[MOOC - A Brief History of Humankind] Part III Summary & Quiz

Part III: The Unification of Humankind

Lecture 8: The Direction of History

After the Agricultural Revolution, humans created many different cultures and societies. The relations between these different societies were very complex, and involved wars and conflicts as well as trade, immigration and imitation. But as time went by, the connections between the societies became stronger and stronger, so that humankind was gradually united into a single global society. Three main forces shaped this process of unification. The first was money and trade. Money is the most universal system of mutual trust ever devised by humans. How come even people who believe in different gods and obey rival kings, are nevertheless willing to use the same money?

Summary of Lesson 8-1 

By Woo Keun Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 8-2

By Woo Kyoung Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 8-3

By Se-won Ahn in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Lecture 9: Imperial Visions

The second force that shaped the process of human unification is imperialism. The idea of empire is seen today in a very negative light, but empires have played such a central role in human history that it’s hard to regard them as totally evil. What exactly is an empire? How have empires succeeded in uniting under their control different ecological regions, ethnic groups, and religious communities? How can we balance the positive contribution of empires with their record of violence and oppression? And what is the future of the imperial ideal? Is the world destined to be ruled by a new global empire?

Summary of Lesson 9-1

By Woo Kyoung Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 9-2

By Se-won Ahn in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 9-3

By Woo Keun Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Lecture 10: The Law of Religion

The third force that shaped the process of human unification is religion. The role of religion in history is extremely controversial. Some see religion as the root of all evil, while for others it is the primary source of happiness, empathy, and progress. Can we arrive at a balanced judgment? What were the main landmarks in the religious history of the world? In what ways did different cultures understand the universe, distinguish good from evil, and explain the ubiquitous presence of suffering?

Summary of Lesson 10-1

By Woo Kyoung Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 10-2

By Se-won Ahn in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 10-3

By Woo Keun Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 10-4

By Woo Kyoung Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

[MOOC - A Brief History of Humankind] Part II Summary & Quiz

Part II: The Agricultural Revolution

Lecture 5: History’s Biggest Fraud

About 12,000 years ago, people in the Middle East, China, and Central America began domesticating plants and animals. In the process, Homo sapiens, too, was domesticated, abandoning a life of hunting and gathering for the pleasures and discomforts of agriculture. For most people, the discomforts outweighed the pleasures. The Agricultural Revolution made the life of the average person harder. Why, then, did it occur? 

Summary Lesson 5-1,2 

By Se-won Ahn in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 5 -3

By Woo Kyoung Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 5 -4

By Woo Keun Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Lecture 6: Building Pyramids

For millions of years, humans lived in intimate bands of no more than a few dozen individuals. Our biological instincts are adapted to this way of life. Humans are consequently ill-equipped to cooperate with large numbers of strangers. Yet shortly after the Agricultural Revolution erupted, humans established cities, kingdoms, and huge empires. How did they do it? How can millions of strangers agree on shared laws, norms and values?

Summary of Lesson 6-1 
By Woo Kyoung Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 6-2 
By Se-won Ahn in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 6-3 
By Woo Keun Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Lecture 7: There is No Justice in History

A critical factor in the formation of complex societies was the division of the population into a hierarchy of groups. Agricultural and industrial societies have been built on hierarchies of class, race, ethnicity, and gender. Why was it impossible to create a just and equal society? What is the deep root of prejudice and injustice? In particular, why did almost all known societies treat men as superior to women?

Summary of Lesson 7-1 
By Woo Keun Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 7-2 
By Woo Keun Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 7-3
By Woo Kyoung Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Summary of Lesson 7-4
By Se-won Ahn in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

[History] Korea Peninsula in 1934

Charles Cave gave me two maps and description.
His grandfather who took a cruise from Melbourne to Asia including China Hong-Kong and Japan left that.

The map was published in Japan and drawn by hand in ink.

At the time, Korea was under Japanese rule(1910-1945)

and Japan had committed acts of brutality.

Still there are remaining problems such as

Dokdo and Comfort women.

Now I don't want to hate them,

but I hope to be able to solve these problems.

I totally agree with Dr. Harari's opinion in his lecture, A Brief History of Humankind,

"The empires, this is what they claimed, the empires bring new medicine. 

They bring new transportation that works, like the railroads. 

They bring new ideas, they bring education, they bring science 
to the primitive people in Africa and India and Australia. 

This is why the empires are good. And they should be supported. 

Now, of course, the reality was very often very far away from these fantasies.

On many occasions, what the European empires brought was war and famine and exploitation and racism

much more than medicines or roads or schools." 

(in the Lesson 12-4 The Marriage of Science and Empire)

[MOOC - A Brief History of Humankind] Part I Summary & Quiz

Part I: The Cognitive Revolution

Lecture 1: The Human Family

One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited planet Earth. Our species, Homo sapiens, was just one among them. Who were the others? Where did they come from? And what happened to them? Why is there today only one species of humans—Homo sapiens?

 Summary 

By Woo Keun Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Lecture 2: The Cognitive Revolution

The Cognitive Revolution, about 70,000 years ago, enabled Homo sapiens to conquer the world and drive all other human species to extinction. During this revolution, Homo sapiens developed a new and remarkable kind of language. How was this language different from the languages of earlier human species and of other animals? What were the advantages that Homo sapiens gained from this unique language?

 Summary 

 By Woo Kyoung Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Lecture 3: Daily Life in the Stone Age

What was life like for people who lived 30,000 years ago? What did they do when they woke up in the morning? How did they organize their societies? Did they have monogamous relationships and nuclear families? Did they have religions, revolutions, and wars?

  Summary 

By Se-won Ahn in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

Lecture 4: The Human Flood

Following the Cognitive Revolution, Homo sapiens spread all over the planet. While doing this, it drove numerous other species to extinction. In Australia, up to 95% of all large animal species vanished. In America, 84 of 107 large mammal species disappeared. Altogether, about half of the large terrestrial mammals that populated Earth became extinct. How could a few million individuals who possessed no more than Stone Age technology have caused such devastation?

4-1 Summary 

By Woo Kyoung Kim in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

4-2 Summary

By Se-won Ahn in A Brief History of Humankind - Korean study group♬

And...

My score of the first quiz ! >_<

Even though it was second try...