THEMES IN HISTORY1. Geographic Determinism on the course of historical events
There are many instances in history when the course of human events is determined by the geography
and not merely by human will or action. One good example of this is the Nile River. The manner in which the
Nile River flows and slowly floods its banks provided a natural irrigation with rich deposits of nutritious soils
that created a well fed culture known as the Egyptians. Without the Nile, there would have been NO Egypt.
2. The Big “C”s ~ Conquest, Commerce, Colonization, & Conversion on the Course of History
This theme resonates throughout history and is the manner in which peoples, their cultures and their
ideas, spread across the landscape. An obvious perfect example is the discovery of the New World and the
subsequent conquest of the western hemispheric peoples, their often-times forced conversion to Christianity,
and the purposeful colonization of the New World in order to advance commercial trade and build wealth for
the Spanish Empire.
3. Causes and Effects in History ~ “what came first, the chicken or the egg?”
This historical theme is the very core of understanding the course of human events. Historical events do
not occur in a vacuum ~ one event leads to another, which leads to another and in this manner we see how
humans act, and mostly, react, to stimului of their times. Did the invention of the moveable type printing press
in 15th century Europe cause a great surge in literacy OR did a desire to become more literate have the effect of
finding faster ways to spread the written word? The argument is yours to make.
4. “Shoulda, Woulda, Couldas” ~ alternate histories with alternate endings
This is probably one of my favorite themes in history. What would have happened differently in the
future course of history IF one important change were made to its past? IF ONLY HITLER HAD BEEN
FATALLY WOUNDED IN WWI instead of recovering, OR if he had died from the gassings of the trenches in
WWI. Would there have even been a WWII? Would there have been 60+ million lives lost in WWII? Would
there have been a Holocaust? When you use this theme, you need to first discuss the actual history and then
propose a viable alternate history based on a possible course change in the events. It has to be a plausible
alternative.
5. Role of Economics in History ~ “money makes the world go around” or does it?
If I have said it once, I have said it a MILLION times = money DRIVES politics ~ it is NOT the other
way around. Most actions of human beings, if not all, have an economic desire behind them, whether for food,
land, power, security, etc., humans labor and toil to accomplish a goal that is always rooted in a desired end =
using scarce resources, which have alternative uses, to achieve profitable results. When the early Islamic
Empires conquered the known world, it was more desirable NOT to force Christians and Jews to convert,
because as Dhimmi they were taxed at a much higher rate. So, less conversion = more money in taxes, therefore
religious tolerance in early Islamic caliphates had an economic return.
6. GREED & POWER ~ Who has it? How do they get it? What do they do with it? Why do we care?
Is there anyone ever born in the history of the world who is NOT greedy, at least a little bit? Hunger
makes us greedy for food. Poverty makes us greedy for riches. I work to make money so I can afford the things
in life I need and enjoy. You all are furthering your education to do that same thing. But when the normal
human level of greed multiplies like a cancer and produces a lust for power, the very worst in human behavior
occurs. Genghis Khan is a good example = through ruthless behavior he united all the tribes of the steppes and
built the largest land empire the world has ever known – but he lusted after China with its rich rice paddies and
advances in culture and wealth. He fought his way up from poverty and tribal slavery to being recognized as the
punishing flail of God, but he was forever irked that he could not conquer China after many attempts. It would
be his grandson, Kublai Khan that succeeded where Genghis did not.
7. Gender and History ~ “The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world” ~ oh, really?
The role of women is the history of the world is filled with tragedy, abuse, exploitation, and ignorance.
Women went from being equals with men in Paleolithic societies and innovators of the Agricultural Revolution,
to being bought and sold like pack animals. But women became very adept at learning how to manipulate
situations in their favor, or at least the men in those situations, when necessary. Whether driven by mere
survival instincts, or motivated by higher yearnings, women of influence, power and action were an aberration
in history. Joan of Arc was a simple, possibly delusional French country maiden who convinced armies of men
that God had sent her to lead the French in conquest against the British – and indeed she did.
8. “Them versus Us” Scenarios ~ How Differences in Race, Ethnicity, Language, Class affect History
We don’t often think in terms of racism in history until the onslaught of Black African slavery, which
began in the 7th and 8th centuries by Islamic merchants. But certainly history is full of “them versus us”
scenarios of one culture, or nation maintaining their superiority of being over another. The Romans were a great
example of a culture seeing themselves superior to all other societies, whom they regarded as barbarians. If you
were not Roman, then you were born inferior and you deserved to be conquered and ruled by a superior people.
This thinking has driven Imperialism since Sargon the Great, the first empire builder in the 3rd millennium
BCE.
9. Religion and History ~ “My God is better than your god”
This theme kind of goes hand in hand with “them versus us” scenarios, only this is MY GOD is better
than your god = meaning my GOD is the most powerful and your god is not. Religion was NOT a concept of
belief in the ancient world as it is in the modern world, something you chose to accept or not – in the ancient
world it was your complete way of life and thought and the motivation of all action. Humans created myths and
legends of gods and creation stories to help them understand their world and their place in it, and in so doing it
helped them justify why one people can dominate another. The history of the Hebrews-Israelites-Jews
demonstrates a people who created a religious ideal of ONE GOD who demanded their separation from the rest
of the world, and in so doing projected a religious identity unique in world history, only to see it adopted and
changed by Christianity first, and then by Islam.
10. Role of Family in History ~ as a social, a defensive, an economic, and/or a spiritual construct
Family units are the very core of how human beings have organized themselves from their very
beginnings. Parents, children, grandparents evolved into generations of extended families that grew into tribes
and then into larger societies. But what happened to the role of the parents? of children? How did civilization
impact the family unit? An interesting study is the Spartans, who had institutionalized segregation of the sexes
and dissolution of the family unit in favor of a male-dominated society of warriors who began their training
from the time they are born and raised from the time of 8 years old in a completely male environment. The
entire aim of Spartan society was to produce elite Spartan warriors, for women to give birth to them and for
men to raise them.
11. The Effects of Education on History ~ “I know something you don’t know . . .”
Education is one of the five hallmark institutions of society, along with political institutions, economic
institutions, family institutions, and religious institutions. Indeed, education is experienced from the time you
are born and you learn language and other cultural skills from your family. The development of a writing
system is one of the hallmarks of civilization, which enables a society to record and preserve their thoughts,
beliefs, ideas, inventions, innovations, etc. and pass them forward in time. Education also allows for concepts
and ideas to pass from culture to culture, via trade, or migrations, or even conversions. When the European
Crusaders journeyed through the Byzantine Empire of their way to the Holy Land, they picked up new ideas,
new skills, new thoughts and concepts, which eventually lead to the intellectual rebirth of Europe called the
Renaissance ~ an era in which backwater Europe would propel itself within 100 years to the top of the global
food chain of civilizations.
12. Individualism vs. Communalism ~ “the need of the one” or the “need of the many”?
Human beings need each other, it is that simple. Men hunted wild game in packs and women birthed and
nurtured their families in packs. We are communal creatures – so when and why did the concept of individuality
begin? We were for centuries defined by our gender, or our class, or our professions, or our utility to a society but seldom were we defined by our unique qualities, unless we were the few and the fearless who aspired to
greatness above the masses. And here is where the occasional person or people emerge who place more value
on the unique ability of the individual, then on the herding instinct of the masses. Art became a way for the one
to differentiate themselves from the many, as it expressed a part of them in a public setting. For example, the
communalism of an army was always led by the individuality of a general and his art of military tactics. Athens
is a good example of a society that stressed the power of the individual with the creation of Athenian
Democracy that granted all citizens, males over 18, a voice in the politics of the city-state.
13. WAR ~ “What was it good for?”
War is the most constant theme in history ~ it has been occurring and reoccurring in every age of human
existence and while it is easy to recount the horrible effects of war there is also a case to be made for the
positive outcomes of war. An obvious positive outcome of war is the independence won in the American
Revolution and the eventual creation of the unique Democratic Republican government outlined in our U.S.
Constitution.
14. Pivot Points in History ~ “when in the course of human events . . .” ~ the course abruptly changes
There are incredible moments in history when the path that human existence is following dramatically
changes and heads off in another direction. Sometimes these changes occur because of major geologic events,
such as the volcanic eruption that buried the Roman City of Pompeii or they occur from human actions, such as
the discovery of vaccines that globally improved human health. So with this theme you will look at one pivotal
event and discuss how it changed the direction human life was taking.
15. The Power of Personality ~ Celebrities who change history
This is similar to Pivot Points in History, but instead of a pivotal event you have a pivotal personality ~
someone who impacts history politically, culturally, religiously, economically, etc. Not all pivotal personalities
in history were conquerors, such as Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar. Some influential personalities who
changed history would be John Locke and his theories of liberty and freedom that were foundational to the
rhetoric of the U.S. Declaration of Independence; Martin Luther King and his activism for racial equality in
America that inspired the Civil Rights movement of the 60s; Harriet Beecher Stowe and her novel Uncle Tom’s
Cabin that exposed the horrors of American southern slavery to northerners and contributing to the start of the
Civil War.
16. “One man’s VIRTUE is another man’s EVIL” ~ Extreme human acts and responses in history
These acts are the most disturbing aspects of our historical past, and even our present. Either through
individuals or groups, horrifically classified acts such as genocides, tortures, or suicides have been perpetrated
for reasons that to some are revered as heroic or religious acts and to others they are seen as evil. The attacks of
911, the Holocaust of Euorpe’s Jews, the Armenian Genocide of WWI – these and many more are acts in
history of shock and awe that result in responses that affect history. So you need to not just write up the the
details of the extreme event, but the responses to it that changed history.
17. “Ruling the Roost” ~ methods and styles of administration of government over the populace
From the earliest origins of human societies, communities of human beings had to establish some kind
of concession of rules they would follow in order to live in harmony and cooperation. These evolved into
institutions of governments usually formed by one small aristocratic rank of society ruling over a large majority
and variety of non-aristocratic peoples. These systems each held unique features of governing peculiar to the
unique needs and/or demands of their particular societies. A perfect example of this can be seen in the
militaristic state of the Spartans in ancient Greek history. An elite group of retired Spartan soldiers, who had
lived long enough and survived the wars of their youth, ruled Sparta as an oligarchy that held life and death
decisions over the fate of their citizens from the time they were born. They ruled over a gender-segregated
Spartan world completely dedicated to the training and maintenance of a militarized citizenry that then ruled
over a much larger slave society in their midst called the Helots, who did ALL other labors and duties necessary
for sustaining the life and well-being of Spartans citizens who contributed nothing else to Sparta except their
military prowess.
18. “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall . . .” ~ paradoxes in history ~ “heads and tails,” i.e. flip sides (ex: good
and bad) of the same event, person, or place.
This is a theme that requires a higher level of critical thinking and reasoning. It is important to
understand that there is NO historical event, person, era, place, etc. that is monothematic = meaning there is
only one way to view it. A good example of a historical person with many facets of interpretation is Martin
Luther. He is credited with one of the bravest and selfless acts in history by challenging the corruption of the
Catholic Church and becoming the driving force of the Reformation. But there is another side to Martin Luther
that few know about because history prefers to focus on the positive side of him = I am talking about his raging
Anti-Jewish attitudes. He advocated some of the most heinous anti-Semitic acts of his time, irrationally hating
the Jews. One cannot truly say they know about Martin Luther unless they are willing to examine BOTH sides
of his personality.
19. “For want of a nail . . .” ~ how technology has affected history
This is a favorite theme in history for students – how new inventions and innovations can change
history. The Cotton Gin that I mentioned above would be a good example. The moveable type printing press
used by Johann Gutenberg to mass print the Bible propelled an explosion in printed material that incited desires
in people to become literate so they could read all the materials being circulated.
20. History and the Environment ~ exploiting Mother Nature and its consequences.
This in kind of the opposite of Geographic Determinism, in that it is how humans have impacted the
earth, rather than how the earth has impacted humans. A good example is the Dust Bowl in American modern
history. For thousands of years, the Great Plains of North America had been natural grazing lands for migratory
herds. The deep rooted prairie grasses withstood droughts, storms, winds, and fires. But once humans started
cultivating the Great Plains in the 1800s by plowing up all the prairie grasses and replacing them with
temporary, short rooted crops, this directly resulted in the black blizzards of the 1930s. Droughts and winds
carried all the top soil off the plains and carried it into the atmosphere, leaving the once rich farm lands a desert
wasteland.
Jane Doe
Modern World History HIST 101 (provide proper course title for our
class)
Theme #2: The Big “C”s ~ Conquest, Commerce, Colonization, &
Conversion on the Course of History
People, their cultures, and ideas have–and continue to–spread across the
world in many different ways. The discovery of new land in the late 1400s
motivated people to explore and colonize in the new territory. Christopher
Columbus’s discovery of the “New World” led to the colonization of
Europeans across the Atlantic. Spaniards were among the first of the
European nations to colonize in the “New World” and bring along their
culture and ideas. Instead of accepting the natives’ culture and living in
peace when they arrived, the Spaniards saw a clear opportunity to conquer
the Aztec people and convert them to Christianity. The Conquistadors
almost killed off the majority of the Aztec population simply because the
natives refused To give up their own culture and convert to Christianity and
because the Spaniards wanted gold and silver. Historians and university
professors from Pennsylvania State University, William J. Duiker and
Jackson J. Spielvogel noted in their 2016 edition of their World History
textbook that “tensions soon erupted between the Spaniards and the
Aztecs, provoked in part by demands by Cortés that the Aztecs renounce
their native beliefs and accept Christianity” (Duiker & Spielvogel, 398 [pg
number when using hard copy]). The Spaniards also exploited the
resources and land of the Aztec people in order to bring profit to Spain.
Conquistadors would steal gold and silver to bring back to Spain and they
also imported and exported raw materials such as tobacco and sugar for
economic profit. The colonization of European countries to the “New World”
proved to be tragic for many native groups, but beneficial to the economies
of the European nations. While the Spaniards gained riches by conquering
the Aztecs, the Aztecs lost many of their people and part of their culture.
There are many different cultures and ideologies which make the world
interesting. Unfortunately when people are not open minded differences in
cultures and opinions can lead to disaster like in the case of the Spaniards
and the Aztecs. Bartolome de las Casas, a Spanish Dominican Friar who
became an advocate for the abused and conquered natives in the New
World, reported to the King of Spain with a missive in 1542 that “the extent
of the injustices suffered by these innocent peoples and the way in which
they are being destroyed and crushed underfoot, unjustly and for no other
reason than to satisfy the greed and ambition of those whose purpose it is
to commit such wicked atrocities” (Bartolome de las Casas, A Short
Account of the Destruction of the Indies, 1542, pg. 7). His reporting of
the injustices suffered by the Aztecs at the hand of Spanish Conquistadors
ultimately influenced the creation of more humane policies of Spanish
administration in its New World colonies. 400 words.
Theme #15. The Power of Personality ~ Celebrities who change
history
A single person has the ability to change history for better or for
worse. Martin Luther was able to change history by exposing the corruption
of the Catholic Church. Luther was an Augustinian monk in the Catholic
Church and he lectured people about the Bible and interpreted it in his own
way. Martin Luther noticed that the Catholic Church was selling
indulgences which angered him because the church was exploiting its
followers for profits. This led Martin Luther to post his “Ninety-Five Theses”
in 1517 which would expose the wrongdoings of the church. The “NinetyFive Theses” was soon printed and published across Europe. “The Pope
has neither the will nor the power to remit any penalties beyond those he
has imposed either at his own discretion or by canon law” (Martin Luther,
“Ninety-Five Theses,” Mindtap, Ch. 15). The pope does not have
authority to create any new penalties or mandates, which were not listed in
the Bible, for the benefit of the Church. By exposing the corruption within
the church, Luther was able to enlighten common people. His goal was to
give followers direct access to the Bible so they could read it and interpret it
in their own manner. Martin Luther defied the Catholic Church and by doing
so he changed the course of history. By the power of his own convictions,
he challenged Church doctrines and set the stage for the great
Reformation, in which Luther’s religious philosophies “that humans are
saved not through their good works but through faith in the promises of
God” caused a schism in Western religion and became the “primary
doctrine of the Protestant Reformation” (Duiker & Spielvogel, 15-1b [chap
& sections when using Ebook]). 285 words.
Theme #13. WAR ~ “What was it good for?”
While there are many downsides to war, death being the obvious, history
has proven that some good has come out of war. The Civil Wars in
England (1642-1651) between parliamentary forces and royalists follows
this theme. A stronger Parliament was established as a result of these
conflicts over the form that English government should take. Although
control of England was eventually handed to a new monarchy during the
Glorious Revolution of 1688, a “Bill of Rights” was written by the House of
Commons in 1689 giving rights to both the Parliament and the citizens it
represented. According to the editors of the Britannica Encyclopedia in their
entry posted in their Online database in July 1998, “A number of clauses
sought to eliminate royal interference in parliamentary matters, stressing
that elections must be free and that members must have complete freedom
of speech” (“Bill of Rights – British History,” Encyclopedia Britannica.)
The original scroll of the “Bill of Rights”, which is 7 to 8 feet long and
housed in the Parliamentary Archives of the UK, set the course for
Parliament to be the true authority of England over the next century. This
was beneficial to the citizens of England because they could be politically
active in their government. The opening text of the English “Bill of Rights”
states its intent “for the choosing of such persons to represent them, as
were of right to be sent to parliament, to meet and sit at Westminster upon
the two and twentieth day of January, in this year 1689, in order to such an
establishment as that their religion, laws, and liberties might not again be in
danger of being subverted” (“The Bill of Rights,” 1689). Even though the
English Civil War witnessed the first beheading of an unpopular European
monarch, Charles I, in 1649, the establishment of a Constitutional
Monarchy that eventually evolved out of the chaos would lay the foundation
for the American Democracy. 320 words.
1000 words
Works Cited
Primary Sources:
De las Casas, Bartolome. “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies,
1542.” In A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolome de
las Casas. Translated by Nigel Griffin. Middlesex, England: Penguin Books,
1992.
Luther, Martin. “Ninety-Five Theses or Disputation on the Power of
Indulgences, 1517. ” In Martin Luther. Edited by E. G. Rupp and Benjamin
Drewery. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1970. See William J. Duiker and
Jackson Spielvogel. World History, Vol. II Since 1500. 8th Edition. Boston:
Cengage Learning, 2016. Cengage Mindtap. Web. 12 September 2015.
“The Bill of Rights” by English Parliament, January, 1689. In The Statutes:
Revised Edition (London: Eyre & Spotiswoode, 1871), Vol. 2, pp. 10–12.
Secondary Sources:
Duiker, William J. and Jackson Spielvogel. World History, Vol. II Since
1500. 8th Edition. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2016. Cengage Mindtap.
Web. 12 September 2015.
Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Bill of Rights.” Encyclopedia
Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. Published 3 June 2016. Accessed
9 January 2017. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bill-of-Rights-Britishhistory
(Links to an external site.)
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