Western Civilization: The Factors Changed “The West’s” Course Of History

“The West” is not an assigned name to a certain place or area of the world; it is rather the concept of people and cultures and how they migrated from one area to another over the course of history. “The West” originally was the term given to present day Europe. It rapidly spread to other areas of the world, some of which are listed in the following: portions of the Middle East, South America, North America, etc. The West is important to history classes today, as it teaches students how people and cultures originated and how they became what they are in today’s society. Many factors impacted the West, but the main factors are the following: religions, literature and art, and the exchange of different necessities between various countries. These factors changed “the West’s” course of history substantially.

The Protestant Reformation is the event of which religion impacted “the West”. The Protestant Reformation happened sometime in the 16th century. Its goal was to reform the Roman Catholic Church in the way they set their rules and practices for Christians. The issue with the Protestant Reformation was how the political leaders with strong power over the people were trying to gain more power by taking it away from the church. In the end, the Protestant Reformation divided the Roman Catholic Church into Protestantism and Catholicism.

The Renaissance is the event of which literature and art impacted “the West”. It brought light to a dark period. The Renaissance occurred in the period between 1300 and 1600, and was also known as the “Middle Ages”. The Renaissance is credited with separating political issues from religious issues. It was a time of “rebirth” as it was a time for the people to learn from the ancient times, and it promoted the spread of art and literature across Europe.

The Columbian Exchange is the event of which necessities were exchanged between various countries. It had a substantial impact on the course of many cultures. Two examples are plants and livestock. The Columbian Exchange exchanged more things than just plant and livestock, it also exchanged diseases and populations.

Throughout Western Civilizations, it was hard for citizens to live when they were constantly being punished for not following rules set by the Roman Catholic Church. The rules were always changing and people did not know what they should be following or how they should be living their lives without sinning. The church was trying to be more powerful than the governments and it resulted in a rapid downfall. Western Civilization eventually hit rock bottom and had to be fixed. The Protestant Reformation quickly changed everything for the better. The Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation changed the course of Western Civilization and made living more enjoyable in “the West”.

To better grasp the information from this course, I feel that it would be better taught through projects and hands-on activities. It is easy to read and answer a question, but it is better understood in more in-depth projects. Projects allow the students to get more in-depth information than simply taking a quiz on a chapter that was assigned. Another way to better grasp the information is by watching videos and documentaries and make PowerPoint on the information from each chapter. I, personally, do not perform efficiently if I am only assigned to read a chapter. I do not enjoy reading, therefore it makes the class less intriguing to me. By assigning powerpoints, it also allows the students to get better at presenting information in front of other people, which may help them in the future.