- Description
Week 5 Discussion 2 Option 1
“Shakespeare” Please respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:
- Discuss your reaction to the character of Hamlet in the two (2) soliloquies from the text. Consider the extent to which you sympathize with him and / or think he is self-absorbed. Explain the manner in which the literary form of soliloquy shapes your view of Hamlet.
- Identify one (1) or two (2) lines (except “To be, or not to be”) that you find interesting or favor, and explain your choice.
- Pretend you are a modernleader or celebrity facing personal crisis, such as Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Mandela, Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, Beyoncé, or some other; write a few lines of soliloquy, thinking aloud in front of the audience. (No need to sound Shakespearean).
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Week 5 Discussion 1 Option 2
“Global Encounters” Please respond to the following, using sources under the Explore heading as the basis of your response:
- Explain at least two (2) possible reasons for the differences between the results of exploration and trade by the Chinese and by the European states. Consider the reach of the Chinese Treasure Fleet and the global empires that Spain and Portugal established.
- Identify one (1) statistic or aspect of the transatlantic slave trade that you find most revealing about the human cost of European expansion into the New World.
- Slavery has been an accepted part of most societies covered in this course, though in the future most would seek its abolition. Discuss the implications of this for human progress.
Explore
Global Encounters: Achievements and Exploitation
- Chapter 18 (pp. 618-620), China’s Treasure Fleet; review Week 5 Music Folder 1
- Chinese explorers at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/ancient-chinese-explorers.htmland http://www.alrahalah.com/2010/09/zheng-he/
- Large ship replica: http://www.alrahalah.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/TreasureShip.jpg
- Chapter 18 (pp. 596-604), Spain and Portugal: empire building; quick conquest
- Chapter 18 (pp. 601, 604-607, 612-613), transatlantic slave trade
- Transatlantic slave trade at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p277.html