pleased?

Post nationalism and transnationalism

The first reading by Bamyeh discusses post-nationalism. Postnationalism refers to the process by which cultural identity has become less important on the grounds of establishing a more global network that integrates political, economic and social ideology. This article goes back to what we talked about during the discussions on nationalism during Hobsbawm's The Age of Empire section in class. Nationalism, as it came to be called in the 19th century, was different than it had been in the past. One of the four "mutations", as they were called, was that the new meaning of nationalism called for defining a nation based on the ethnic and language similarities of the people living in one area. Bamyeh argues that we are now living in a world that is past this sort of nationalistic approach. He uses the example of warfare to illustrate this point. Bamyeh says that wars fought after WWII were not fought on account of nationalism, but fought to preserve the nation as it stood at the time. He pretty much argues that beliefs of cultural superiority are because of the way the world interacts today.

We also discussed transnationalism which seems to stem from the ideas set forth of postnationalism. As we are moving away from our ethnocentric views, there is now more than ever an increased sense of the global community. Transnationalism is pretty much synonymous with globalization. Halle argues that transnationalism was made possible by the communication and information sharing that occurs on the internet. Cultural distinctions are becoming much less important and less clear than they were even 20 years ago as the people across the world enjoy many of the same things. Corportations, restaurant chains and films that were once considered as belonging to one particular culture are now mainstream parts of society in many different places all over the globe.

What I found interesting in this particular section is that transnationalism seem to be phenomena occuring between core nations and peripheral nations alike, but post-nationalism seems to be something that is occurring between the core nations only. For example, places like American Samoa are immersed in culture that has been brought to them by the United States and other powers that had dominated the area during the colonial era. Although Americans may now share a lot of the same mainstream films,restaurants, etc., there are still alot of people who feel as though American or western culture is superior to the cultures of the Pacific. Or take for example, the middle east. Places like Iraq or Syria were major players and seem to be highly important to the development of the modern economic system, Islamic cultures are often portrayed as inferior and less important than western cultures despite the fact many of the same corporations that we are accustomed to in America, also have a presence in the middle eastern countries. The question that I would like to pose is: do you think that we are now living in a truly post-nationalistic world or has transnationalism just diverted our attention away from the nationalistic ideals that had previously consumed the world.

Blog 7- The impact of science

Hobsbawm focused these sections of the book on science and its growing importatce to the world before World War I. He discusses how the western world had begun to review the pinciples of physics, chemistry, and science in general in terms of how things will occur in the future and not as way of explaining past events. The latter was the thought pattern that had been used throughout history up until this time. Intellectuals at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century had begun to separate intuition and common sense from science altogether. He uses the crises that occurred in mathematics and physics to illustrate the transformation from the theological to rational thought in the sciences. These conflicts roused questions about the religious basis of our knowledge and caused a major shift away from religious doctrine in the west. Education soon became the standard centerpiece of knowledge. With the advancement of scence people were able to gain knowledge at a more rapid pace. This lessened importance of religion in the west sparked western beliefs of superiority over non-western countries.

Hobsbawm also discusses revolution. He talks about the insistence of the peripheral nations on gaining their independence and the fall of stable, strong powers at the the hands of these revolutionaries. Western powers were upset about this precedent and worried about their future as colonial powers. Reading these sections made me think about what we hold as true today about the world. The enlightenment took place just over 100 years ago, which shows that our knowledge of the world as it is thought about today is truly only in its infancy. Do you think that they way we think about the world today will hold up overtime or do you think there will be another revolution in thinking and the world will come to be viewed from a wholly new perspective?

Blog 6- Nationalism

A major byproduct of democratization was nationalism. Although, nationalistic ideals had been a constant throughout world history, the term "nationalism" and the meaning behind it was new. Nationalism was a concept that was first employed by the right wing in the 19th century. It was their attempt to push their ideology of expansion and to oust foreigners, liberals and socialists while doing away with their national agendas, labeling dissenters as traitors. This put a new connotation on the workd nationalism, which had been previously synonymous with patriotism; patriotism was used in association with more radical movements such as the French Revolution which stood for liberalism and the working man. This new meaning of nationalism put forth four new ideals. First being that the ideology behind nationalism changed from the liberal approach and was adopted by the conservatives. The second was the fact that nationalism now applied to any group which claimed to be a nation regardless of the group having economic, political or cultural viablility. Third, "was the growing tendency to assume that 'national self-determination could not be satisfied bu any form of autonomy less than full state independence." (p.144). The last ideal associated with the new nationalsim was the tendency to use ethnicity and language in as a way of defining a nation. This led to immigration and immigration laws which caused tension between nations.

Two other important effects of the nationalist movement was the rise of women and warfare. Women gained a lot of ground during this time and became more in control of their lives than they had ever been before. In the domestic arena, women began to marry later and used contraception to prevent pregnancy, thus having fewer children. This allowed them to move out of the traditional role that women played and allowed them to join the workforce. These developments helped to enhance women's power and thus started the need for women's rights. Warfare was hugely dependent on the idea of nationalism. Engagement in war was highly important to the conservative agenda of state expansion and imperialism. By painting dissenters as traitors, people were far more inclined to get behind the movemnets and support the war, which enabled the nation to build and army and mobilize forces.

What I find interesting about this reading is the impact that nationalism had on people as a whole. New nationalistic ideals using ethnicity and language to define a nation appears to be the root cause of xenophobic beliefs among western nations. Also By using the term traitor, it seems that the government was able to get the masses to support their agendas despite if individuals were actually behind the initiatives. This type of ethnocentricity and blind support by the masses illustrates the ways that Hitler and Nazi Germany was able to convince so many people to band together and commit genocide to annihilate Jewish people. Do you think that nationalism is truly a democratic ideal- one that empowers the people- or is it a way to remove individuality and force an agenda on a the masses?

Blog 4 - China

This section of readings involved the end of Abu Lughod's book. At the conclusion of Before European Hegemony, we take a look at the easternmost part of the world system in the 13th century and the how the west came to dominate. According to Abu-Lughod, China was "the most extensive, populous, and technologically advanced region of the medieval world." (p.316) China participated in two kinds of trade: public and private, which makes the official documents appear as if CHina held a non-chalant and passive attitude toward trading and the world system. However, China's role in private trade was huge and illustrates China's active and immensely important role in 13th century world economics. There are four phases of Chinese history identified which have been related to the economic and trading ventures of China. The first of these were before the 5th century A.D. During this period, maritime trade was not imprtant and most traders connected along the Silk Road which was an overland route. The second period spanned the 5-8th centuries. This was a time of population expansion and growth, particularly in the southern region and the advancement of new wet rice cultivation techniques which both helped to enhance trade. There was also an emphasis placed on infrastructure. One of the most important endeavors was the building of the canal which increased efficiency and reduced the cost to transport goods. The third period was marked by an exponential growth in China's economy. China's advancements in agriculture, industrial technology, population and engagement in maritime trade, were hugely important to its success. With the importance of China's sophisticated industrial and agricultural developments, it seemed that China was destined to become the world hegemon.

However, in the fourth period, which is identified as beginning with the fall of the Yuan dynasty in 1368, the Chinese withdrew from the world system. China's withdrawal was due to a number of factors. The most important of which would be the rise to power of the Ming dynasty. Under this rule, maritime trade was restricted, the powerful navy was disassembled and China's connections to foreign powers were cut off. Although it seems as though there was a change in philosophy that occurred, it is more likely that there were internal problems that needed to be dealt with which prompted the Ming dynasty to take a hiatus from the world system. The new ruling class needed to consolidate their new power over China's expansive mass, regroup from the warfare and recover from the debilitating effects of the Black Plague, so China shut its doors to world trade. This left a power vaccum in the world system. This area of the world became free for the taking, which ultimately became the way in which Europeans took over as the world's hegemony.

What I found interesting in this section was the fact that China seemed to withdrawas from teh world system, but a closer look kshows that China had a number of interal issues that needed to be tended to by the new dynasty. I think the "withdrawal" was more of a stabilization and regrouping initiative than a refutation of old policy and/or disdain for the world system. How do you think the world would have shaped up if China had become the dominant hegemon? Do you think the world would be better, that is technologically more advanced, more morally sound, or do you think it would be worse? Hard to picture or speculate about these kinds of things I know, but its just something I was thinking about.

Blog 3- The Persian Gulf and Asia

The first part of this section deals with the Persian Gulf and the middle passage route from to the East. The Persian Gulf was the cheapest and easiest route to the east during this time, but a number of factors changed its popularity. The biggest happening was the Mongol conquest of Mesopotamia and Baghdad, which caused blockages along the route, but this did not stop traders from traveling this route. The true hinderances came when the Il-Khans converted to Islam and were hence considered infidels that were subject to Papal injunctions. At the same time, the Crusaders lost their foothold in Levant. These events prompted Europeans to travel the northeastern passage instead, which fostered the decline of the middle route. Until this time, Baghdad was an important point on this journey route. The city had once been a very wealthy centerpiece in the world system. However the splendor would not last. The fall of Baghdad occurred because fo the natural disasters (famine, fires, floods), religious conflict, Mongol occupance.

The Mongol occupance led to the increases in taxation and the transfer of the ruling class from Baghdad to Tabriz. The Mongol invasion also had another important effect. A truce was called between them and the Egyptian Mamluks which rendered the Italians useless and less tolerated. They retreated and the northern route became more attractive to the Europeans. Cairo and Syria were also important players in this area. Egypts two major industries- textile and sugar confectioning joined industry and agriculture which led to increases in wealth and productivity. Italians learned the banking, accounting, currency and credit practices that they employed in the French and Flemish fairs from the Egyptians. The Black Death was a pivotal turning point in Cairo's history; however, even with the reduction in population, Cairo's strategic location kept it from falling completely.

The second part of this reading concerned Asia. Abu-Lughod identified three interlocking circuits of the eastern trading hegemon. The western part was controlled by the Muslims, the southern by the Hindus on the Indian continent and the eastern part by the Chinese. This section talks about India's role in the world system. India was a integral piece of the world puzzle at this time. Not only was some of the most sought after goods produced by the Indian people, but its location was the prime location of international business. Paricularly the southern end of the continent served as host to the merchants traveling to the east from the west as well as the eastern merchants travelling west. India was also highly self sufficient in that it produced its own goods and became very wealthy because it often had a surplus of materials. Because of its prime location, it was also unnecessary for the people of India to travel in order to participate in the trading system; everyone came there. Therefore, India had no need to take an active or aggressive approach to trading and did not build a naval fleet because there was no use for it. This passive approach coupled with India's constant hosting of foreing traders, left it vulnerable to those who wished to overtake it, which is ulitmately what occurred.

What I found interesting about this portion of the book was the discussion on India. Although India had such a great opportunity to impose strict taxation, dominate the passage ways and become a world hegemon, India was content to remain a passive player in the system, which kept the peace instead of starting controversy. The people of India appear to be the antitheis of the western players who were looking for conquest, wealth and splendor. Do you think this disparate philosophies were a result of religious doctrine- (at least the way the Europeans at that time were interpreting the Bible)?

Blog 2- Genoa and Venice

The focus of this section is the Italian city-states of Genoa and Venice. Genoa was a port city from inception. It was one of the most enthusiastic cities to embark on the Crusades when the Pope called for the reconquest of Palestine form the Muslims. The Crusaders were barbaric in their ways;they burned towns and slaughtered people, even engaging in cannabalism by boiling adults and grilling impaled children. Venice did not participate in the Crusades for many years, wishing to maintain the peace between the nations with whom they had enjoyed a great trading network with. It wasn't until it appeared that the Crusaders would prevail, that Venice joined the action.

In the twelth century, Italians embarked on a series of imperialistic endeavors. In a sort of piracy, they attacked weaker sea vessels (Muslim and Christian) to capture treasures or ports that were unable to defend themselves from invasion. Two of the most imprtant destinations were Levant and Constantinople. As the Crusaders began to lose the battle with the Muslims, competition between the Venetians and the Genoese heated up. Venetians took control of Constantinople and the Genoese dominated North Africa and western Europe. The Crusades were also important because they stimulated a remarkable increase in naval operations. Genoa and Venice vied to build the best and most technologically advanced ships. With this increase, there was a substantial need for the state to play a larger role in ship builiding. Improvements were also made in navigation, protection (through the employment of convoys) and economics. While both cities made use of the public debt, Venice funded naval ventures through state capitalism assisted by private entrepeneurs, while Genoa's funding was the oppostite. Genoa funded their ships primarliy through provate interest with a lower portion of the funding coming from the assistance of the state. This is one of the main distinctions between these two city-states and why Genoa was unable to fully recover from the subsequent problems that arose, while the Venetians were able to enjoy their hegemon after the Genoese could no longer threaten them.

Changes in the eastern system of trade removed the economic center and destroyed the Venetian monopoly which prompted them to ally with the new ruling party. Particularly those in Egypt. By the end of the 14th century, wesstern Europe had also joined the trade system and a unification and pandemic prosperity became evident. In the first half of the 14th century, both Genoa and Venice declined as a result of the physical changes to their ports, decreases in convey availability, political factionalism and of course, the Black Plague.

What I found interesting about this section was the discussion of the Crusades. Crusaders operating under the principles of reconquering Palestine, seemed more interested in wealth and glory than any holy purpose. Venice illustrates these motives as they hung back wanting to maintain piece for trading reason and then chose to join the fight once it seemed as if the Crusaders would pull of the reconquest. This seems to be similar to what is happening today with our war in the Middle East, but instead of launching the war under religious pretenses, the war was launched as a human rights and freedom campaign. Do you think that the real reason that we are fighting wars in the middle east is because of human rights or is it more about capturing oil and controlling the land?

Blog 1- Before European Hegemony

Before European Hegemony by Janet Abu-Lughod, discusses 13th century world economics. She talks about the world system being centered primarily in the middle and far east, while Europe was a minor player at best. Abu-Lughod's main thesis is that although Europe utlimately became the dominant hegemon in world economics, there was no inherent reason for why this should have become the case. She begins with a look at Europe and their position in the world. With the fall of the Roman Empire, northwestern Europe sufferred through a period of invasions and isolation known as the Dark Ages. The eastern and southern parts of Europe, although affected by the Roman Empire's collapse, did not go through the same process as northwest Europe. Italy was able to keep its contacts alive with the rest of the world. In particular, Genoa,Venice and other coastal city-states kept in close contact with members of different nations and was able to serve a crucial link between Europe and the middle eastern system. The crusades also played a large role in world economics and politics in the 13th century. These holy wars helped to expand European horizons and increase trading prospects. As Europe began to re-emerge from the Dark Ages, trading opportunities became more numerous. First the fairs of Champagne and Brie provided the biggest trading opportunity. The fairs began at first to be as periodic markets but eventually evolved into sites of continuous trading. With the evolution of the markets, it became important to implement bankers to oversee currency exchange, credit, record keeping and establish a system of security for the merchants traveling to and from the fairs.

The Italians were extremely important to operations of the fairs. Because of their crafty business skills and goods obtained through their contacts with the middle and far east, they increased the popularity and relevance of the mrkets. The markets here declined as a result of the Flemish controversy, annexation and the discovery of a new Atlantic sea route that bypassed France. Soon after, the trading towns of Ghent and Bruges emerged and developd the new locale for the fairs. However, just like the Champagne and Brie, these fairs eventually collapsed and gave way to maritime trade. The decline of these fairs were due to a combination of factors as well, but the biggest one seemed to be the Black Death, which claimed appoximately 40-50% of Europe's population and important trading centers like Italy, France, and Flanders were hit the hardest. In summary Europe's venture into the world system was effected by economic, political and natural varibales that impacted the population and trading abilities.

What I found intersting is that the author shows that Champagne and Bruges and other trading towns did not necessarily deserve to fail, but the political and natural occurrences decided their fate. This she says, is the same case for the fall of economic centers in China and other eastern countries of the world system. I find her take on European hegemony quite refreshing. Instead of advocating that Europe was somehow innately "better" than the world powers of the middle and far east,and therefore, naturally assumed a dominat role, she believes hegemony was a consequence of many factors and the west came to dominate because the circumstances were right at the time for the west. I am a senior this year and I have never had a course that told both the European and the eastern perspectives. Why does western academia tend to ignore the role and importance of the east when teaching its students world history?