Page 325 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Canadian and World Studies

B1.4 assess the criteria by which societies are judged to be “civilizations” (e.g., lasting cultural contribution, political influence, economic domin- ance, longevity, geographic/imperial expansion, developments in science/technology, written language, specialized roles/activities)
Sample questions: “When you analyse societies that are traditionally considered to be civiliza- tions, which of their characteristics are distinct from those of societies that are not considered civilizations?” “In the past, who has determined whether a society is a civilization? What do you see as the challenges and limitations of using conventional criteria to judge whether a society is a civilization? Do you think there have been any biases in these judgements and/or criteria? If so, how would you account for these biases? What issues have arisen because of them?”
B2. Social, Economic, and Political Context
FOCUS ON: Historical Significance; Historical Perspective
By the end of this course, students will:
B2.1 analyse social structures and modes of social organization in some early societies and emerging civilizations (e.g., class or other social hierarchies; slavery; families and clans; gender roles; educational, administrative, and religious structures; ways of exerting social control; structures in early towns/cities) and their impact on the lives of different people in these societies
Sample questions: “What role did religion play in these early societies? Did it contribute to social order? To social hierarchies? Did it hinder the mobility of certain groups in society? Did it have an impact on people’s day-to-day lives?” “Why might deities and rites in an agricultural society centred on a major river, such as the Nile or Indus, be different from those in a nomadic hunter-based society in an interior plain?” “What were the key social structures
in the developing cities of Mesopotamia? What impact did these structures have on people’s lives?”
B2.2 analyse the roles of various people in some early societies and emerging civilizations
(e.g., hunters, gatherers, farmers, mothers, healers, midwives, warriors, teachers, artisans, merchants and traders, scribes, storytellers, slaves, political leaders, sorcerers, spiritual leaders, women and men in religious orders, artists), and describe their ways of life and their impact on the lives of others
Sample questions: “What was the role of children in the early societies you are investigating? How did this role affect their daily lives?” “What role did mothers play in the rearing and education of their children in these societies? Was this role similar in all classes? Did it differ if the children were male or female?” “Who provided medical care in these societies? Who had access to medical care?” “Which positions/ professions were highly valued in this society? Which were not? What does this hierarchy tell you about this society and the lives of people in it?”
B2.3 describe various types of innovation in early societies (e.g., technological innovations: the wheel, the plough, irrigation techniques; innovations in communication: writing, alphabets, papyrus/paper; metallurgical innovations: metal tools, weapons, coins; mathematical/scientific innovations: calendars, geometry, astronomy; innovations in transportation: the canoe, the stirrup; navigational innovations: the astrolabe, the kamal, the compass), and assess their importance to these societies and to the emergence of different civilizations
Sample questions: “What innovations marked the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age? What was the significance of the develop- ment of iron tools and weapons? Which societies initially developed such tools/weapons? What advantage did this give them over other soci- eties?” “How did innovations in transportation and metallurgy affect the development of trade and commerce within and between early societies? What impact did these economic developments have on some early societies? How were different groups in these societies affected by these innovations?” “How did the development of specialized tools enable the Thule to survive in a harsh environment?”
B2.4 explain how various factors contributed
to the economic development of some early societies and emerging civilizations (e.g., agricultural surplus, water for agriculture and transportation, irrigation systems, the exploitation of natural resources, the barter system and special- ization in the production of goods and services, the Silk Road and other trade routes, the development of currency, slavery), and analyse the impact of these developments on the lives of different people in these societies
Sample questions: “What types of natural resources were particularly important to early societies? Which societies were particularly rich in such resources? What impact did the availability of these resources have on the economic development of these societies?” “How did the geographic location of Persia or the
EARLY SOCIETIES AND RISING CIVILIZATIONS
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the Fifteenth Century
World History to the End of
CHW3M