Christianity, Islam and Trade

For Monday's class, please read G&R, chapters 6 and 8, and take the virtual tour of the travels of Ibn Battuta.

What do think of Taylor Swift's Wildest Dreams" video? Here's an interesting article about it.

Islam in Africa & Sundiata

For Monday's class, please read G&R, chapter 7 and Sundiata. (Note: we are postponing chapter 6 until next week.)

Questions to consider while reading Sundiata are

• What is the role and status of a griot?
• What if any significant role do women play in the story of Sundiata?
• Where and when do the events of the story take place?
• What roles do religion and magic play in the story?
• How connected or aware of a larger world is the storyteller?
• What is the family structure of the king of Mali?
• How does one kingdom interact with another? 
• What are external and internal threats to peace?
• Overview of social structure can be found in note 37.
• Can you outline the basic story?

Finding Food & Farming

For Monday's class, please read G&R (aka the main textbook), chapters 3 and 4. We'll be looking at Hunting and Gathering (Paleolithic) society and the revolutionary move to farming and herding with its attendant explosions of population, migration, and new technologies.

Remember that your next blog post is due before midnight on Wednesday, 9/16. You can also get a jump on reading Sundiata (or at least work on getting a hold of copy) for next week.

And just for fun, check this link out.
Hey Brandon, I may have been wrong about the paleo diet not having pasta: link.

The True Size of Africa

click to see full image
or go to article

Update: Read Chapters 1 and 2 in the textbook and prepare for a map quiz by playing the on-line map quiz games. Your first blog post of 150 or so words is due by midnight on Wednesday, 9/9.