international studies
This week we read about the structural transformations that marked the decline of ancient empires and medieval worldviews, and violently ushered in the Early Modern period of European conquest and expansion. From the extraction industries that made the colonial projects in the New World possible, to the changing worldview reflected in the intellectual and cultural movements back in European society.
For your discussion post this week, please consider this role of global parasitic leeches played by European powers and respond to the following:
1. Discuss the way the ideals of the Enlightenment were used to justify colonial ventures, be sure to include any specific actors or ideals by name. Such as philosophers or missionaries that were proponents of these ideals, countries that dominated a particular venture, and the countries/people that were subjugated to it. You can use locales in the Americas, Africa, or Asia .
2. How do you see the trace of the ideals and enterprise of this Early Modern period in our contemporary global system? Such as the political rhetoric of a current social movement, or the economic status of the countries involved.