Comparison: Life in 1200 and Today
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT1200/ LESSON 2.8ACTIVITYCOMPARISON: LIFE IN 1200 AND TODAYUnless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Comparison: Life in 1200 and Today”, OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1PurposeLearn to use the Comparison Tool to conduct and generate historical comparisons—in this activity, a comparison between life in 1200 and the life you live today. As you practice comparison throughout the course, you’ll get better and better at describing and explaining the relevant similarities and differences between specific historical developments and processes. You’ll also get better at explaining the relative historical significance of similarities and differences between the topics of study.Key informationComparison is a key process that historians use to help them better understand the past. Although comparing and contrasting may sound simple, it actually gets really complicated when what you’re comparing is multidimensional, as is the case with historicaltopics. Because comparison is harder than it looks, in this course you’ll use a tool to conduct historical comparisons using the frames you learned about earlier in this unit.Process1.Before you begin this activity, answer this question: Would you rather live in 1200 CE or today? Be sure to explain your choice.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200/ LESSON 2.8ACTIVITYCOMPARISON: LIFE IN 1200 AND TODAY22.Read the synopsis (summary) of life in 1200. This is a general story of what life was like in the thirteenth century, so the specifics would change depending on geographic location, ethnicity, age, gender, and social class.Synopsis of Life in 1200—A General OverviewThe vast majority of people were farmers living in rural areas. Only a small portion of the total population lived in urban areas, but cities had begun to grow larger. Some communities, especially those of Indigenous peoples in the Americas and Australasia, were foragers or pastoralists. For those belonging to the lower classes, life consisted of work, usually on a farm where they grew and raised their own food. Daily interactions were with other members of the same community, some of whom may have lived quite far from each other. Members of the same family may have gone to market once or twice a month to sell goods they’d raised or made. Both men and women worked to support the family, but their jobs might be different, depending on the region or society inwhich they lived. In some regions of the world, women sewed, tended to the house, and helped with farming duties including planting and harvesting. Men were generally farmers, who tended to the crops and animals. However, in agro-pastoralist communities (places where people both farmed and raised livestock) such as those in sub-Saharan Africa, women did a large portion of the farming duties while men were often in charge of the animals. For those in the middle to upper classes, people who usually had more wealth than those of the lower class, life could be very different. In certain regions, some children were educated, particularly boys. Most children started working at a young age, either helping with the farm, family business, or learning a trade as an apprentice. Those living in urban areas worked in a variety of professions as merchants, smiths (working with metals), carpenters, or innkeepers. People living in cities had many interactions in the course of their day and therefore may have belonged to different networks including those associated with their job, their faith, and their government. Most people didn’t travel very far from their homes but some, such as merchants or traders, ventured out farther than most.3.On the next page (page 3) you’ll find the Comparison Tool. Since this is your first time using it, we’ve helped you with the Cases You’re Comparing, Time Period, and Location boxes, but you’ll fill those out on your own later in the course. Using “Synopsis of Life in 1200—A General Overview,” which you just read, fill out the 1200 column of the worksheet.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200/ LESSON 2.8ACTIVITYCOMPARISON: LIFE IN 1200 AND TODAY34.Now, do the same thing to complete the sections for Today, using your own knowledge of life today to fill out those columns. •Remember that communityfocuses on how people organize into groups, usually with shared values or beliefs as well as being inhabitants of the same region or nation. Production and distribution refers to how people make goods and get them into the hands of other people. For example, do they make goods at home or in a factory? Do they travel to markets to sell these goods, or do they trade with neighbors? Networksis about how people connect with others, sometimes through work-related connections or through trade or, in the twenty-first century, via social media and the internet.5.Your last step in the tool is to fill out the Similarities and Differences boxes. Compare the details you’ve recorded in the 1200 column and the Today column and think about the similarities and differences you see.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200/ LESSON 2.8ACTIVITYCOMPARISON: LIFE IN 1200 AND TODAY4Topic of ComparisonLife in 1200 compared to life todayPart 1: Identifying and DescribingCases you’re comparing1200Today Time period1200 (thirteenth century)2020 and beyond (twenty-first century)LocationHint: You can choose any location, but it might make sense to pick where you live.Hint: You can choose any location, but it might make sense to pick where you live.P&DHow were goods produced and distributed in each of these periods of time?SimilaritiesDifferencesNetworksWhat types of networks were Similarities
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200/ LESSON 2.8ACTIVITYCOMPARISON: LIFE IN 1200 AND TODAY5people members of in each of these periods of time?DifferencesCommunitiesHow were communities structured in each of these time periods?SimilaritiesDifferences6.Once you’ve completed the tool, respond to the following questions: •How are these time periods similar?•How are they different?•What’s important about those similarities and differences?
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT 1200/ LESSON 2.8ACTIVITYCOMPARISON: LIFE IN 1200 AND TODAY6•Would you change the answer you gave at the start of this activity about which period you’d rather live in? Explain your reasoning.7.Look back at your completed tool and choose onesimilarity and onedifference you think are most significant(important). Then, complete the sentence starters below and defend your choice using evidence.The most significant differencebetween life in 1200 and life today is:BecauseThe most significant similaritybetween life in 1200 and life today is:Because