Assignment task:
1. Lynda Shaffer's article is a 'revisionist' work. Having read this work, define revisionism. Provide examples from "Southernization" to show how her work challenged your view (or the dominant view as you understand it) of human history.
2. Is the History of Technology addressed thoroughly enough in teaching history as a whole? Is it addressed incorrectly? For example, should technology be seen as something that determines the course of a particular society, or is the development of a civilization and its values more complex than this? How does Solange Ashby's article on Sahelian Africa & The Central African Ironsmiths relate to the teaching of the History of Technology?
3. Compare Leo Marx's and Jared Diamond's perspectives on progress. Which is more persuasive and why? How do their perspectives of progress square with Stephanie Guerin-Yodice's chapter on Ancient Mesopotamia & The Fertile Crescent?
4. The underlying assumption for many modern people is that technology = progress. Is this true? What does progress mean? What are some of the many ways people define progress?
5. In Martin Odler's piece on Ancient Egyptian Metallurgy, where do you see "cultural conservatism" at work? Tie your thoughts to Marx or Diamond's theory of progress.
6. This class is entitled "Technological Transformations," and the focus is on progress as a product of technology. Drawing on this week's readings as an introduction to the topic, discuss what you expect to learn in this class. What is the importance of Aristotle, Archimedes, and the concept of southernization to the big picture?