World History I

Christe A. McMenomy, Ph.D. and Karl Oles for Scholars Online
2025-2026: Monday and Wednesday 4:00pm to 5:30pm Eastern Time

Please note: Assignments are being coordinated with our new text and may not be available yet.

2025

September

3   8   10   15   17   22   24   29  

October

1   6   8   13   15   20   22   27   29  

November

3   5   10   12   17   19   24   26  

December

1   3   8   10   15   17  

2026

January

5   7   12   14   19   21   26   28  

February

2   4   9   11   16   18   23   25  

March

2   4   0   11   16   18   23   25  

April

6   8   13   15   20   22   27   29  

May

4   6   11   13   18   20   25   27  

Chapter 14: Patterns of State Formation in Africa
600-1450 CE

64: Mon, May 4, 2026

Please post in the forum for the day a short essay in response to this question:

Practical economic power in the societies we’ve studied so far this year has usually depended on the control or ownership of the land, or on control of trade—either production or trade routes. In Rome and China, for example, land ownership remained a dominant issue; in Islamic societies, trade was probably more important, and merchants were more respected. How do these issues manifest themselves in medieval Africa, and how does an economy primarily based on trade create a different kind of power pattern from one based on agriculture and land ownership?