Assignment
Q1: Could Europe in 1550 be called a "new world"? Why or why not?
Q2: Create a character for yourself who is on their deathbed in 1550 and looking back on their life. What structured their life and what changes did they witness? Be sure to think about where they were living and what class they belonged to.
Q3: What changed early modern Europe more: art and ideas, war, or disease and environmental change?
Q4: How did the Renaissance, European territorial expansion, and early religious reform demonstrate an urge to "purify" European society or return it to a golden age? Did this urge produce change rather than simple reform?
There are 4 questions in total, each of the question should answer as essay format. The length of each question will be around 500 words.
Try to use examples from the readings, discussing a specific person, text, or event helps (evidence!)
1. provide a clear thesis statement in your introduction. A thesis needs to stake out your position and should be followed by a sentence briefly summarizing how you intend to prove it.
2. Use at least three examples as evidence for your argument. Devote a separate paragraph (at least) to each point.
• All general statements need to be followed by specific examples or details to elaborate the point.
• You should offer a brief description of your example to establish the context for your analysis. Provide who, what, when, where, and how/why.
• You should explicitly tell me how this supports your argument.
• You should provide a transition to your next example by showing its connection to the current example.
• Ex: "The emergence of new religions in the early modern period most clearly demonstrates that it was a new world because [x]. In [date], [person] called for major reforms in the Catholic Church. [explain their reforms/ ideas]. [explain how this created something new]. [perhaps mention other reformers with similar ideas]. At the same time as these religious changes, [y] also created a new world in Europe."