Week 8

This week’s chapters have focused on the 20^th century and also early 21^st century. Basically, it is now modern times. The first chapter was regarding early 20^th century with many African nations becoming independent from the European countries that colonized them. Most of the Western part of Africa was colonized by France and Northern and Southern Africa being controlled by Great Brittan. India was also mentioned regarding Gandhi and his influence to break away from England colonization as well as not becoming too modernized. The chapter then went back into how South Africa went about its freedom with the ANC (African National Congress). The difference between India and South African independence was that India was more related to religious movements whereas South Africa had a more race and ethnicity movement that was also much more violent than India.  The chapter then goes more into how Africa had more nations with democratic elections. The Chapter then ends with how Middle Eastern countries such as Turkey adapted to the 20^th century to a more Westernized way of living.

The last chapter discussed how the globalization of the world economy transformed many nations to utilize technology. It also went on to tell how countries would find cheaper labor by outsourcing to less economically viable areas. This method lead many wealthy nations to build factories and hire cheap labor to build products. It also talked about how the United States had a much more powerful influence upon the entire world by the late 20^th century. Feminism was then discussed and third world revolutionary Che Guvara was also mentioned. I thought one of the most important parts of this chapter was how the Global Environment was changing. Since reading this book it has said a lot about how the human species has expanded, settled, traded and conquered each other.  Now I think that we must all come together and find a way to keep our planet from entering into a polluted era from all of the waist we send into the atmosphere causing global warming. If we do not do something as a whole human race we could become extinct ourselves from our own doing.