Age of Optimism: summary of Morris characterization

Portfolio II (Midterm-Week 13)
 
1. Nationalism: outlines of the following primary sources – Fichte, To the German Nation – Mazzini, Duties to Country – von Treitschke, selections from Political Writings and German History
 
2. Age of Optimism: summary of Morris characterization of the West at the turn of the century
– Morris, Modern Progress
3. China and Japan in the 19 th
c.: outlines of the following sources
– Lin Tse-Hsu, Letter of Advice to Queen Victoria – Fukuzawa, Escape from Asia
 
4. New Imperialism: Write one paragraph on Gandhis characterization of the West. Consider then these questions: How does Gandhi characterize Indian civilization in comparison with
the Western one? What seems to be for him the main difference between the two? What does
he mean by saying that the Western civilization is such that one only has to be patient and it
will self-destroy?
– Gandhi, Indian Home Rule
5. WWI: Write a brief paragraph on how people in Europe reacted to the news of war. What factors accounted for the enthusiasm with which many hailed the declaration of war?
 
6. [optional, extra-credit] – Socialism: outline of Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto [5 pts. max.] – East Asia: outlines of Abolition of the Exam System and Fifty Years of New Japan [6
pts. max]
 
Natalie Sherwan HST 103
Portfolio materials