World History Class with Mr. Lutz: Recent Episodes
Mike Lutz
This final episode discusses how the world experiences radical technological changes, especially in the way we communicate and consume information, every few years with effects that are constantly being understood bit by bit. We, as a global community, rely on both raw materials and finished products from individuals all over our planet. These technological developments and economic exchanges, paired with greater personal freedoms, have reshaped how we live inside and outside of our homes through a more globalized culture. World population continues to grow, reaching 8.1 billion by 2024. Increased consumption of resources, particularly fossil fuels, by our ever expanding population and global economy, has altered the global climate. This has resulted in more and more natural disasters, leading to new waves of migration, political turbulence, and cooperative efforts attempted at limiting human impact on the environment.
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This episode explains how by 1991, nations throughout Europe and Asia were rebuilt along very different lines of democratic capitalism or authoritarian communism. These ideologies created material advances to varying degrees of success. However, communism has done so at the cost of countless lives and personal freedoms while capitalism has set economic growth as its top priority, to the cost of our natural environment’s ability to manage itself. Former European colonies have secured independence for themselves and the empires of the late 19th and early 20th centuries have now collapsed. America stands at the end of the Cold War as the world’s singular superpower.
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In this episode you will learn how by 1945, European nation-states are left devastated after the First and Second World Wars, no longer able to maintain control over their far-flung empires, and relying on foreign support to help them rebuild. Political extremism has led to the approximate deaths of 75 million individuals as a result of World Wars I and II. Political revolutions in old states and the world wars have resulted in their demise and authoritarian forms of communism begin to emerge and present themselves as a legitimate rivalry to the popular systems of liberal democracy and capitalism found in the West.
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This episode will discuss how by 1900, China had been divided into Spheres of Influence after agreeing to several so-called “unequal treaties” with several European countries, the United States, and Japan. By that time, they were halfway through what they called their “century of humiliation.” India, once the leading global exporter of cotton textiles, had become a de-industrialized society and was now a British colony devoted to the growth of cash crops. According to historian Robert Marks, by the early 1800s, India had now contributed about 2% of world manufacturing output, China 7%, and Europe and the United States combined for 80%. Western militaries now dominated those of the rest of the world and it was necessary for non-westerners to rethink their ways or fall behind.
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This episode will help you understand that by 1900, some of the most dramatic transformations in human history have taken place that still largely shape our modern world. The environment no longer places limits on societal potential the way it used to. Cities are popping up throughout the Western world and people are flocking there to work in new industrial jobs, abandoning their traditional ways of working. New technologies and machinery are being developed that transform everything relating to how humans work, live, and consume. Western states now push for free trade that allows them to exchange with states in ways mercantilism never allowed, helping them to dominate economic and political affairs around the globe. Inequalities between social classes have grown larger and new ideologies develop that seek to radically transform society.
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In this episode, we’ll come to understand that by 1900, the Americas had become almost entirely independent of European rule. The rights of individuals are now protected by states (though not necessarily for women or people of color). Absolute monarchy has largely ended and some rulers have been violently overthrown by their own people, both at home and abroad in their colonies. Slavery has been widely abolished in the Western world, but its after effects remain. Societies are imagining themselves into new communities defined by national identity that would present their own new and unique benefits and challenges.
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We’ll close out our study of this era by learning how an entirely new sect of Christianity, Protestantism, had emerged and was now competing with Roman Catholicism for influence in European state affairs. Meanwhile, the emerging Scientific Revolution was calling preconceived beliefs about the workings of the natural world into question. The Roman Catholic states of Portugal and Spain had made a push to globalize their faith, spreading it throughout their empires and trade posts in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Tensions between Shia and Sunni had flared intensely during the era and a new religion was forming in India that argued all Hindus and Muslims were all children of God.
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In this episode you’ll find out how by 1750, Europeans will effectively have control over the Indian Ocean, and the newly established Atlantic, and Pacific routes of exchange that had not existed when our studies of this unit began in 1450. Their economic practices will have tremendously negative effects for people of the Americas, most of Africa, and various parts of Asia. Yet China and Japan largely stood to benefit from much of these developments while many Asian merchant communities in the Indian Ocean continued to thrive as well.
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This episode will shed light on how by about 1750, European empires spread across a large part of the Americas, the Aztec and Inca empires were no more, the Ottomans had reached and were now moving past their high point, Russia was expanding eastward, India had been unified, and China was expanding westward. Long story short, huge, land-based and sea-based empires were on the rise and this was because of not only military advancements like gunpowder weapons and professional militaries, but also streamlined bureaucratic systems and societal structures had been put into place to keep the government and society running smoothly.
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World History Class with Mr. Lutz officially returns! This episode is intended to provide a narrative of how we can understand developments in world history from about 1200 to 1450. In particular, for students of AP World History, think of this as a combined story of what happens in Unit 1 and Unit 2 of your studies.
The general argument made here, which is to be understood, debated, and reinterpreted, is around 1200 we’ve got human societies scattered all over Afro-Eurasia and the Americas. In Afro-Eurasia these societies have been lightly connected by trade routes that have both become stronger and weaker over. But by 1450, there have been greater connections within Afro-Eurasia, leading to more goods, technologies, ideas, and diseases being exchanged. Societies in the Americas have grown stronger and mostly improved connections between themselves as well. Ultimately, it is the strengthening of states that has helped to improve connections between societies during this time.
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The Setting: The year was 2019 and I had just wrapped up writing and developing a 33 episode series that summarized all that my students learned in their AP World History class readings that year, covering a total of approximately 10,000 years of history and took up over 15 hours of total listening time.
The Outcome: It is now 2023 and I am creating a new, much more compact, season of World History Class with Mr. Lutz that will tell a narrative about the major units and topics we’ll learn in this course, covering developments from 1200 to the present.
Welcome back to another season of World History Class with Mr. Lutz! Listen to find out a bit more about the podcast and how it can be used as a tool to begin to dig a bit deeper into our shared past. I hope you enjoy and find it useful!
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THE LAST KEY CONCEPTS! 6.1.I.A – new modes of communication – including the Internet, radio communication, and cellular communication – and transportation reduced the problem of geographic distance. 6.1.I.C – Medical innovations, such as vaccines and antibiotics, increased the ability of humans to survive and live longer lives. 6.1.I.D – Energy technologies, including the use … Continue reading "Episode 33 – Globalization"
A lengthy list of KCs for this episode: 6.1.I.B – The Green Revolution and commercial agriculture increased productivity and sustained the earth’s growing population as it spread chemically and genetically modified forms of agriculture. 6.2.I.C – After the end of World War II, some colonies negotiated their independence, while other colonies achieved independence through armed … Continue reading "Episode 32 – Decolonization"
Presenting to you the Key Concepts for WWII and the Cold War… 6.1.III.C – New military technology and new tactics and the waging of “total war” led to increased levels of wartime casualties. 6.2.III.C – The rise of extremist groups in power led to the annihilation of specific populations, notably in the Holocaust doing World … Continue reading "Episode 31 – World War II and the Cold War"
Probably not as many KCs as you expected… 6.1.I.A – New modes of communication – including the Internet, radio communication, and cellular communication – and transportation reduced the problem of geographic distance. 6.2.I.B – Between the two world wars, European imperial states often maintained control over their colonies and in some cases gained additional territories. … Continue reading "Episode 30 – The Interwar Years"
The Key Concepts in this episode are a bit less than you are used to seeing: 6.1.III.A – Diseases associated with poverty persisted, while other diseases emerged as new epidemics and threats to human survival. In addition, increased longevity led to a higher incidence of certain diseases. (The 1918 influenza pandemic) 6.1.III.C – New military … Continue reading "Episode 29 – World War I"
Here are your last Key Concepts of Period 5: 5.1.I.D – As the new methods of industrial production became more common in parts of northwestern Europe, they spread to other parts of Europe and the United States, Russia, and Japan. 5.1.II.C – The global economy of the 19th century expanded dramatically from the previous period … Continue reading "Episode 28 – The Ottomans, China, Japan, and Russia and Confront Modern Era"
This episode tackles the following Key Concepts: 5.1.II.A – The need for raw materials for the factories and increased food supplies for the growing population in urban centers led to the growth of export economies around the world that specialized in commercial extraction of natural resources and the production of food and industrial crops. The … Continue reading "Episode 27 – The Age of Imperialism"
A laundry list of KCs in this episode: 5.1.I.A – A variety of factors that led to the rise of industrial production and eventually resulted in the Industrial Revolution included: Europe’s location on the Atlantic Ocean, the geographical distribution of coal, iron, and timber, European demographic changes, urbanization, improved agricultural productivity, legal protection of private … Continue reading "Episode 26 – The Industrial Revolution"
Here are the first Key Concepts of Period 5 addressed in the pod… 5.1.III.A – The ideological inspiration for economic changes lies in the development of capitalism and classical liberalism associated with Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill. 5.3.I.A – Enlightenment philosophies applied new ways of understanding and empiricist approaches to both the natural world … Continue reading "Episode 25 – The Age of Revolutions"
4.1.I.A – The intensification of trade brought prosperity and economic disruption to the merchants and governments in the trading region of the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, the Sahara, and overland Eurasia. 4.1.IV.A – European merchants’ role in Asian trade was characterized mostly by transporting goods from one Asian country to another market in Asia or … Continue reading "Episode 24 – East Asia and the Early Modern World"
This episode’s Key Concepts include: 4.1.IV – The increase in interactions between newly connected hemispheres and intensification of connections within hemispheres expanded the spread and reform of existing religions and contributed to both religious conflicts and the creation of syncretic belief systems and practices. (The intensification of Sunni-Shi’a split by the political rivalries between the … Continue reading "Episode 23 – Early Modern Islamic Empires"
Here are the Key Concepts this episode tackles: 4.1.IV.D – The Atlantic system involved the movement of goods, wealth, and free and unfree laborers and the mixing of African, American, and European cultures and people. 4.1.V.B – American foods became staple crops in various parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Cash crops were grown primarily … Continue reading "Episode 22 – Africa and the Atlantic World"
Here are (all) of the Key Concepts this episode addresses: 4.1.IV.B – Commercialization and the creation of a global economy were intimately connected to new global circulation of silver from the Americas. 4.1.IV.C – Mercantilist policies and practices were used by European rulers to expand and control their economies and claim overseas territories, and joint-stock … Continue reading "Episode 21 – Integration of the Americas"
Here are your Russian Key Concepts: 4.1.VII – As merchants’ profits increased and governments collected more taxes, funding for the visual and performing arts, even for popular audiences, increased along with an expansion of literacy and increased focus on innovation and scientific inquiry. 4.2.II.A – Peasant and artisan labor intensified in many regions. 4.2.III.B – … Continue reading "Episode 20 – Early Modern Russia"
Here are the Key Concepts covered in this episode: 4.1.IV.B – Commercialization and the creation of a global economy were intimately connected to new global circulation of silver from the Americas. 4.1.IV.C – Mercantilist policies and practices were used by European rulers to expand and control their economies and claim overseas territories, and join-stock companies, … Continue reading "Episode 19 – The Transformation of Western Europe"
Key Concepts addressed in this episode: 4.1.I.A – The intensification of trade brought prosperity and economic disruption to the merchants and governments in the trading region of the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, the Sahara, and overland Eurasia. 4.1.II.A – The developments included the production of new tools, innovations in ship designs, and an improved understanding … Continue reading "Episode 18 – Transoceanic Connections"
The Key Concepts for this episode are listed below: 3.1.II.B – Some migrations had a significant environmental impact, including the maritime migrations of the Polynesian peoples who cultivated transplanted foods and domesticated animals as they moved to new islands. 3.2.II.A – Technological and cultural transfers were taking place during Chinese maritime activity led by Ming … Continue reading "Episode 17 – Expanding Global Contacts"
Key Concepts discussed in this episode (specifics mentioned in parentheses) 3.1.I.E – The expansion of empires – including the Mongols – facilitated Afro-Eurasian trade and communication as new people were drawn into their conquerors’ economies and trade networks. 3.1.II.A – The expansion and intensification of long-distance trade routes often depended on environmental knowledge and technological … Continue reading "Episode 16 – The Mongols"
Key Concepts Discussed 3.1.I.E – The expansion of empires – including China – facilitated Afro-Eurasian trade and communication as new people were drawn into their conquerors’ economies and trade networks. (Korea and Japan especially, though Japan wasn’t conquered) 3.1.III.B – In key places along important trade routes, merchants set up diasporic communities where they introduced … Continue reading "Episode 15 – The Sinification of Japan, Korea, and China"
Key Concepts discussed in the episode (specifics in parentheses): 3.1.I.C – The growth of interregional trade in luxury goods was encouraged by significant innovations in previously existing transportation and commercial technologies-including the caravanserai, compass use, the astrolabe, and larger ship designs in sea travel-and new forms of credit and the development of money economies. 3.1.I.D … Continue reading "Episode 14 – The Golden Age of China"
We’ll be checking out the Aztecs and the Incas primarily in today’s episode, making as many comparisons between the two groups as we can while also tracing the roots of their histories in Central America and South America, respectively. I made a good bit of recommendations (in between my rantings, ramblings, and potential mispronunciations) throughout … Continue reading "Episode 13 – The Pre-Columbian Americas"
This episode tackles the notion that this time period should be defined by as simplistic a term as “Middle.” We’ll discuss the political, economic, environmental, and cultural changes and continuities (see what I did there?!) during this period. Here’s the video I rambled about! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFcF_qfLHeQ https://ia601501.us.archive.org/9/items/12EuropeDuringTheMiddleAges_201810/12%20Europe%20during%20the%20Middle%20Ages.mp3
Today we talk Justinian, Byzantine foreign relations, political features, culture, differences in religion with western Europe, and the spread of Byzantine influences throughout eastern Europe. We even throw some love to the famous Nika Riots and give Theodora (some of) the credit she is due! This is my first episode I’ve recorded in a few … Continue reading "Episode 11 – The Byzantine Empire"
Digging into the worlds of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai then moving on to the Swahili Coast! We’ll be looking at the spread of Islam throughout these two regions, interactions between cultures at these two points of contact, goods exchanged, as well as some of the technology and natural process helping to facilitate these interactions. Keep … Continue reading "Episode 10 – Post-Classical Africa"
Another one in the books! This time I focus on the decline of the Abbasids, the spread of Islam to South and Southeast Asia, the cultural and technological transfers brought on as a result of Islam, and the declining status of women in the caliphate. Article from “The Explainer” https://www.historytoday.com/jonathan-harris/byzantium-and-abbasids-best-enemies Recommendations (LISTEN TO HEAD ON … Continue reading "Episode 9 – Islam is Growing and Growing and…"
Tackling the foundations, some social characteristics, and the very basics of the Umayyads and Abbasids. Be sure to check out my recommendation in this episode for lots more info about Islam! The podcast is now available on iTunes AND Stitcher! Links below. iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/world-history-class-with-mr-lutz/id1418821133?mt=2 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/mike-lutz/world-history-class-with-mr-lutz The primary document I sourced in “The Explainer” Recommendation: Subscribe to … Continue reading "Episode 8 – The Rise and Spread of Islam"
Wrapping up Period 2! Let’s do this! The Silk Roads: A New History of the World https://www.amazon.com/Silk-Roads-New-History-World/dp/1101912375 AP World History reviews from Think Fiveable (formerly High Level History) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxnnTFTsVttnVo190h_-wZw/playlists?view=50&shelf_id=2&sort=dd More info about Fiveable here: https://courses.fiveable.me/ https://ia601502.us.archive.org/7/items/07ClassicalWorldOverview/07%20Classical%20World%20Overview.mp3
How did I manage to fit all of Greece and Rome’s history into an episode just over 30 minutes long. I didn’t, not even close. However, I gave it a shot and here it is. Lots more to say about trade and the role of religion, but this episode tries to establish broad historical patterns … Continue reading "Episode 6 – Classical Greece and Rome"
This episode tackles some of the historical foundations and beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism while also addressing some of the political foundations of the Maurya and Gupta Empires. Stay tuned for today’s version of “The Explainer” to learn about the delicious pasta dish known as Cacio e Pepe. Further history of the dish and the … Continue reading "Episode 5 – Classical India"
In this episode I cover the beliefs and values of Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. You’ll also get the gist of the Qin and Han Dynasties! Get ready for the hit song of the summer, coming towards the end of the episode… “A Revolutionary Discovery in China” from The New York Review of Books https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2016/04/21/revolutionary-discovery-in-china/ The Chinese … Continue reading "Episode 4 – The Unification of China"
Thanks to all those who have listened. Please feel free to leave any feedback. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1418821133 https://ia801505.us.archive.org/3/items/03EarlyCivilizations/03%20Early%20Civilizations.mp3
I finally got over my recording anxiety and laid down the track! It’s safe to say I’m pleased with this as my first go-round. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts because this is ultimately for students. I hope you find this to be useful! Take care, everyone. – Mr. Lutz Podcast music: … Continue reading "Episode 2 – Before History"
Here it is! The first episode has arrived. In the five minutes or so of my chatting I explain the rationale behind developing this podcast and the different segments I plan on including for each episode. Nothing content related yet, this is just to set up the basics! Those listeners who are not my students … Continue reading "Episode 1 – Intro to the Pod"
What’s going on, everybody? This is where you will find new podcast episodes as they begin to roll out in the next week or so. I have a lot to learn about podcasting and building a site on WordPress, so bear with me as I navigate these very unfamiliar waters! For now, stay true to … Continue reading "Stay Tuned…"