A History
of the World
in [23, 26, 21, or 24] Objects, Texts or Ideas
History is our inheritance…
Neil MacGregor’s A History of the World in 100 Objects attempts to explain the story of
the world through 100 objects. Each chapter (there are 100) focuses on one object,
identifying it, explaining its context in history, and explaining its significance both then
and now.
His book follows a joint venture between the British Museum (Neil MacGregor is the
museum’s Director) and the BBC that produced a popular radio series of the same name
(bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld).
The immediate challenge of the radio series was to describe the chosen objects to a
listening audience (each object had to be imagined by the listener, not seen). This
required close attention to Word Choice. Yet the series was a huge success. People
tuned in because the program looked at history:
“…in a way which has not been attempted before, by deciphering the messages
which objects communicate across time—messages about peoples and places,
environments and interactions, about different moments in history and about our
own time as we reflect upon it” (xv).
Idea: Select an object, text, or idea that you feel best tells the story of the world.
As you sort possible ideas, consider the following…
You will start by brainstorming a list of five (5) objects-texts-ideas that you feel best tells
the story of the world. You should be excited to write about any of the five objectstexts-ideas you list. (Because ultimately, you will write about one of them.)
The objects-texts-ideas should reflect a diversity of time and place. In other words, don’t
focus only on one time period. True, Apple continues to revolutionize our technological
world, but selecting five objects with the prefix ‘i’ does not demonstrate an accurate
history of our world.
Your social studies class started with Ancient Islam and the birth of Muhammad in 632
B.C.E. and has since touched on such diverse cultures as Rome, Byzantium, Africa, Japan,
China, Inca, Maya…and will end this year with a look at the Renaissance in Europe.
How to proceed…
Tonight, ask your parent(s) to help generate a list of possible ideas. What do they think
are the most important object-text-ideas to shape the world?
This should free you from the confines of your history book, and their careers will likely
influence their answers.
For example, a parent who works in investment banking might suggest that the GlassSteagall Act is an important idea. If your family is in import-export, they might believe
the invention of the first wooden oared ships (attributed to the Egyptians in 1500 B.C.E.)
tops the list. And if your parent is a Nascar driver, she might suggest that Henry Ford’s
assembly line technique of mass production is key.
Note: This assignment is not a report. You are not reporting on an object-text-idea.
Because Wikipedia has already done this.
Instead, you are identifying an object-text-idea, explaining its context in history, and
explaining its significance both then and now and in the future.
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What is its story?
How did it change or shape the world?
How does it continue to shape our world today?
And will it still be important 100 years from now?
You will answer the above questions for your object-text-idea in a 250-300 word essay.
Bibliography: You must use a minimum of three (3) sources and at least one of those
must be a primary source, if possible.
Final project: Your typed essay (with hand-drawn illustration) will be assembled in a
book. (We will discuss the specific layout later.)
Please consider the following traits before writing: Ideas, Organizaion, Fluency, Word
Choice, Voice, Conventions
Important dates:
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List of 5 objects-texts-ideas. Thursday, April 9
Receive your topic. Friday, April 10
Bibliography. Wednesday, April 15
Rough draft. Wednesday, April 22
Final draft (with hand-drawn illustration). Monday, April 27