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Agenda: Week of Sept. 24 - Sept. 28, 2012

Unit 2: Classical Era - 500 BCE to 500 CE
Chapter 5: Eurasian Cultural Traditions
Quick Agenda:
MON - Reading Check Quiz Chapter 5, China: Legalism/Confucianism/Daoism/
TUE - Zoroastrianism, Judaism, & Christianity -compared to- Buddhism/Hinduism 
WED/THU - Greek Rationalism & Secularism, Christianity & Buddhism compared
FRI - Test Chapter 5

Monday, Sept. 24, 2012
Quote: "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." - Confucius

Learning Targets:

* Explain the enormous influence on world history of the religious and cultural traditions developed in the classical world

Essential Questions:
“Religions are fundamentally alike.” Does the material in this chapter support or undermine this idea?
What different answers to the problem of disorder arose in classical China?
Why has Confucianism been defined as a “humanistic philosophy” rather than a supernatural religion?
How did the Daoist outlook differ from that of Confucianism?
In what ways did the religious traditions of South Asia change over the centuries?

Agenda:
1. Reading Check Quiz - Chapter 5.
2. DO NOW QUESTION: "Big Picture" Question #1: Does Strayer support this statement, Religions are fundamentally alike. Explain.
3. Notes, Discussion, & Video: 
China & The Search for Order
What is the purpose of life? How should human society be ordered? How can humans deal with disorder?
What was the Legalist answer?
What was the Confucian answer?
What was the Daoist answer?
Apple Fanboy attends iChurch.
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012
Quote: "Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing." - William James, American psychologist and philosopher (1842 - 1910)

Learning Targets:
* Explain the enormous influence on world history of the religious and cultural traditions developed in the classical world
* Analyze the reasons behind the development of these religious and cultural traditions

Essential Questions:
How would you define the appeal of the religious/cultural traditions discussed in this chapter? To what groups were they attractive, and why?
In what ways did Buddhism reflect Hindu traditions, and in what ways did it challenge them?
What is the difference between the Theravada and Mahayana expressions of Buddhism?
What new emphases characterized Hinduism as it responded to the challenge of Buddhism?
What aspects of Zoroastrianism and Judaism subsequently found a place in Christianity and Islam?
What was distinctive about the Jewish religious tradition?

Agenda:
1. DO NOW QUESTION: How would you define the appeal of the religious/cultural traditions discussed in this chapter? To what groups were they attractive, and why?
2. Notes, Discussion, & Video:
India: Buddhism to Hinduism
China: Legalism-Confucianism-Buddhism transition
Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity ~ Monotheism
Wednesday, Sept. 26 and Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012
Quote: "To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge." - Socrates

Learning Targets:
* Explain the enormous influence on world history of the religious and cultural traditions developed in the classical world
* Analyze the reasons behind the development of these religious and cultural traditions
* Compare the common ground and significant differences between these religious and cultural traditions and examine possible reasons behind them 

Essential Questions:
- “Religion is a double-edged sword, both supporting and undermining political authority and social elites.” 
- What are the distinctive features of the Greek intellectual tradition?
- How would you compare the lives and teachings of Jesus and the Buddha? In what different ways did the two religions evolve after the deaths of their founders?
- In what ways was Christianity transformed in the five centuries following the death of Jesus?

Agenda:
1. DO NOW QUESTION: Is a secular outlook on the world an essentially modern phenomenon, or does it have precedents in the classical era? How would you support both sides of this statement?
2. Notes, Video, & Discussion: 
Greek Rational Thought
India (Hinduism and Buddhism compared)
Christianity & the Roman Soldier

Friday, Sept. 28, 2012
Quote: "Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything." - Mary Hemingway

Learning Targets:
* Explain the enormous influence on world history of the religious and cultural traditions developed in the classical world
* Analyze the reasons behind the development of these religious and cultural traditions
* Compare the common ground and significant differences between these religious and cultural traditions and examine possible reasons behind them

Agenda:
1. TEST Chapter 5
Begin Reading Chapter 6, take notes and check out the Strayer companion site for the outline and self-quizzes, prepare for Reading Check Quiz on Monday.