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Haley Garfield

Professor Kimberly Lark


HIST 134: Online
15 August 2016
Portfolio Reflection
When reflecting on the time periods of history learned this semester and the question of
what have I learned from my ancestors that can help me better contribute to society today,
various thoughts came to mind. To help answer that question, I had to think about what it was
that most influenced my ancestors to act responsibly and contribute to the betterment of their
society. Amongst all the various aspects that could influence an individual to act more
responsibly in society, I believe that education is one of the most evident and influential themes.
With the ability to learn about the past and the present, and how to understand the future, ones
life is increasingly enhanced, creating an ever-growing desire to continue investing in ways to
better peoples lives. This can be seen in a various examples throughout history including Henry
Schliemanns discoveries, Alexander the Greats education, and Asokas conversion to
Buddhism.
Henry Schliemann was the famed archeologist that discovered ruins from Mycenaean
civilization back in the 1800s (Wikipedia, 2016). While there is controversy around his
discoveries, I believe it they were done in order to learn more about the past and our history.
Schliemann not only used his passion and desire to know more about our ancestors for personal
gain and fulfillment, but in order to educate us all on where we have come from. Through his

discoveries, we were able to learn about a civilization almost completely forgotten about as well
as bring evidence and truth to Homers epic poems. Schliemann also paved the way for his
predecessor, Arthur Evans, to continue the discoveries. Evans became interested in Schliemanns
work and began his own journey of discoveries. Schliemann used his genuine desire to know
more about the past, to not only educate himself, but generations to come. Through his individual
desire to learn more, society as a whole was bettered and able to rediscover a time so vastly
forgotten about. In William McNeills article, he explains that without learning about history or
having the desire to pursue discovering more aspects of history like Schliemann did, than we risk
the chance of forgetting about that time in history altogether (McNeill, 1985).
Similarly to Schliemann, Alexander the Great used his formal education to contribute to
society. Alexander carefully selected his educator to be one that would equip him to be the great
ruler that he was. Selecting Aristotle as his tutor set Alexander apart from many others and
allowed him to quickly and powerfully expand his enormous empire (Alexander the Great,
2016). Although Aristotle was not the only reason Alexander was such a powerful leader, his
teaching and influence on Alexander balanced out his military experience, making him a prime
candidate to lead and conquer so effectively. Had he not sought a well-rounded education, the
chances that he would have been as effective as a ruler are lesser. Still today, his magnificent and
powerful rule is used to educate our generation and military.
Michael Postma supports the balanced type of educational training that Alexander had in
his article What Can History Teach Us Today? (2011). Postma argues that if a persons education
simply consists of a few areas of study (i.e. math and science), but doesnt include the others,
than we are not nearly as able to succeed or live a well-balanced life. Had Alexander not received
any educational training, his understanding of conquest and leadership would be based solely

upon his military experience. Having an education that taught him more than just how to direct
an army, supported his leadership and effective conquests.
Education can come in different forms, and this was the case for Asoka, a Mauryan ruler.
While his education was more through experience and religion, he used it to rule effectively and
simultaneously spread peace after times of bloody warfare. While Asoka did not seek out his
education like Alexander the Great, his religious education influenced and transformed the way
he ruled. His conversion to Buddhism changed the way he interacted with his people and he sent
out missionaries to continue the conversions (Civilization: The Mauryan Empire of Ancient
India, 2016). Due to his religious education, Buddhism is now one of the most well-known and
practiced religions in the world.
From taking this course I have learned a great deal about history and our ancestors, about
how we used to live and battle and conquer, about womens role in various societies and how
that changed over time and also depended on the region. I learned about battle horses, plumbing
systems and African societies. However, I also learned that I am an active partaker in history. I
am not just here to learn about history and commit it to memory, but rather to use what Ive
learned to influence my actions and thoughts in a way that allows me to responsibly interact with
my community. I was not nearly as aware of just how heavily saturated my life is by choices that
were made hundreds of years ago. David Perry speaks about how history can help us predict
what will happen in the future, but he also speaks on how our everyday life is a conglomeration
of choices made over hundreds of years ago. Voting for example was something that dates back
to the medieval time period which I had no idea of (Perry, 2013). While education myself on the
past is important, it is just as important to share what I have learned with others to better help
them understand the world we live in today.

Bibliography
Civilization: The Mauryan Empire of Ancient India . Time Maps, 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2016.
<http://www.timemaps.com/civilization-the-mauryan-empire>.
McNeill, William H. Why Study History? (1985). American Historical Association, 1985. Web.
15 Aug. 2016. <https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-andarchives/archives/why-study-history-(1985)>.
Perry, David M. How History Can Help Us Predict the Next Pope. N.p., 12 Mar. 2013. Web. 15
Aug. 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/03/how-history-canhelp-us-predict-the-next-pope/273945/>.
Postma, Michael. What Can History Teach Us Today?. ASCD Express, 2011. Web. 15 Aug.
2016. <http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol6/622-postma.aspx>.
Wikipedia. Alexander the Great. Wikipedia, 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2016.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great>.
Wikipedia. Heinrich Schliemann. Wikipedia, 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2016.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Schliemann>.

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