Respond to the following questions in a 3-5 page document.
Compare and contrast how thinkers in China, South Asia, and the Greek city- states began to consider how to improve their societies. How did the various thinkers respond to the particular circumstances of their states, societies, and/or cultures?
How did South Asia and the Mediterranean basin develop economically in the first millennium BCE? How did these economic developments affect the growth of urban society and the emerging ideas of thinkers and philosophers in these societies?
Compare and contrast Buddhist and Confucian philosophies. How did each seek to respond to different sets of issues? Provide examples to support your answer.
How did the political and economic innovations in the Mediterranean basin compare to those in China during the first millennium BCE? How did these innovations encourage reflection about the nature and purpose of society? Be specific in providing examples.
Assess the impact of Alexander the Great and his conquests in Afro-Eurasia and South Asia. How did his military conquests and pursuits, as well as those of his successors and kingdoms, bring together various worlds and spread Greek culture to the east?
How did the long-distance trade routes connect societies? What impact did these inter-regional contacts shape a new society, and what conflicts did these create? Be specific in your examples?
Compare the responses of Judean, Roman, and Carthaginian regions to Hellenistic influences in the Mediterranean. How receptive and/or resistant to these Greek cultural influences?
Note: Each question is worth 5 points and will be graded based on with the following criteria:
Accomplished = Response demonstrates excellent composition skills including a clear thesis, effective organization, convincing supporting materials, and excellent writing mechanics including spelling and punctuation.
Competent = Response contains composition skills including a clear thesis, although development, diction, and sentence style may suffer minor flaws. Shows careful and acceptable use of writing mechanics.
Developing = Response reflects flawed composition skills in either the clarity of the thesis, the development, or organization. Mechanics affects clarity.
