M15 Assignment: Portfolio Reflection

Nick Eizmendi
HIST 134
5/3/2015

Eizmendi 1
For my reflection I have chosen to explore how morals and tradition or religion, has
influenced individuals to act responsibly and contribute towards the upward march of mankind,
both those that existed long ago, and myself, existing today in the era of information.
My first example comes from Asoka in the Mauryan Empire. In the mid-3rd century B.C.
in India, the Mauryans, fought a brutal and costly war with the Kingdom of Kalinga. Although
Asoka was victorious, but he deeply questioned whether or not the bloodshed was worth it. Soon
after Asoka renounced warfare and became a Buddhist. He sent missionaries all over Southern
Asia to spread Buddhism and its message of inner peace over external wealth. By doing so,
Asoka created a golden age for the Mauryans, because of the teachings of Buddhism and the
empire-wide peacetime, more time and focus was put into commerce and science.i
My next example is the Han Dynasty of China, and the establishment of Confucianism as a state
ideology. Like the previous ideology adopted by the Qin Dynasty, Legalism, Confucianism
promotes law and order, but does without the strictness and violent conformity. Overall, the
Confucianism taught the Han Chinese humility and kindness; that logic, not just blind rule
following, is necessary in decision making; and that people are capable of doing good deeds on
their own. The amount of freedom allowed by Confucianism is what possibly led to a golden
age in Han China.ii
My final example is from Medieval Europe, and the Christian church system. Although it was
more out of fear of the church and the divine, the church, per Gregory of Tours, held Medieval
Europe together. Those who did not act responsibly feared they would face the potential risk of
divine retribution, such as what happened to Paladius and the raiders of the Monastery of St.
Martin.iii

Eizmendi 2
From these three examples, and from the course, what have I learned? Obviously, that history, all
topics, including religious traditions are important. All aspects are important, per The Atlantic,
we should reject either/or in favor of both/and.iv History teaches us lessons from the past that
can protect us in the future.v History is the collective memory of our culture.vi
In short, I believe that Michael Postma said it best, Knowing our roots helps us create a better
future; and without an understanding of history, we are doomed to repeat our collective past.vii

Eizmendi 3

Works Cited
Ancient History Encylopedia. Han Dynasty. 27 May 2013. Web site. 3 May 2015.
One of the LMs from Module 12; overall a good summary of the Han Dynasty, not so much on
Confucianism though.

Masters, Ryan. Ice-Age Education. 6 January 2014. Web site. 3 May 2015.
A blog post concerned whether or not people today are ready for an ice age, even though our
ancestors were well equipped. An interesting read.

McNeill, William H. Why Study History? 1985. Web site. 3 May 2015.
A long essay explaining why it is important to study history. A good (but somewhat difficult
read.)

Perry, David. How History Can Help Us Predict the Next Pope. 12 March 2013. Web site. 3 May
2015.
An article from The Atlantic about how learning history can help predict the future, in this case
the next pope.

Postma, Michael. What Can History Teach Us Today? n.d. Web site. 3 May 2015.
A blog post advocating the teaching of history in education curriculums.

Schoolcraft College. M10 The Meroyingians Transcript. n.d. Web site. 3 May 2015.

Eizmendi 4
The transcript from Module 10 for the Meroyingian video. Honestly it was much easier to read
this than watch the video, but besides that it portrays a good idea of what life was like in the
"dark ages" in Europe.
TimeMaps. World History Timeline The Mauryan empire of Ancient India in World History. n.d.
Web site. 3 May 2015.
Part of the readings from Module 11.

Wheeler. Confucius and Confucianism. n.d. Web site. 3 May 2015.

A "homemade" site from a history professor, also part of Module 12.

i (TimeMaps)
ii (Wheeler) and (Ancient History Encylopedia)
iii (Schoolcraft College)
iv (Perry)
v (Masters)
vi (McNeill)
vii (Postma)