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| Volume I, Issue 2 10 December 2004 We've had two snowfalls already in Great Barrington, and it's time to order balsam garland from Taft Farms. The owner himself stands with a basket of green cuttings at his feet and a small noisy machine that looks like it's been around since the 1930s on the table in front of him. Its rotary wheels wrap wire around the cuttings as Danny puts them in place. His wife Martha is busy baking pies, and we’ll soon be placing an order for a free-range Christmas turkey. And it's not long until Berkshire will be celebrating World History at the American Library Association conference in Boston, 14-17 January. We see this as an opportunity to explain what World History is all about to thousands of librarians, and we're thrilled that some of our authors will be attending, too, to talk to librarians about the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History (which is, we’ve just heard, a Booklist magazine Editors’ Choice for 2004) and about what makes a World History perspective different and truly important. As senior editor William H. McNeill writes in his preface, "Genuinely inclusive world history is such a helpful, even necessary, guide for survival in the crowded world in which we live."
Survey Winner
Our warmest thanks to the 225 teachers who took our survey last month! We got loads of information and will now be developing a prototype resource center based on your feedback. One participant, Randy Ernst of the Lincoln Public Schools, has won a free set of the five-volume Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History. Randy has taught at Lincoln High School and Lincoln North Star High School for a total of 19 years. He is also involved in projects including the development of the District's K-12 social studies standards and writing a psychology textbook, but he considers himself first and foremost a teacher. Congratulations, Randy!
If you didn't take the survey and would like a copy of our classroom supplement on "Buddhism in World History," please drop me a line. The next issue of World History to Go will include a similar overview of Islam, written by Professor Jamal Elias, chair of religious studies at Amherst College.
The Berkshire Publishing Shop is now open, offering sweatshirts, coffee mugs, and more bearing original artwork and quotations related to the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History. We're selling these at only fractionally over cost as a way to make the wonderful original cover art available to teachers who want to wear the subject they love. "Time present and time past / Are both perhaps present in time future, / And time future contained in time past." T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) And our quote for this month: "History, real solemn history, I cannot be interested in.... I read it a little as a duty; but it tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me. The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilences in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all - it is very tiresome.” Spoken by Catherine Morland, a character in Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen. As we all know, world history is far from tiresome, and we’re doing our best to go beyond the quarrels of popes and kings, and to make sure there are plenty of women in view! Classroom projects and prizes - tell us more!We want the encyclopedia to be in the classroom as well as in the library, so we're working on fundraising ideas for teachers and their classes. We're open to your ideas as well, so please don't hesitate to write. Would you like to sell tshirts like the ones in our store? How about a world history essay contest for students - or for teachers? A quick survey will be coming soon! What’s the Difference? Fundamentalism, Pentecostalism, Evangelicalism ExplainedAt Berkshire, religion is a topic of keen interest thanks to a project we’ve been working on with Routledge for several years, the Religion & Society series. Perhaps the most basic question that arises is related to contemporary religious experience in the United States. We’re often asked what the difference is between Fundamentalism, Pentecostalism, and Evangelicalism, and thought that a brief overview might be helpful to teachers. As you know, these three religion “isms” are often mentioned these days, especially in regard to terrorism and the recent U.S. presidential election. What do they mean? Are they the same or different? Are fundamentalists pentecostalists? Are evangelicals also fundamentalists? Fundamentalism is the label for a movement in any religion that stresses the basic or traditional elements of that religion and projects them into new formulations in reaction to challenges from modernity. Some experts argue that the label, fundamentalism, applies only to Protestant Christianity, while others see as it appropriate for any religion. Today, it is used for movements in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Christian fundamentalists believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible and reject the modern secular world. Some fundamentalists chose to withdraw from the world, while others seek to change it to conform to their worldview. Pentecostalism is the fastest growing Christian denomination in the world. Pentecostalists, along with the related Neo-Pentecostalists and charismatics, believe in a personal experience with the Holy Spirit and involvement of the Holy Spirit in everyday life, through divine healing, prophecy, speaking in tongues, and other manifestations of the Spirit's presence. Pentecostalists often have similar political beliefs and social customs as fundamentalists, but the two movements are not identical. Pentecostalism is more personal and emotional while fundamentalism is more doctrinal and political. Evangelicalism is a very broad Christian movement dating to the beginning of Christianity, with major revivals from the sixteenth century on. Though a worldwide phenomena, evangelicalism has drawn much attention in the United States where it provides an over-arching religious framework for both fundamentalism and Pentecostalism. Evangelism is the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ, His incarnation, life, death and resurrection. Evangelicals believe that those who put their trust in Christ will achieve salvation which will lead them into fellowship with others called the church, culminating in eternal life with God. Pentecostalism is one manifestation of evangelicalism. Many evangelicals are fundamentalists, but some, like former President Jimmy Carter, are liberals.
By David Levinson, a cultural anthropologist who served as vice president of Yale's Human Relations Area Files, now president of Berkshire Publishing and the only non-historian editor of the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History. History tells us that all human communities assign work on the basis of age and gender. Most work is also assigned on the basis of social class. Across societies, there are clear patterns as to what work is usually performed by men and by women. This remains true today. Even in two-earner families in the United States, women still usually clean house, cook, do the laundry and grocery shop while men mow the lawn, wash the car, and fix small appliances. The one task that is shared much more than in the past is child care.
Work Generally Performed by Women
Work Performed by Men and Women
How can we account for this division of labor? Three explanations have been set forth. The first says that because on average men are stronger than women, they do work that requires strength. This doesn’t, however, explain many differences in working roles. Being a political leader or making musical instruments does not require superior strength. A second explanation, which makes more sense, is that women do work that is compatible with child care. Since women are almost always the primary caregivers for infants, women do work that can be done in relative safety in or around the home, or work, such as trading at markets, that can be done with their children nearby or even on their backs. A third explanation suggests that people do work that is related to other work they do. If men fish, they also make and mend nets and catch bait. When women harvest crops, they also prepare the crops for storage and cook them into food. Anthropological research in many societies indicates that the second and third of these explanations account for most of the division of labor by gender. Anthropologists today continue to study work and gender in cultures around the world, and further understanding of contemporary experience will no doubt contribute to our understanding of how divisions of labor have affected individual lives and social change in world history, too. Promoting World HistoryA full-color PDF version of our brochure for the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History is available at www.BerkshireWorldHistory.com, and if you would like paper copies for your library or to distribute at a meeting, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line—we’ll get them in the mail immediately, with many thanks. Ordering the Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History
Berkshire Publishing-—A global point of reference-—is dedicated to making a difference by helping teachers and scholars help bring world history to life. As always, we value your ideas and comments on our encyclopedias and electronic newsletters. If you have questions or suggestions, please feel free to email me directly. With best regards, Karen.
Karen Christensen, CEO "If we do not take the time to review the past we shall not have sufficient insight to understand the present or command the future: for the past never leaves us, and the future is already here."—Lewis Mumford, The Myth of the Machine |
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