Quiz #4

1) “Hallmark Five: We Embrace The Gift Of Diversity.” In what way does Strayer’s textbook, Ways of the World, reflect Hallmark 5 of the SND de Namur?

There are a lot of ways to define diversity.  Some like to think of diversity only as it relates to race, ethnic background and/or religious beliefs.  I choose to think of is taking all of those one step further and simply saying that true diversity is diversity of thought.  The reason is that when one looks at race and ethnic background, it seems too limiting.  If we think about the State of California and even look at the San Francisco Bay Area, you have many people who are very different ethnically and racially but they share common beliefs and morals based on the area that they have lived their entire lives.  

I think Strayer reflects and embraces the Hallmark of Diversity in a couple different ways.  One is that he perspective on history is as a Feminist.  As a Feminist, his perspective on several different topics challenged us to think differently about what perhaps we have learned our entire lives.  For example, he makes the point very early in the text to point out that in Hunter Gatherer Societies, women provided that majority of sustenance for the families and community.  According to Robert Lee's study of the San People, a gathering and hunting society in southern Africa, found that plants, normally gathered by women, provided 70 percent of the diet, while meat, hunted by men, accounted for only 30%.  

The last point that I would make is that he also challenges common assumptions so prevalent in the West.  For example, in the text he asks helps us to understand that - while the Renaissance is historically significant - other societies, such as China, had "Golden Ages" also, accomplished much and left impactful contributions to the world throughout history.  He did that for many countries.  In addition, he points out many of the travesties that happened as a result of western European conquests and the legacy of the disease, racism and discrimination that plagued many people in our society today.  

2) Please refer to the learning outcomes in your syllabus for this class. Did the course meet these outcomes? Were any of the outcomes not met? In answering this question, cite specific course activities or assignments that stand out to you.

Yes, the course met these outcomes.  There are none that weren't met.  When I reflect on many of the course activities, a few really stand out to driving toward key learning outcomes.

One, the exercise that we did when we had to look for evidence that Paleolithic societies were more egalitarian than later societies.  Our classroom debrief differentiating between a persuasive argument based on conjecture and assumptions versus an argument based on facts, findings, writings and art.  This certainly taught us to "Weigh and interpret evidence and present a sustained argument supported by historical evidence."

Two, the recent exercise of looking at the “echoes of Atlantic Revolutions”.  When we briefly discussed the fact that these became democratically-focused revolutions and that for the first time were primarily about people's political rights and addressed the questions around liberty and equality.  This is a good example of the class taking the time to "Understand how decisions made in the past continue to shape social and political discourse". 

Finally, throughout the course we took time to discuss the diversity of thought that Strayer presented.  We discussed how non-conforming some of these thoughts, positions and assertions were.  These discussions are good examples of the class taking time to "Analyze the ethical implications of past events from diverse points of view; demonstrate the ability to think critically about the ethical implications of the mission of NDNU and the Hallmarks of the SND as they relate to world historical scenarios".

 

4) Are we moving into a new historical era? Do the items listed under “Post-Modern” reflect the world we live in today and the future we seem to be working toward? Why or why not?

Post-Modern

1) Regulation of capitalism & cooperation among peoples

2) Environmental sustainability becomes a critical goal of technology

3) Government is increasingly global with emphasis on cooperation

4) Western European civilization recognizes co-equality of other peoples

In our classroom discussion among our group, we believe that what you have asserted above is close to what we see as being accurate.  We listed the following:

1) Capitalism expands, and global organizations and institutions regulates expansion of corporate growth and influence. 

2) Technological advances multiplies human intellectual innovations.

3) Public and private entities partner to enhance socially responsible endeavors.

4) Western European Civilization is part of a global community, where all have a voice. 

In terms of the first one, we are in sync with your thoughts.  The distinction for us is that we wanted to assert that Capitalism will expand it's influence beyond where it is today and as more countries/societies participate in the global economy, capitalistic approaches to remediating societal problems will emerge simply because it works for the most economically powerful countries in the world.  The other distinction is that believe that as this happens, governments will have less power and influence.  In their place global institutions/organizations will expand past global monetary and climate guidelines to regulate the ever-expanding power and influence that global companies have on the world economy.  

In terms of the second, we focused on what technology will continue to unleash in terms of human potential. We believe simply that as technology allows or empowers us to do more or do it more rapidly and more efficiently, humans will look to things that have never been tried before and leveraging new tech innovate beyond what is imaginable today.  While I believe that technology will be used for good - environmental sustainability -I don't believe that it will become a goal of technology.  At the core, technology advances as a core driver of Capitalism and driving economies.

In terms of the third,  agree with what you ave asserted.  Our point was that governments will lose their power due to always competing interests and internal political influence against cooperation with historically adversarial countries.  The authority will soon grow in global institutions/organizations.

In terms of the fourth, we agree with what you have asserted.  Ultimately, instead of always being the lead, western civilization will one day need to partner and leverage the ingenuity and creativity that is coming from other peoples throughout the world.