Justinian's Code

The role of women is this empire is pretty minor just like in the other societies that we have studied.  Women are just there for babies(omitting angry feminist-like comment.)  But women do have some rights of divorcing and repudiating.  But overall, they are just there so there are children running around.  There is nothing in the document that says that women get any power.  All they are needed for is producing more people because the possession of children is discussed throughout the document. 
Justinian's background matters for this because it determines why he was emperor Justin's nephew.  His blood relation is important for him to keep his power over the empire.  If he is not able to provide a reason to why he is related to Justin, then he loses his position. The reader should know that the code is important because it protects his rights of being emperor. 

Roman City Prompts

b. What is the Forum and where is it located? Why is that symbolically significant? What other Classical Era society located politics in this way?

Th Forum was the center of the city and it was the center of politics. The Forum had important buildings and shops. It is symbolically significant because it shows like the center of the commerce and culture. This is similar to the Greek society as the city-states had cities as the center of politics and everything else and outside of the city was rural land where most people lived.

c. How does an aqueduct move water? How is this like or unlike the way a qanat worked in Persia?

The aqueduct of Rome uses gravity to move water from like a mountain. In the case of rivers and other bodies of water, they use arcs when they cannot use the large columns or pillars. In qanats, the Persians dug underground canals from a source of water.

f. Why can’t Marcus Fabricius marry Aiden? How does this compare to attitudes about marriage in Classical Era India?

Marcus can't marry Aiden because he has Roman citizenship and she does not.  This is similar to the attitudes about marriage in Classical Era India as marriage between castes was frowned upon.  It is basically the same idea here, people in different social standings are not permitted to marry.  

Daoism: What do I think?

I think that Daoism is about having enough indulgences and desires that you can enjoy them but they do not control you. 

Zarathustra on Good and Evil Question

Zarathustra made assumptions that humans would make the bad choices as he is telling everyone that they should make the right choices.  Throughout the hymn, he refers back to doing good deeds and all the good choices that Ahura Mazda made while his twin made all the bad choices. There is a description of how the good followers would be rewarded and how the evil would have the worst experience. He also tells people that they have the choice to do whatever they desire. However, he emphasizes how the bad will suffer and how the good will not.  At then end, it says "Long punishment for the evil-doer, and bliss for the follower of Truth", which serves as a reminder that the follower of goodness won't be punished while the evil-doer will.  Overall, I think Zarathustra assumes that people will be more likely to make the bad choices and just need to be told that they need to be good.  After they are told to be good, they just need to be reminded to remain good and not fall towards the dark side.  The hymn really serves as a reminder for people that they should be morally good so they can be rewarded. 

Copy of Peer Response!

Ashwini(Mesopotamia)- Your head project is really neat and pretty! I really like how the pictures are connected.  I also like how your key includes little thumbnail like pictures of each theme.  I think your project could have a more detailed key as it is a little confusing to figure out what each image was supposed to show.  Another way it could have been improved is using different colors to color code each theme, like instead of just using red. That way the key could have provided more information.   But that's really because your project is really great overall!  One similarity that struck me about your society and my society is the patriarchal figures.  In China, men dominated over women just like in Mesopotamia.   A different that struck me about our societies is that Mesopotamia has a more structured religion which is what the temple image seems to show.  In China, there was no structured religion.  One question I have for you is why did you decide to connect that thoughts inside the head to the outside? I thought that was really different and unique.

Hammad(Latin America)- Your head project looks super cool and the drawings are awesome!  Your drawings are really done well because they look uniform.  The organization of your head and the outside is also done really well.  It's easy to figure out things out.  One way this could be improved is by using color!  Another way is could be improved is by shrinking the key because it's really big.  One similarity that struck me is that your society had a king and my society has an emperor.  Both of these leaders had people do stuff for them.  One difference that struck me is that your society has giant heads.  China doesn’t have that form of art.  One question that I have for you: Why did you draw all of it?

Anu(India)- Your head project is really colorful.  The pictures that were chosen were really creative and I thought that was done well.  Another aspect of your poster that was done well is your key because it explained your images.  One thing you could improve on is the size and neatness of the key.  Another thing that could be improved is how your pictures are pasted on because there seems to be more space on the left that could have been used.  One similarity that struck me about your society and mine is that they both have servile people at the bottom.  A difference that struck me about your society and mine is that your society has a religion.  China does not have a uniform religion and your society does.  One question I have for you: Why did you get all your pictures from online? 

History Head

My region is China.  For the first theme, I have a picture of a river to show that the Chinese settled around rivers like the Yellow and Yangzi.  Inside the head I have a picture of an iron sword to show that the Chinese developed iron metallurgy and became more technologically advanced because of it. For the second theme, I have an image of an oracle bone to show the fortune-telling tradition that was apart of their belief system.  These oracle bones affected the person's external life as they were to predict a person's future.  The image inside of the head is of a scene from Disney's movie, Mulan.  The scene includes Mushu and two spirits of Mulan's ancestors.  This shows the Chinese belief that ancestors were super important to their lives.  The deceased ancestors and the living family members were to live together because the deceased also had an affect in the world.  For the third theme, there is a crown on the outside to show royalty.  The emperors of China were thought to be connected to heaven at one point.  Obviously since they had emperors, they had a monarchy for their political structure.  On the inside of the head, there is a picture of a dragon bowing.  The act of bowing is to show that a normal person respects the emperor because of the Mandate of Heaven. For the fourth theme, there is a picture of a rice field on the outside to show that rice was an agricultural production in China.  On the inside there is a picture of slave shackles.  The shackles are to show that slaves were apart of China's labor system, and that a person would think that a slave does a lot of work.  For the final theme, there is a picture of Gaston from Disney's Beauty and the Beast.  Gaston is a really big, strong man, who is full of himself.  China had a patriarchal society, and basically men were important and dominated which is what Gaston shows.  The final picture inside the head is of another scene from Mulan.  Shang isn't actually bowing down to Mulan, but that's what it looks like and it works for the idea it's supposed to portray.  In ancient China, the men earned their rights and honor through the female descent of their family, so women had some importance.