What is one of the reasons that the 'Richard Lewis model' positively received?
Answer
Because it was the first time someone made a clear and accurate model of the world's cultures
Because it confirmed existing notions and ideas about cultures that people had
Because this model was adjusted and corrected by Richard Lewis, so it now contained new and relatively recently discovered cultures too.
Because each country voted on what color best represented them, so it was considered a fair representation of these countries
Question 2
Question
A nation is often seen as a natural entity. What is another way to see a 'nation'?
Answer
A nation can also be seen in terms of time zones. With the focus on chronology instead of geography
By tracing official documents that have been preserved in national archives, scholars can accurately define the natural and political borders of nations
Question 3
Question
According to Morris-Suzuki, ‘identity’ is a conceptual category that is difficult to grasp due to the multiplicity of factors affecting it. Which of the following is true when defining the concept:
Answer
Every country has constructed its identity, spatially and temporally, in relation to an “other”.
It has recently been determined that due to the complexity of defining what a nation's "identity" is, there can be no such thing as the concept of 'identity'
Its formulation changes constantly due to spatial factors, current relations with multiple ‘others’ and historical memories.
Question 4
Question
What makes 'Eurocentrism' different from other 'Ethnocentrisms'?
Answer
Next to the emphasis of the superiority of the 'West', eurocentrism has universal applicability
Ethnocentrism focusses on the superiority of the 'individual'.
Eurocentrism has been received positively around the world, because it was evident that Europe's succes was inevitable.
Question 5
Question
Which of the following is NOT included in earlier scholarship attributing to the ‘rise of the West’:
Answer
The existence of Protestantism that proved to be more suitable for capitalism than other societies’ religions
The unique characteristic of European families to be small, but in turn proving to be able to achieve greater capital accumulation and growth
The transformation of European countries’ feudalism to absolute monarchies, and ultimately to modern nation-states
The discovery of the New World and the European colonial ventures allowed the accumulation of large amounts of silver to be traded with Asia
Question 6
Question
The incidence of the Chinese empire's decision to use silver as currency from the 14th century, combined with the abundance of silver that was cheaply and readily available to the European colonizers in the New World from the end of the 15th century was:
Answer
A confirmation for the European colonizers that they were in fact, superior. They had a predestined fait that provided them with prosperity and good fortune.
A simple matter of conjuncture; if these two unrelated incidents had not happened simultaneously, things would have been different
An awkward moment in the European Master Narrative; where it would have made more sense if the Europeans had the monopolized position in the silver business
Question 7
Question
What is the "problem" of tourists visiting Tahiti and enjoying a 'traditional Tahitian performance'?
Answer
It is a form of discrimination and racism
It was recently discovered that Tahitians are sometimes being forced into these jobs and do not get paid; to keep the performances as authentic and realistic as possible
It reinforces colonialism
The concept of defining each other through mutual interaction is not possible for the Tahitians because they are not in the position to interact with the "other"
Question 8
Question
What is "new" in Morris-Suzuki's approach to history?
Answer
She uses Japan as a case study because of it's unique status as one of the few 'natural states nation'
She puts the focus on the situations near the edges as opposed to the centers of a nation
She pleas for the independence of the Ainu and Okinowan people; because she discovered that these civilizations were in fact, never a part of modern day Japan.
Question 9
Question
What is NOT correct about the mapping of Siam?
Answer
They are retrospective speculations based on the present geo-body of Siam
Shows grandeur: one cannot help noticing how great Siam’s body was in the past in comparison with its neighbors.
The function of geo-body of Siam’s past in historical maps: make the past familiar to the present
Because of Griffit's case study on borders; we have accurate, sufficient data and evidence to confirm the construction of the Siam maps, are in fact scientific
Question 10
Question
In what way is the “bunmei world order” different from the “ka-i world order” as stated in Chapter 2?
Answer
In the Bunmei world order outlying regions in Japan, such as Okinawa, came to be represented as temporally different (backward) but were nonetheless integrated into the notion of a “Japanese People”.
The Meiji ‘bunmei’ world order did not affect assimilation policy, rather assimilation of the Ainu and the Okinawans remained primarily based on outward aspects such as clothing and hairstyles
Unlike the ‘ka-i’ world order, the ‘bunmei’ of the Meiji government was ahistorical, thus not dynamic since it was based on harmony and hierarchy rather than in terms of production and progress
Japan, including its frontier regions, was seen by the Meiji government as the center of civilization, with peripheries merely occupied by barbarian ‘others’ that needed to be civilized
Question 11
Question
Is the position Bernard Lewis takes on islam considered a form of orientalism?
Answer
No, because he acknowledges the existence of predominant group of 'good' muslims
Yes, because even though he acknowledges that there are 'good' muslims, he still defines the muslims as the "other".