w. 38

Monday, 19 September

ENGLISH:
incorrect: Me and Bob are going to the library
correct: Bob and I are going to the library.

One way to check whether you should use me or I is to take away the other person and say the sentence with just yourself You would never say "Me am going to the library." Thus, "Me and XX are . . . is also wrong." :-)

Main issues covered in the lesson:

-       How the change in worldviews from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance is visible in art (in the Middle Ages when spiritual matters were more important than human achievements, we see that humans are portrayed in a very stylized manner (odd proportions, odd positioning of the body, very simplified description of the body. And in the Renaissance, where worldly matters are much more important, we see that the human form is portrayed in a much more believable manner. There is a greater sense that the figures represent beings of flesh and blood that exist in a believable space (even if the work is 2-dimensional, as in a painting). (Further discussion of the Renaissance and art: chap. 17, section 1, pp. 470–479)

-       How the printing press played a role in allowing ideas (of all kinds) to spread. The invention is credited to Johannes Gutenberg. (chap. 17, section 2, p. 484)

-       How the Protestant Reformation contributed to new forms of Christianity + allowed some European leaders to gain more political power (This last point is something I wrote down but didn’t discuss). (chap. 17, section 4)

-       How the Scientific Revolution saw the use of rational thinking to solve questions about the natural world. This is exemplified through the development of the heliocentric theory in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. This theory contradicted the geocentric theory that the Catholic Church supported. But despite the Church’s objection’s, the evidence provided via scientific methods helped new areas of scientific inquiry and study to expand. (chap 22, section 1)

-       Also in the 15^th and 16^th centuries we have Europeans setting out to explore the world. They are sailing around Africa to get to Asia (so as to be able to trade directly with India and other parts of Asia without having to go through so many middlemen.) They are setting up trading centers throughout Africa and Asia. And from 1492 onward, they are setting up industries (primarily agricultural) in the Americas (first in South American and the Caribbean).  (chap. 19, section 1, pp. 527–535 + chap 20, section 1)