AP Assignment Part #3

The First Article

The article is about how European countries were able to easily conquer most of the world, it states that Europeans were masters of modern warfare. Although other places like Asia and the Ottoman Empire had gotten gunpowder and cannons before Europe, Europeans were able to master them proficiently. Mr. Hoffman attributes this to the fact that European powers were always at war with each other, causing military competition to make advancements in weaponry to advance and overtake others. 

This article correlates nicely with my book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. The article talks about how Europeans, although at a disadvantage compared to others, managed to overcome that weakness and become powerful. Jared Diamond is on the exact same roll (although he does not only talk about weapons but in other cases as well) as Philip Hoffman, that the Underdogs of the World (Europe) were able to end up controlling most of the world.

The article use logos and ethos very effectively, the first instance is that the author is a professor at California Institute of Technology. This automatically makes the readers believe that author is well known, respected, and knowledgeable. He uses facts very effectively and truly to prove his point. He uses the dates that are true to show that he speaks the truth. This in the end makes it so that people are more likely to believe what he is saying.

If I was to join a conversation between Philip Hoffman and Jared Diamond, I would have to agree with them again. I too have taken World History and I have been sometimes astounded by how a lot of civilizations were conquered by a group of people that were inferior to them. Both of them manage to carefully explain how Europe was able to end up controlling most of the world, even with a major disadvantage.

Hoffman, Philip T. "Why was it that Europe conquered the rest of the world? The politics and economics of Europe’s comparative advantage in violence" Yale, (Date Published Unknown), Web. 21 July 2014

The Second Article

The article is about the impact agriculture had on early civilizations. The author goes into detail on how agriculture had allowed for an influx of food to be produced which later paved the way for permanent settlements. With permanent civilizations and an influx of food, this lead to specialization of labor. And the specialization of labor ends up creating cities and empires.

This article correlates nicely with my book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. The article is about how agriculture in the Middle East and the latitude near the Middle East had created and innovated societies, tools, and civilizations. This is pretty close to what Jared Diamond is saying, due to agriculture, cities were able to form and technology was able to become more advanced.

The article seems to only use logos throughout its life. There are no hints that may hint the usage of ethos or pathos. Only logos is used but it is used very often, for example the author tells what crop was domesticated where and at what time period. He also talks about the technologies that were invented thanks to agriculture, and how agriculture slowly created bigger settlements.

I were to be suddenly thrown into a conversion between Terrie Schultz and Jared Diamond, I would once again have to be on their side. It is simple, both of what they are arguing has been proven true multiple times, and their thinking makes sense. Both of their reasonings seem logical when thought about and it also corresponds to what I've been taught in multiple history classes, so it would be unwise to disagree. 

Schultz, Terrie "Two Effects of the Development of Agriculture on Early Societies" Brighthub, 31 October 2010, Web. 21 July 2014 

The Third Article

This article is about the colonization of Africa by European countries. It explains reasons on why European countries had attempted to conquer Africa. These reasons include that colonization would lead to more land, which meant more wealth and power, and served as a way to export unwanted people (who were unable assimilate into new city life as a result of industrialization). It talks about how Europeans had easily conquered Africa with their supreme technology and weaponry, so even if the native Africans had fought back or resisted, they were easily overthrown. 

This article correlates nicely with my book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. The article talks about how Europeans were able easily able to conquer Africa with more supreme and advanced weapons and technology. This idea is also mentioned in my book and in fact is one of the main ideas- that advanced weapons were one of the biggest ways Europeans were able to conquer most of the world. 

It seems that the article concentrated upon the rhetoric elements of ethos and logos just like my book, and pathos is generally ignored or only slightly used. The article manages to use ethos since it was published by a website which is being researched by the Schomburg-Mellon Humanities Summer Institution and the New York Public Library. Since these two organizations are well known and respected, the reader is more likelier to believe what the article is saying. Real facts and events which have happened are also used a lot throughout the article. For example real events such as the fall of the African Slave trade and the Berlin Conference are referenced, showing that what the article is saying is true and not some random items that are being pulled out of thin air.     

If I had to partake in a conversion with Jared Diamond and Ehiedu E. G. Iweriebor, I would most likely take their side or position on this topic. Both of the authors are on the same idea here- that the Europeans were able to conquer places due to advanced weaponry (for Diamond it is the world, while Iweriebor is specifically concentrating on Africa). I would be on the same side as them as what they are both trying to say has happened and is true, it would be foolish to try and say that their opinions are wrong as I would saying that the truth is false. 

Iweriebor, Ehiedu E. G. "The Colonization of Africa" Africana Age, (Date Published Unknown), Web. 21 July 2014