Keys to the Continuity/Change Over Time Essay

Changes & Continuities in Life  Analyze the Changes and Continuities in American Life from –What has changed? What has continued? –What events triggered the changes? What important events have occurred? Did they impact the changes/continuities?

What is the CCOT essay? THE BASICS  An essay discussing characteristics that changed and stayed the same in a given region between two time periods. (Comparison essay, but across time rather than region)  Know the required tasks & how they’re scored –the rubric

Changes & Continuities in Life  Ideas to help you Write: –Look for the Theme (labor, rights, economic growth, military expansion, societal roles) –Identify the region! –Look for any significance at the given dates –Don’t just describe a thing; must be compared with the past (change/continuity) –Consider processes that helped/impacted change –Did you answer Why/How change occurred? –Did you mention a beginning/middle/end within the time period?

Fundamentals of CCOT  Answering the question: –Remember continuities, not just changes –Establish a baseline before describing the changes that occur  Thesis –Establish time period boundaries & address entire period  Substantiating Thesis: –Give specific examples to support thesis claims (requires that you know history)

Complexities of CCOT  Analyzing process of change: –What are some common triggers for change: –Consider that change happens unevenly in places and overtime…often speeding up & slowing down –Are there steps to the change? Intermediate points between the beginning & end of period are important

Complexities of CCOT  Historical context –Remember that changes & continuities in a particular region do not happen in a vacuum –Use varying scope – global trends v. regional v. local Don’t be afraid to note exceptions to a trend

Ways to Structure CCOT - #1 1. Beginning Situation (start date) 2. Cause of Change A. There might be a specific date of the cause, or “turning point,” B. a specific date when the change is observable, or “tipping point,” but the cause of the change was gradual with no specific date of onset, or C. a series of factors leading to change, each with different onset dates or no clear onset date of all, which caused gradual change in an un-dramatic fashion. 3. Date by which Change is Observable (end date) A. What were the changes in contrast with the Beginning Situation B. What were the continuities from the Beginning Situation

Example  Prompt: Analyze the changes brought by migration in ONE of the following regions between 1500 BCE and 1000 CE.  Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East – Be sure to include a discussion of migration in 1500 BCE

What is the prompt asking us to do?  Analyze the CHANGES migration created in ONE region –South Asia Ancient India – Classical Period (Ch. 3) –Focus on Aryan migrations, Dravidians, Upanishads, etc. –Sub-Saharan Africa African Civilizations and the Spread of Islam - Post- Classical Era (Ch. 8) –Focus on Bantu-speaking peoples migration, stateless- societies, and their transition to regional kingdoms

South-East Asia  South Asia -Aryan migrations (a branch of the Indo-European migrations) moving through Khyber Pass into S. Asia about 1500 BCE -Upanishads – beliefs about reincarnation/karma [from Aryan and Dravidian interaction] - After conquering the agricultural peoples of the Indus valley, the nomadic Aryans imposed their class system based on skin color This class system would develop into the Hindu caste system Aryan literature (the Vedas) became basic for Hindu belief Following Aryan traditions, cattle became symbols of wealth

Sub-Saharan Africa  Around 1500 BCE, small numbers of Bantu- speaking peoples had begun to migrate from present-day Nigeria (due to population pressures) –Carried agriculture and ironworking tech.  Migrations of Bantu-speaking people moved around BCE, southward and eastward –Farmed along riverbanks (Congo) –Transmitted knowledge of agriculture and ironworking to cattle herders, learning cattle-herding in return  Swahili language formed through contact with Arabic traders in E. Africa  From stateless societies emerged regional kingdoms