Herodotus- Persian War
Thucydides- Peloponnesian War
Xenophon- History in 5 century time of Socrates
Aristotle- encyclopedia
Plutarch- biographies
Pausanias- Travel Guides
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Is monarchy more or less effective than democracy?
In the world, there are many types of government. The two types of government seen the most are monarchies and democracies. A monarchy government is “governmental system in which the head of state is a single person”. (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-monarchy.htm). A democratic government system is “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy). The difference between a monarchy and a democracy is that when the people get more input to the government, they have a greater feeling of being free. In a monarchist government, there is only one person deciding the rules and the people do not get to choose anything. A Monarchy government is not as effective as a democracy when looking at evolution, stability, use of power and control.
In monarchy government systems, there is only one person that can decide what happens in the nation. The only way for a new person to be in charge is if that person dies. Usually someone in his or her family takes over being in charge. Although it is a completely different person ruling, they would most likely have the same views as the previous head. This makes it hard for monarchies to adapt and evolve in the modern times. In democracies, the people are always choosing new leaders to govern the nation. The leaders work together to fix old and new problems that they are faced with. For example, in the United States, as different men and women were elected for many jobs, rules way of government changed. The Constitution is those rules written “in stone” technically. It was not meant to be changed originally, but once the world changed, it had to too. Those changes are called amendments. (http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html). In monarchies, there is not much room for dramatic change and evolution. In democracies, change happens every day.
In governments, laws are made to keep order and control of the people. Monastic governments do keep order and control most of the time, but not necessarily for the good of the people. For example, King Henry VIII abused his power. He wanted a divorce from his wife, because she did not bear a male child for him. The Catholic Church would not allow this, so he used his power to create his own church: The Church of England. (http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/tudorbio.htm). During the same time, Martin Luther was also rebelling against the church. He posted the 95 Theses. (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/luther95.txt). In democracies, unnecessary actions and laws are unlikely to take place. This is because there is not just one person that gets to decide everything. In order for a new law to be made, many people must approve it and pass it along to the next. Democratic governments allow the right amount of laws to be made, and no one person can change things due to their own needs. In monarchies, anything can happen if the king or queen says so.
Monarchies and democracies are very different styles of government. Monastic governments consist of one leader who governs the entire country. That one person is the sole government. In democratic governments, the people get to choose what happens. They elect leaders who then work together to govern the nation. Democracies are more effective because most of the people are on the government’s side. Most agree with what is happening and support the decisions of the elected officials. The people living in countries with monarchies have no choice to be on the side of the government or not. Overall democracies balance the power between many people and give the average person a chance to input their opinions to the government.
Primary Sources
"The United States Constitution - The U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.net." Index Page - The U.S. Constitution Online - USConstitution.net. Web. 31 May 2010.
FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 09 June 2010. .
Secondary Sources
"Democracy - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 01 June 2010. .
"The Life of King Henry VIII (1491-1547). Biography of Henry Tudor, King of England." Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature. Web. 01 June 2010. .
Logic, Your. "What Is a Monarchy?" WiseGEEK: Clear Answers for Common Questions. Web. 01 June 2010. .
Friday, May 7, 2010
Is Exploration a 'Good' Thing?
To explore something can mean many different things. A person can explore land, science, literature, and many different topics. Lewis and Clark explored the land we live on today. Rosalind Franklin explored crystallography and eventually discovered the shape of DNA. Scientists today are exploring the world of genetics trying to find cures for the diseases that have hindered our lives for years. In history and modern times, exploration is a very good thing.
In 1803, the United States bought a large piece of land from the French. This was called the Louisiana Purchase. Thomas Jefferson, president at the time, wanted to go explore this land. There was so much area to cover; he would not be able to see everything in a day. Jefferson summoned the help from Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to go on this journey together. (http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/lewis-clark/). The exploration of this new land was very significant to our world today. If it Lewis and Clark did not set out to find new bodies of water or mountain ranges, we would not have the amount of civilization in that area that we do today. It could have taken years after the purchase to view this land, but Lewis and Clark stepped up to the plate. These men were brave enough to journey to the unknown to help the United States of America grow. (http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/read/?_xmlsrc=lc.toc.xml&_xslsrc=LCstyles.xsl). Exploration of land is very important, because it can help countries create more metropolitan areas, and people can utilize the new land for their own purposes.
In biology classes around the world, DNA is one of the main subjects. Students explore the shape, function, building blocks and location of DNA. In 1952, most information about DNA was known, except what the actual shape of it was. For years scientists used many tools to view DNA. There was no evidence whether DNA was a circle, square, or triangle until Rosalind Franklin. Franklin studied DNA at King’s College. She explored crystallography and took a picture that changed biology forever. Franklin took the picture called Photo 51. This picture showed that a DNA strand was in the shape of a double helix. (http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/AB/BC/Rosalind_Franklin.php).
Exploring science helps our society by discovering new things that can help our everyday life. People like Rosalind Franklin who discover something as simple as the shape of our hereditary information, help us become more advanced as a people.
Today diseases like malaria and AIDS affect people in the world every day. Scientists are exploring ways to treat people and possibly find a cure. A group called HIV Vaccine Trials Network is working very hard to try to create a vaccine for this awful disease. It is hard to find a cure because viruses mutate and there are many different strands. (http://www.hvtn.org/science/strategies.html). If someone could find a cure, places like Africa, where AIDS is one of the main killers, would never be the same. Without the exploration of life-threatening diseases, our world would continue to suffer from them.
Exploration is most definitely a good thing. People can live in new places if land was explored. People can know more about themselves if someone explored the simple things. People would be able to live longer if exploration of diseases were conducted. With exploration, anything is possible. The world is open for our exploration.
Picture From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyphersculpture/2414831352/
Secondary Sources: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/lewis-clark/
Thursday, May 6, 2010
How is Renaissance art different than the art in the Middle Ages?
Renaissance art is much different from the art in the Middle Ages. Artists focused more on the human body and experiences in life. Rulers wanted this kind of art, so it was very popular back then. During the time of the Renaissance, artists learned of perspective. Studying perspective gave the art in the Renaissance depth. Art in the Middle Ages was simpler and more focused on religion and royalty. The Renaissance Art had a greater impact on the art painted today.
"Renaissance Art." Browse the World at Mrdowling.com. Web. 24 May 2010. .
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The Medici Movie Notes
The Medici was a dynasty of powers in the Middle Ages. They were extremely wealthy and powerful. They paid for some of the most influential artists of that time.
Florence 1400- a city unlike anything else
A huge trading area.
"The place to be"
The Medici didn't just value profit and money, they valued loyalty.
Pope John 23 (once a pirate) - when he was elected remembered his friends, the Medici.
The Medici became what was known as "God's bankers"
The Medici tried to build a new church, but failed. There was no dome on the top of it.
Without a dome you don't have to sacred building.
Feilpo Bernasneski- an architect
Genus
Unorthodox
The Medici were willing to gamble on his vision.
This was the first time columns were used for structural support in a building.
Sparked a Architectural Revolution everywhere.
After he built famous buildings, he started to work on the dome that was supposed to be on the top of the church. He designed the largest unsupported, freestanding dome in the world. He was afraid someone would steal his ideas, so he wrote in code. They approved his idea, and he began building the most unprecedented architecture in the history of it. He decided to place and inner dome inside the bigger one. Ingenious and completely unique idea. No one including Bernaeski knew if this complex idea would even work.
In 1489 Giovanni Medici died. He was laid to rest in the Church of Lorenzo
A rival family power wanted to wipe out the Medici. They thought of a plan to do so. They kidnapped and tortured a Medici to get information of the family. The kidnapped Medici was accused of treason and a vote was held. The people voted that he was guilty. He was supposed to be executed, but he had friends. Even in the enemy camp, he has someone he knew and was good friends with. They let him out, and his life was spared. Now, any friend of Cosemo was in danger. The built of the dome was at a halt. The rival family was then in control. Soon, the family was overthrown and lost the power. Cosemo was offered control of the city of Florence and he accepted. The Medici were back in business. The Medici bank continued to grow. It was now the most profitable bank in Europe.
Juliano Medici was stabbed 19 times
Lorenzo Medici started the first art school
In 1492, Lorenzo became very ill. At the age of 43, Lorenzo died.
The Great Schism Notes
THE GREAT SCHISM or the east-west schism
DaVinci- really the Renaissance man
^its not enough just to paint the image down, he was to experiment with them to get a point across.
How does he do this?
Don't look back into the bible, looked into everyday life.
There was a lot of conflict during the Renaissance.
You have the artists that look towards the classical past and the people around them, the church gets concerned. There is religious confusion due to the Protestant Reformation. There is also consequence against culture.
Hieronymus Bosch
Strangest painter of European art
Medieval Art was not supposed to make you think like the art in the Renaissance. It's purpose was to portray the unknown and warn you.
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