Short Answer Questions
(class 4)

Note:

(1) This assignment, like ALL assignments in this class, must be typed. See handout on class expectations

(2) This homework will set you up to write the first paper; accordingly, it makes sense to do it with care.

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Answer the following questions below with a brief paragraph.

1) What two phenomena revitalized trade in this period and why? use your own words

2) What fueled Ottoman expansion and what impact did that expansion have on Europe? use your own words

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SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS ON THE ON-LINE Excerpts from Racism: A Short History

Question 1, 2, and 4 require at least two sentences to answer; question 3 requires a single phrase; and question 5 might require a short to middling paragraph. If you have trouble writing a response using your own words, you may not yet understand the author's arguments. Reread the passage until you do understand it and so can answer in your own language.

1) Using your own words (and only your own words), carefully describe what the author thinks distinguishes racism from "mere hatred for a group" (aka xenophobia)? Read closely as Fredrickson's thoughtful definitions of racism and xenophobia differ from the sometimes sloppy use of those terms. In short, don't assume you know the answer without reading.

2) Identify three pieces of evidence that the author provides to support his argument that European ant-black racism did NOT precede the start of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade? (that is, what evidence does the author have that European societies exhibited little anti-black racism from ancient times all the way up through the 15th century?)

NOTE: Only one of your pieces of evidence for Question #2 can come from Ancient Greece and Rome. Use your own words.

3) According to the author, which non-European societies adopted anti-black racism long before such views became prevalent in Europe? (a phrase will do here)

4) As the author notes, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, European attitudes towards Jews became more hostile. Yet why, according to the author's definition of racism, did this new violence and hated towards Jews in this period NOT amount to racism? Use your own words.

5) (worth twice as much as questions 1, 2 ,3, 4, and 6)

What ultimately changed in Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spain such that the actions and attitudes of the country's Christian majority towards its Jewish minority population should be considered racist (as the author defines that term)? In other words, what lead Spanish Christians to become -- eventually -- racist in their treatment of Spain's Jewish minority? Use your own words.

6) complete the following time line using information from the on-line excerpts from Racism: A Short History. Be sure to fill out BOTH columns of the chart; in the last row, you will need to fill in the date that goes with the event already in the chart.

You may want to keep a copy of your answers to this chart for when writing your upcoming paper.

date	what event occurred in Christian/Jewish relations in Europe (or Spain)	What does the event reveal: racism or xenophobia
1096
1391
1412
	sheer numbers of converts made traditional forms of assimilation more difficult

Extra-Credit (requires a full paragraph, up to ten extra points):

The author argues that if a certain set of historical circumstances had not occurred, it is "quite possible" that European slaves would "have toiled alongside (enslaved) Africans on New World plantations." Explain. Describe the circumstances and the reasons the author provides to make his argument. Use your own words.